School achievement and well-being of immigrant children: The role of acculturation orientations and perceived discrimination

Rita Guerra,Ricardo Borges Rodrigues,Cecília Aguiar,Margarida Carmona,Joana Alexandre,Rui Costa Lopes

doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2019.07.004

Rita Guerra, Ricardo Borges Rodrigues + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2019.07.004

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Abstract

This survey study examined the role of perceived discrimination and acculturation orientations on immigrant children's achievement and well-being in the school context. Immigrant (n = 229), immigrant descendant (n = 196), and native Portuguese children (n = 168) from 4th to 6th grade participated in the study. Results showed the expected gap: immigrant and immigrant descendant children revealed lower school achievement than their native peers; but only immigrant, and not immigrant descendant children, reported lower levels of well-being and peer acceptance. Perceived discrimination was negatively related to school achievement, via an increased desire for culture maintenance, only among immigrant children. The indirect effects of perceived discrimination on well-being and peer acceptance were not significant. However, perceived discrimination was strongly related to lower well-being and acceptance, independently of the target group, suggesting that its negative association with well-being in the school context might encompass a more general process affecting both immigrant and immigrant descendant children.

Highlights

Immigrant and ethnic minority children and youth are at higher risk of social exclusion, with research showing gaps in their general well-being and school achievement relative to their native peers (Dimitrova, Chasiotis, & van de Vijver, 2016; Frankenberg, Kupper, Wagner, & Bongard, 2013; Schwartz et al, 2015; Umaña-Taylor, 2016)
We examined the relation between perceived discrimination, immigrant children’s acculturation orientations towards culture maintenance and contact with the host society, and their psychological and sociocultural adaptation
We used the PROCESS bootstrapped approach to test the hypothesized indirect effects of perceived discrimination on well-being, peer acceptance, and school achievement among immigrant and immigrant descendant children only2

Summary

Introduction

Immigrant and ethnic minority children and youth are at higher risk of social exclusion, with research showing gaps in their general well-being and school achievement relative to their native peers (Dimitrova, Chasiotis, & van de Vijver, 2016; Frankenberg, Kupper, Wagner, & Bongard, 2013; Schwartz et al, 2015; Umaña-Taylor, 2016). This study builds on approaches that highlight the importance of contextual acculturation conditions, like perceived discrimination, as predictors of acculturation orientations (Arends-Tóth & van de Vijver, 2006; Birman & Simon, 2014). It examines the role of perceived discrimination in the school context and children’s acculturation orientations on their well-being and academic achievement. The best outcomes do not come from integration in itself, but from the fit (i.e., match) between acculturation orientations adopted (or perceived) by immigrants and those of host community members (Bourhis et al, 1997; Piontkowski, Rohmann, & Florack, 2002; Schwartz, Vignoles, Brown, & Zagefka, 2014)

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