ACCULTURATION, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION AMONG HAITIAN IMMIGRANTS IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL

Acculturation refers to changes that occur when people from different cultural backgrounds encounter a new cultural environment. Such changes may play an important role in mental health. The present study investigates the relationships between acculturation, anxiety and depression in 64 Haitians who migrated to Brazil between 2010 and 2016. Participants answered a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Immigrant Acculturation Scale, and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist 27. Participants reported low levels of anxiety and depression symptoms and the most adopted acculturation strategy was integration. An assimilationist acculturation orientation was associated with lower levels of anxiety and a separationist orientation was linked to higher levels of depression. Contradicting our initial hypotheses, the final anxiety model negatively associated language separation with high anxiety symptoms. In general, the participants of the present study seemed to be well adapted to the Brazilian culture. However, acculturation strategies in our study varied across domains and were influenced by sociodemographic variables as time since migration and being employed. Considering that Brazil is a large and multi-cultural country, further research should be conducted in different parts of the country and with various migrant groups in order to better understand the acculturation phenomena.