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Social networks and immigration stress among first‐generation M andarin‐speaking C hinese immigrants in L os A ngeles
Author(s) -
Li Yawen,
Hofstetter C. Richard,
Wahlgren Dennis,
Irvin Veronica,
Chhay Doug,
Hovell Melbourne F.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal of social welfare
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1468-2397
pISSN - 1369-6866
DOI - 10.1111/ijsw.12103
Subject(s) - immigration , social network (sociolinguistics) , psychological intervention , context (archaeology) , metropolitan area , demographic economics , interpersonal ties , psychology , sociology , social psychology , medicine , political science , geography , social media , economics , pathology , law , archaeology , psychiatry
This study examined relationships between social networks and immigration stress among first‐generation C hinese immigrants. Using data from a larger study of health behavior among first‐generation M andarin/ E nglish‐speaking immigrants residing in the L os A ngeles metropolitan area ( N = 1,183), this study found that C hinese immigrants living closer to immediate family and maintaining larger social networks experienced lower immigration stress. Unexpectedly, immigrants with larger family sizes and who participated in voluntary associations (e.g., religious, alumni, and nationality associations) reported increased immigration stress. The findings suggest that practitioners need to be cautious of a possible downside in designing interventions to expand social networks among immigrant clients. The study is especially important in the context of a rapidly increasing immigrant population from Mainland C hina to the USA . Key Practitioner Message: ● Working with immigration families should incorporate assessment of their social network; ● Interventions designed to facilitate supportive social networks should differentiate different social network ties; ● Different social network ties may affect the stress level of immigrants differently .