Mothers' Narratives on their Immigration Experiences: Associations with Maternal Relatedness and Adolescent Adjustment.

Abstract

We examined the hypothesis that lower maternal relatedness mediates the associations of immigrant mothers' acculturative stress and lack of benefit finding in immigration with poorer adjustment of their adolescents in terms of more externalizing problems and lower school achievements and self-worth. Participants were 93 adolescents (47.31% girls, Mage =16.04) and their mothers (Mage =45.83) from middle-class families. Mothers immigrated to Israel from the Former Soviet Union or Western countries (Myears-in-Israel =19.75). We used a multimethod multi-informant approach that included a novel narrative procedure for assessing acculturative stress and benefit finding. Structural Equation Modeling supported the hypothesis, suggesting that research on and practice with adolescents in immigrant families should consider the meaning parents derive from their immigration experiences.