Crossroads: The Psychology of Immigration in the New Century

Immigrant workers may experience employer discrimination
based on race, ethnicity, immigration status, and
socioeconomic status (de Castro, Fujishiro, Schweitzer,
& Oliva, 2006). They report that nonimmigrant workers
receive better treatment and that there is a hierarchy among
immigrant groups, with preferential treatment given in
various contexts (de Castro et al., 2006). Some immigrant
workers lack English proficiency, which affects their
employment prospects. However, some are disadvantaged by
their accents because some employers prefer certain accents
to others. In a comparison of French- and Japanese-accented
job applicants, those with Japanese accents fared worse in
employment-related decisions, particularly for jobs with high
communication demands, even after controlling for applicant
understandability, while
French-accented applicants
were viewed as favorably
as, or more favorably than,
standard American Englishaccented
applicants (Hosoda
& Stone-Romero, 2010).
Employment difficulties
have been found to impact
immigrants’ mental health.
Loss of occupational status
can lead to feelings of
frustration, uselessness, and
anger (G. Lee & Westwood, 1996). Employment difficulties
have been associated with depression and anxiety (Grzywacz,
Quandt, Arcury, & Marín, 2005) and are among the risk
factors for perpetrating intimate partner violence (World
Health Organization, 2002). Meaningful employment can
help the immigrant adjustment process by decreasing feelings
of isolation; contributing to the building of new social
networks; and providing opportunities for new friendships,
cultural learning, and development of English-language skills
(Yakushko, Backhaus, et al., 2008).
Parenting and Caregiving
Being a parent in a new country can pose unique challenges
and opportunities. An important goal for immigrant parents
is increasing opportunities for their children. This is also true
in the case of immigrants who, for financial reasons, leave
their children in their country of origin (Paris, 2008). In
cases of separation from children, parents may be at risk for
psychological stress, including isolation, depression, anxiety,
and substance abuse. Immigration often requires family
Life Span Considerations
Immigrants who simultaneously care
for their children, their parents, and
extended family members in the new
country and in the country of origin
face challenges in navigating multiple
social and cultural contexts and tend
to endure high levels of stress due to
the breadth of their caregiving roles.
members to change roles and often strains normative gender
and generational hierarchies (Tummala-Narra, 2004). Further,
separation from the usual country of origin supports (e.g.,
extended family and friends) can create further stress for
parents and caregivers (C. Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco,
2001).
Another potential source of stress may be differences in what
is considered “good parenting” by teachers, mental health
providers, and parents. For example, Domenech Rodríguez,
Donovick, and Crowley (2009) found that the majority of
Latino immigrant parents did not fall into any of the four
primary parenting styles recognized by the literature and
instead fit best into a new category labeled “protective.”
This study calls into question the efficacy of mainstream
parenting interventions for
Latino immigrant parents if
these parenting interventions
are based on assumptions that
are not valid for many Latino
immigrant parents. Immigrants
who simultaneously care for
their children, their parents,
and extended family members
in the new country and in
the country of origin face
challenges in navigating
multiple social and cultural
contexts and tend to endure high levels of stress due to the
breadth of their caregiving roles (Brownell & Fenley, 2009).
older adults
Some immigrants have been in the United States for much
of their lives and are aging into older adulthood. Others may
return to their countries of origin in older adulthood or
immigrate with their adult children. Many immigrant older
adults are no longer in a position to enter the labor force,
becoming dependent on their adult children (A. M. Miller,
Sorokin, et al., 2006) and at times isolated from mainstream
society due to difficulties with language, employment, new
neighborhoods, and transportation (A. M. Miller, Birman, et
al., 2009). Acculturation tends to occur slowly and not always
in the expected direction. In one study of older immigrants
from the former Soviet Union, English-language competence
slightly increased at first and then declined the longer they
lived in the United States (A. M. Miller, Wang, et al., 2009).
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