REFERENCES

Alexander, K. L., Entwistle, D. R., & Dauber, S. L. (1993). First-grade classroom behavior: It's short- and long-term consequences for school performance. Child Development, 64, 801-814.

Harter, S. (1985). Manual for the Self-Perception Profile for Children. University of Denver.

Kovacs, M. (1985). The children's depression inventory (CDI). Psychopharmacological Bulletin, 21(4), 995-998.

Levitt, M. J., Guacci-Franco, N., & Levitt, J. L. (1993). Convoys of social support in childhood and early adolescence: Structure and function. Developmental Psychology, 29, 811-818.

Suárez-Orozco, C. & Suárez-Orozco, M. (in progress). Psychological Symptom Checklist. Cambridge, MA: The Harvard Immigration Project.

Table 1

Immigrant Child Adjustment as a Function of Ecological Risk and Parental Support

Note. Numbers are standardized beta weights.*p < .05, **p < .01

ABSTRACT

Newly immigrant children (N = 638) were interviewed to assess the effects of ecological risk and parental support on their post-migration adjustment. Parental support was related to better adjustment across all measures. Risk affected adjustment directly and indirectly by diminishing parental support. Effects were comparable across immigrant groups.

INTRODUCTION

Although the number of immigrant children has increased dramatically in recent years, research on the initial adjustment of dislocated children is almost nonexistent. Migrating to a new country can be a mentally and emotionally demanding process, especially for children. Exposure to ecological risk factors, such as economic hardship, poor neighborhood conditions, and stressful life events, may compound the effects of difficulties already associated with the immigration experience.

Parental support is likely to play a crucial role in promoting child adjustment, but some parents may be too overwhelmed with demands for adaptation and economic survival to provide effective support. Furthermore, children who migrate without parents may experience even less parental support. This study is focused on the adjustment of newly immigrant children as a function of parental support and ecological risk.

METHOD

Sample and Procedure

The sample consisted of 638 public school students (319 male; 319 female) in grades 3 through 9 who had been in the United States for less than one year. Students came from Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica and other English-speaking Caribbean countries.

Participants were interviewed individually, at school, in their primary language. Interviewers were generally of the same ethnic and cultural backgournd as the child being interviewed.

Measures

Measures used in these analyses were part of a larger study on the adaptation of newly-immigrant children.

The parental support measure was the sum of six emotional, self-affirmation, and instrumental support functions potentially received from parents (Levitt et al., 1993).

Risk was a composite measure that incorporated stressful life events, economic difficulty, and neighborhood satisfaction indices.

Adjustment measures included self-concept (Harter, 1985) , depression (Kovacs, 1985), a psychological symptoms checklist (Suarez-Orozco & Suarez-Orozco, in progress), and teacher-rated school adaptation (Alexander & Entwhistle, 1993).

RESULTS

In total, 59 children (9.2%) had no parent present during or following migration. Higher levels of risk and parental absence were associated with lower levels of reported parental support in an initial regression analysis.

A second series of regression analyses assessed relationships between ecological risk, parental support, and the adjustment variables. As illustrated in Table 1, risk was significantly associated with decreased self-esteem and increased depression and psychological symptoms.

Children with more parental support showed greater self-esteem, fewer psychological symptoms and better school adaptation.

A buffering effect of parental support emerged for depression, as indicated by a significant risk by support interaction.

These results were consistent across age, gender, and ethnic groups.

DISCUSSION

Exposure to ecological risk appears to compromise the adjustment of newly immigrant children and to diminish the amount of parental support available to these children. Parental support is associated with better adjustment. However, children whose parents are preoccupied with post-migration demands for survival, and especially those who migrate without a parent, may experience a loss of support. In general, this research advances the identification of factors that promote or hinder the early adjustment of immigrant children.

Project

SOL

Florida International University

Students from

Other Lands

Adjustment in Newly Immigrant Children: Effects of Ecological Risk and Parental Support

Jonathan Lane, Mary J. Levitt, & Jerome Levitt

Florida International University, Miami-Dade County Public Schools

Self Dep. Symptoms Sch.Ad.

Risk -.21** .24** .36** -.09

Support .15** -.08 -.14** .12*

Rsk x Sup .00 -.18* -.11 -.03