Abstract
This study examined the level of happiness among adolescents whose families are from India, in comparison to Portuguese adolescents who did not go through an acculturation process. It also examined if happiness can be predicted by demographic and mental health factors. There were 542 adolescent participants. Of these, 366 were Portuguese and 175 belonged to families coming from India. The participants completed the Oxford Happiness Inventory, the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, the Satisfaction With Life Scale and a short biographical form. The hypotheses were partially supported. Indian adolescents from an immigrant background living in Portugal showed more happiness than Portuguese adolescents. Psychological constructs (self-esteem, satisfaction with life and loneliness) were more important in the prediction of happiness than the sociodemographic variables. With immigrant youth showing good psychological adaptation, our study lends further support to several studies from the USA suggesting that immigrant children generally adapt well and in some cases better than their national peers.
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