Social networks and immigration stress among first‐generation Mandarin‐speaking Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles |
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| Authors: | Yawen Li C Richard Hofstetter Dennis Wahlgren Veronica Irvin Doug Chhay Melbourne F Hovell |
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| Affiliation: | 1. School of Social Work, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA;2. Department of Political Science, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA;3. Center for Behavioral Epidemiology and Community Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA;4. Clinical Center and Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA;5. Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA |
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| Abstract: | This study examined relationships between social networks and immigration stress among first‐generation Chinese immigrants. Using data from a larger study of health behavior among first‐generation Mandarin/English‐speaking immigrants residing in the Los Angeles metropolitan area (N = 1,183), this study found that Chinese 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 China 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. |
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| Keywords: | social networks immigration stress Chinese immigrants in the USA |
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