Acculturation, Family Conflict, and Mental Health in Immigrants in Norway

As globalization progresses, immigrants and children of immigrants begin to make up a larger portion of the population in Western countries, such as Norway. Given the vast ethnic backgrounds and cultural differences expected in the immigration population, it is important to understand how psychological acculturation influences mental health outcomes in immigrant communities to identify specific challenges facing a particular community. Previous studies have found that acculturation affects different immigrant groups differentially, such that gender, context of emigration, and family conflicts are hypothesized to moderate the relation between psychological acculturation and adjustment outcomes. Using data from the Dynamics of Family Conflict Study (FamilieforSK in Norwegian), a longitudinal project involving 2044 families in various regions of Norway, I will examine the effect of acculturation on adjustment outcomes as mediated by the frequency and severity of family conflicts and moderated by gender and context of emigration. In particular, I propose an empirically derived hypothesis for the disparity in acculturation between men and women, such that the experiences of acculturating women are mediated by financial situations, family dynamics of the heritage culture, and social support within the new community.