The role of self-esteem in the relationship between anxiety and depression of Albanian and Indian immigrants in Greece.

Abstract

Ιmmigrants' psychological health has been the focus of many studies as it is a timely subject due to the increasing numbers of immigrants and refugees who enter Greece the recent decades, and the resulting anxiety that this process brings about to the individual. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between immigrants' and Greeks' anxiety, self-esteem and depression. In addition, the present study aimed to compare the psychological health between immigrants and Greeks. The participants were 115 Albanian, 118 Indian immigrants, and 116 Greeks. Τhe Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the CES-D Scale, and the State Anxiety Inventory were administrated for measuring self-esteem, depression, and anxiety, respectively. To test the bivariate relationships between the study variables, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were calculated. The potential differences of psychological health between immigrant groups were examined with ANOVA, and multiple linear regression was used to predict the variance of depression by self-esteem and anxiety, after controlling for ethnicity and demographics. Moreover, moderation analysis was used to examine the moderation role of self-esteem in the relationship between anxiety and depression and possible differences between ethnic groups. In line with our hypotheses, immigrants had higher levels of depression and lower self-esteem scores, compared to Greeks. However, Indians reported the lower levels of anxiety compared to both Albanians and Greeks. Differences were also observed between the two immigrant groups, with Albanians experiencing more mental health problems than Indians. Both self-esteem and anxiety explained a large proportion of the variance of depression in immigrants (45%), thus substantiating our theoretical model (i.e., depression depends on individuals' anxiety and self-esteem). Consistent to our expectations too, self-esteem was a moderator in the relationship between anxiety and depression; no differences between ethnic groups were observed though (e.g., the level of self-esteem acted protectively in the same way in Albanians, Indians, and Greeks). Despite the limitations, the findings of this study could be particularly useful to clinicians working with immigrants. Coping effectively with anxiety and enhancing immigrants' self-esteem could be tailored-based targets for both prevention and intervention programs.Ιmmigrants' psychological health has been the focus of many studies as it is a timely subject due to the increasing numbers of immigrants and refugees who enter Greece the recent decades, and the resulting anxiety that this process brings about to the individual. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between immigrants' and Greeks' anxiety, self-esteem and depression. In addition, the present study aimed to compare the psychological health between immigrants and Greeks. The participants were 115 Albanian, 118 Indian immigrants, and 116 Greeks. Τhe Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the CES-D Scale, and the State Anxiety Inventory were administrated for measuring self-esteem, depression, and anxiety, respectively. To test the bivariate relationships between the study variables, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were calculated. The potential differences of psychological health between immigrant groups were examined with ANOVA, and multiple linear regression was used to predict the variance of depression by self-esteem and anxiety, after controlling for ethnicity and demographics. Moreover, moderation analysis was used to examine the moderation role of self-esteem in the relationship between anxiety and depression and possible differences between ethnic groups. In line with our hypotheses, immigrants had higher levels of depression and lower self-esteem scores, compared to Greeks. However, Indians reported the lower levels of anxiety compared to both Albanians and Greeks. Differences were also observed between the two immigrant groups, with Albanians experiencing more mental health problems than Indians. Both self-esteem and anxiety explained a large proportion of the variance of depression in immigrants (45%), thus substantiating our theoretical model (i.e., depression depends on individuals' anxiety and self-esteem). Consistent to our expectations too, self-esteem was a moderator in the relationship between anxiety and depression; no differences between ethnic groups were observed though (e.g., the level of self-esteem acted protectively in the same way in Albanians, Indians, and Greeks). Despite the limitations, the findings of this study could be particularly useful to clinicians working with immigrants. Coping effectively with anxiety and enhancing immigrants' self-esteem could be tailored-based targets for both prevention and intervention programs.