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Social Capital and Mental Health among B razilian Immigrants in J apan
Author(s) -
Takenoshita Hirohisa
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal of japanese sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.133
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1475-6781
pISSN - 0918-7545
DOI - 10.1111/ijjs.12036
Subject(s) - immigration , social capital , ethnic group , mental health , demographic economics , bond , sociology , capital (architecture) , social mobility , social support , psychology , political science , social psychology , economics , social science , psychiatry , geography , law , archaeology , finance , anthropology
Abstrac This study investigates the effect of social capital on the psychological well‐being of B razilian immigrants in J apan. Social capital in immigrants has drawn considerable attention from sociologists and other social scientists because many advanced countries have accepted a large number of immigrants from other countries. Previous studies of immigration in the US have emphasized the important role of bonding social capital with family and co‐ethnic friends in helping immigrants obtain social and emotional support from others. Conversely, other studies of immigration in E uropean countries have suggested that bonding social capital with co‐ethnic members does not necessarily lead to better outcomes. These contrasting findings demonstrate that social capital is largely embedded in the institutional settings within which immigrants deploy it. In this study, we explored how the psychological well‐being of B razilian immigrants in J apan depended on different forms of social capital. The results indicate that despite the lack of economic resources in their ethnic communities, B razilian immigrants benefited significantly from bonding social capital with their extended families in terms of improved mental health. This study suggests that the effectiveness of bonding social capital substantially differs in terms of the objective and subjective realities of immigrants.