Group efficacy as a moderator on the associations between perceived discrimination, acculturation orientations, and psychological well‐being

Abstract

AbstractWe investigated whether associations between perceived discrimination (PD), acculturation orientations (desire for culture maintenance and desire for contact), and well‐being (psychological well‐being and life satisfaction) were moderated by group efficacy beliefs—the extent to which group members believe in their ability to achieve social change collectively. We recruited 163 Syrian refugees (Mage = 36.43, SD = 12.68; 88 females and 75 males) from a south‐eastern city in Turkey. PD was negatively associated with desire for culture maintenance and positively associated with desire for contact, indicating an assimilation trend as a response to PD. Both acculturation orientations in turn predicted well‐being positively. However, the ones with higher group efficacy did not experience the detrimental effects of PD on well‐being and indicated a stronger desire for contacting mainstream society. Further conditional indirect effects demonstrated that only among the ones with lower group efficacy, PD was related to lower psychological well‐being through reduced culture maintenance. Findings indicate the critical role of group efficacy beliefs in the understanding of disadvantaged group members' reactions to PD.