title: The association between socio-cultural factors and well-being among young adult Middle Eastern migrants in Australia
Creators: name: Hashemi, Neda
Publisher: name: Griffith University
Year: 2019
Subjects: subject: Acculturation
subject: Religious identity
subject: Perceived discrimination
subject: Perceived social support
subject: Social connectedness
subject: Subjective well-being
subject: Psychological well-being
subject: Middle Eastern migrants
subject: Young adult migrants

description: The high prevalence of mental illness is a major public health challenge of the 21st century. Migrant populations are at higher risk of developing mental illnesses and poor well-being due to pre- and post-migration challenges and issues, and experience a higher rate of depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other mental problems compared to the mainstream population. They are also less happy and less satisfied with their lives than nonmigrants. Of importance to this thesis, Middle Eastern (ME) migrants who originate from one of the most crisis- and conflict-prone regions in the world, show very high rates of mental health and well-being issues due to factors such as trauma and stressors faced prior to migration, language barriers, marginalised cultural identity, discrimination, lack of opportunity to use their skills and knowledge, and a highly stressful process of adjustment. If they are young adults, these experiences are exacerbated by a wide range of further demanding and often stressful tasks, such as negotiating education and employment pathways. Despite the understanding of the high prevalence of mental health and well-being problems among the ME migrant group, their contributing factors are still largely unknown. This points to the significance of research to better understand well-being, as a key aspect of mental health, and its driving and reinforcing factors among ME migrants. Socio-cultural factors, comprising acculturation, religious identity, perceived discrimination, perceived social support, and social connectedness, have been identified as factors that potentially influence well-being outcomes among migrant populations. Although these factors are increasingly recognised as important, very little is known about how they contribute to, and the strength and nature of their association with well-being among migrants, and more specifically among ME migrants. Therefore, this thesis aimed to explore the association between socio-cultural factors and well-being among young adult ME migrants in order to inform the development of future interventions to promote the mental health of this population group. To address the research aim, a cross-sectional survey study was designed. The study was underpinned by the positivist paradigm aligned with the use of a quantitative approach where the researcher collects statistical data using highly structured data collection instruments, and analyses the data to test theory deductively in order to support or refute it. Data was collected from a sample of 382 young adult ME migrants in Australia aged between 20 and 39 years using a selfadministered questionnaire, through convenience sampling. The findings address existing gaps in the literature on socio-cultural factors that contribute to the well-being of migrants, and enable a deeper understanding of the pathways through which these factors shape well-being outcomes. The thesis findings are presented in four papers which are published, in press, or under review by international peer-reviewed journals. Paper 1 is a validation study with two aims. First, to assess the reliability and validity of Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Scale (SL-ASIA) using linear and orthogonal approaches. Second, to explore the agreement between the outcomes of linear and orthogonal approaches of acculturation using SL-ASIA. Data analysis was conducted in three stages. In the two first stages, the linear SL-ASIA, and the orthogonal SL-ASIA were validated respectively, using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), convergent validity, and discriminant validity indices. In the third stage, the agreement between the validated linear and orthogonal SL-ASIA was measured using Cohen’s kappa analysis. Based on the findings, both linear and orthogonal SL-ASIAs demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity indices. Also, comparing the classifications achieved by the linear and orthogonal SL-ASIA showed a high level of consistency between the two scales. Paper 2 involved research on the relationship between socio-cultural factors and psychological well-being among young adult ME migrants with two aims. First, to examine the association between socio-cultural factors (i.e. acculturation, perceived social support, and perceived discrimination) and psychological well-being. Second, to investigate the moderating role of demographic variables (i.e. gender and education) in the association between socio-cultural factors (i.e. acculturation, perceived social support, and perceived discrimination) and psychological well-being. The study findings revealed that mainstream and ethnic acculturation, perceived discrimination and perceived social support all had direct effects on psychological wellbeing. Moreover, perceived discrimination and perceived social support were found to be mediators in the relationship between acculturation and psychological well-being. In addition, gender and education were found as moderators in the associations between ethnic acculturation, perceived social support and perceived discrimination. Paper 3 explored the association between social factors (i.e. religious identity, perceived social support, perceived discrimination, and social connectedness) and psychological well-being among young adult ME migrants. The findings showed that all the research variables (i.e. religious identity, perceived social support, perceived discrimination, and social connectedness) had direct effects on psychological well-being. The association between religious identity and psychological well-being was found to be mediated by perceived social support, perceived discrimination, and social connectedness. Perceived social support had the highest total effect on the psychological well-being among all research variables. Paper 4 aimed to determine the association between socio-demographic factors (i.e. perceived social support, perceived discrimination, gender, education, and marital status) and subjective well-being in young adult ME migrants in Australia. It also aimed to examine the moderating role of perceived social support in the association between perceived discrimination and subjective well-being. Gender, education, marital status, perceived social support, and perceived discrimination contributed significantly to some or all components (i.e. positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction) of subjective well-being among ME migrants. Perceived social support was found to have a moderating role in the association between perceived discrimination and subjective well-being. Collectively, the findings of this thesis highlight the significant effects of the selected socio-cultural factors on the well-being outcomes among young adult ME migrants in Australia. This research also identifies the associations between the socio-cultural factors in shaping wellbeing outcomes. The findings from this research can inform professionals and institutions working with migrants, including healthcare workers, public health officers, planners, policymakers, educators and researchers, of the importance of considering these socio-cultural factors and provides recommendations for further action and research. Migrants are important community groups in Australia and worldwide and how societies act to promote their health outcomes would benefit not only the migrant groups, but the entire population