Examining the Relationship Between Acculturation and Socioeconomic Status and Their Role for the First Generation Polish Immigrants’ Well-Being

Abstract

Studies investigating the relationship between acculturation, socioeconomic status (SES), and well-being in migrant populations have brought discrepant results. This paper offers a possible explanation of such discrepancies by focusing on the relationship between different indicators of acculturation and SES, in addition to their effects on well-being. Language proficiency, length of stay, social contacts, and sense of belonging were the acculturation indicators included in the analysis. SES was measured through subjective financial situation. A proposed path model specified a pattern of direct and indirect relationships between variables. The data was collected from first generation Polish immigrants living in the city of Vienna (N = 307). Both fitted models, of life satisfaction and happiness, achieved a good fit to the data (χ2 (7) = 6.02, p = .537, SRMR = .022; χ2 (7) = 7.45, p = .384, SRMR = .026, respectively). The results demonstrated that SES, measured as subjective economic situation, is at least partially predicted by the two most popular indicators of acculturation: language proficiency and length of stay. Furthermore, both belonging and subjective financial situation were directly and positively associated with immigrants’ well-being. Acculturation, therefore, can be associated with immigrant’s well-being directly as well as indirectly through SES. These findings suggest that distinguishing between different indicators of acculturation is crucial for understanding the complex relationship between acculturation and SES, and that it can be beneficial for future studies to include their mutual relationships in the tested models rather than juxtaposing SES and acculturation while trying to predict well-being.