Perceived discrimination and relative deprivation in Chinese migrant adolescents: the mediating effect of locus of control and moderating effect of duration since migration

Background Associations between perceived discrimination and relative deprivation have been observed among both general and migrant populations. However, it is unclear how, and under what conditions, perceived discrimination relates to relative deprivation, a subjective cognition and affective experience in which individuals or groups perceive themselves as disadvantaged, compared to their peers. Therefore, this study aimed to construct a moderated mediation model to examine the roles of locus of control and duration since migration in the relationship between perceived discrimination and relative deprivation among Chinese rural-to-urban migrant adolescents. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study using a convenience sampling method in three coastal cities in southeast China. We recruited 625 Chinese rural-to-urban migrant adolescents, who completed a battery of questionnaires assessing perceived discrimination, relative deprivation, locus of control, and demographic variables. Regression-based statistical mediation and moderation were conducted using the PROCESS macro for SPSS. Results After controlling for sex and age, perceived discrimination was positively associated with migrant adolescents’ relative deprivation, and external locus of control partially mediated this connection. Furthermore, the mediating effect was moderated by the duration of the migration. In relatively recently migrated adolescents, perceived discrimination was significantly related to relative deprivation through a greater external locus of control; however, this indirect association was not significant for adolescents with long-term migratory duration. Conclusion The results of our analysis expand our understanding of the link between perceived discrimination and relative deprivation. Moreover, these findings may provide practical guidance for interventions among Chinese rural-to-urban migrant adolescents to raise their social status and improve their mental health by addressing the macro-social psychological causes of relative deprivation.

The Third Transitional Identity of Migrant Adolescents. The Case of Hotel House, an Italian Multi-Ethnic Skyscraper-Ghetto

The adolescent’s identity achievement is a complex task, even more so if they are migrants living in a particular context of ethnic ghettoization. Hotel House is an enormous, isolated condominium situated on the outskirts of Porto Recanati, a small Italian town. It is a unique reality poorly studied from a social psychological perspective. The present paper aims to measure the perceived levels of self-concept clarity, self-determination, ethnic group identification, relationship with parents, depression and life satisfaction in a group of 91 adolescents (11–19 years; 30% females; 1.5 immigrant’s generation) living in this context. The analysis shows low levels of self-concept clarity and self-determination, especially in female adolescents, quite satisfactory relationships with their parents and medium levels of group identification and life satisfaction. The identification with their ethnic subgroups seems to provide a third transitional identity which works as a temporary link between native country values and host country values. The regression analysis shows significant associations: self-determination is negatively associated with depression and positively associated with the perception of life satisfaction; the father’s closeness is a negative predictor for depression and a positive predictor for life satisfaction; mother’s closeness is negatively associated with depression.

The Relationship Between Family Functioning and Internalizing Problems in Chinese Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model

Research has consistently found that poor family functioning is a risk factor for adolescents' internalizing problems. However, studies of the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relation are insufficient. In this study, we explore the association between family functioning and adolescents' internalizing problems by testing the mediating roles of positive youth development (PYD) attributes and the moderating role of migrant status. A large cross-sectional sample of 11,865 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 14.45 years, standard deviation = 1.55 years) were used to measure internalizing problems, family functioning, PYD, migrant status, and other demographic information. After controlling for covariates (age, gender, grade, and socioeconomic status), the results revealed that PYD mediated the relation between family functioning and internalizing problems. Moreover, migrant status moderated the relationship between family functioning and internalizing problems. Specifically, the effects of family functioning on internalizing problems were stronger among local-born adolescents than among migrant adolescents. The findings indicate that improving family functioning and PYD attributes may be promising approaches to prevent/reduce adolescent internalizing problems.

Perceived Discrimination and Aggression Among Chinese Migrant Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model

Previous research has showed that Chinese rural-to-urban migrant adolescents are at high risk for discrimination, negative emotions, and aggression. However, little is known about how discrimination, negative emotions, and aggression are interrelated and whether social support addressing the emotional needs of the adolescents would moderate the relationship of discrimination to aggression. This study attempts to fill these gaps. Based on prior research, it is proposed that perceived discrimination relates to reactive aggression by increasing negative emotions that foster aggressive responses to stressful events. Considering the central role that negative emotions may play, it is also hypothesized that socioemotional support provided by family, friends, and community mitigates the impact of perceived discrimination on reactive aggression by reducing negative emotions. The results obtained from the analysis of two-wave survey data collected from a probability sample of 470 migrant students aged 11–17 (46.17% female; mean age = 13.49) in China supported these hypotheses. The findings indicate that perceived discrimination fosters negative emotions, which in turn increase reactive aggression. Additionally, socioemotional support reduces the adverse impact of perceived discrimination on reactive aggression by weakening the link between perceived discrimination and negative emotions. Practical and policy implications of these findings are discussed.

Relationship Between Self-Concept, Self-Efficacy, and Subjective Well-Being of Native and Migrant Adolescents

In the last decade, the migrant population in Chile has substantially increased, where the rates have not only increased in the adult population, but also among children and adolescents, creating a potential for social and cultural development in the educational system. The present work analyzes the relationship between self-concept, self-efficacy, and subjective well-being in native and migrant adolescents in Santiago de Chile. The sample consisted of 406 students, 56.65% women, with an age range that fluctuated between 12 and 16 years, with an average of 13.36 years (SD = 0.96). Student’s t-tests were used to compare the average of the constructs evaluated between natives/migrants and boys/girls participants. Subsequently, two multivariate models of simple mediation were constructed, one for natives and another for migrants, which assumed subjective well-being as a dependent variable, academic self-concept as an independent variable and the general self-efficacy as a mediating variable. In both models, gender was considered as a control variable. Results show that migrant students present higher levels of academic self-concept and general self-efficacy than native students. There are no differences with regard to well-being. In the case of gender, differences are observed only for the case of general self-efficacy, where boys present higher levels. On the other hand, a partial mediation is observed for the model of native students and a total mediation for the model of migrant students. The study yielded interesting results regarding the differences in the evaluation of the constructs of self-concept, self-efficacy, and subjective well-being in both groups. Such data can be used as inputs for the development of public policies for adolescents.

Family Socioeconomic Status, Educational Expectations, and Academic Achievement Among Chinese Rural-to-Urban Migrant Adolescents: The Protective Role of Subjective Socioeconomic Status

The adverse impact of a low family socioeconomic status (SES) on rural-to-urban migrant children’s academic achievement has been widely demonstrated. However, knowledge regarding the mechanisms underlying this relationship is limited. The current study aimed to examine the potential mediating effects of educational expectations and the moderating effects of subjective SES on the relationship between family SES and academic achievement among Chinese rural-to-urban migrant adolescents. A sample of 321 rural-to-urban migrant adolescents (48.2% girls; mean age = 11.73 years, SD = 1.16 years) was recruited in China. The results indicated that migrant adolescents’ educational expectations mediated the relationship between family SES and academic achievement. In addition, the link between family SES and educational expectations was weak among adolescents with higher levels of subjective SES. These findings suggest that subjective SES serves as a protective factor buffering the negative effects of a low family SES on migrant adolescents’ academic achievement through educational expectations.