Daily hassles and distress among college students in relation to immigrant and minority status

Abstract

The study separated acculturation-specific daily hassles (outgroup and ingroup) and non-specific hassles (general and family) in their contribution to distress (depression and physical symptoms). In contrast to earlier work, generic measures of acculturation-specific hassles were developed, without reference to the respondent's specific ethnic group. University students indicated their ethnic/ cultural origins, their place of birth, and the place of birth of both parents. On this basis, eighty-three females and thirteen males were assigned to the immigrant, minority status group. Fifty females and seven males were assigned to the immigrant, non-minority group, and forty-two females and eleven males to the nonimmigrant/non-minority status group. The immigrant/minority status group reported more outgroup hassles compared to the immigrant/non-minority group. In hierarchical multiple regression analyses, the contribution of general hassles and family hassles to the prediction of depression and physical symptoms depended on the group's immigrant/minority status. In controlling for psychological adjustment, general hassles continued to predict depression only for the immigrant/minority status group. Various aspects of the results and their implications were considered.