The Relations of Immigrant-Specific and Immigrant-Nonspecific Daily Hassles to Distress Controlling for Psychological Adjustment and Cultural Competence
Saba, F. Safdar; Clarry, H. Lay
Journal of Applied Social Psychology 33(2): 299-320
2003
ISSN/ISBN: 0021-9029 DOI: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2003.tb01898.xDocument Number: 279261
In separating immigrant-specific daily hassles (out-group, family, and in-group) from immigrant-nonspecific general hassles, the relations of hassles to depression and physical symptoms were examined. The respondents were 79 female and 85 male Iranian immigrants to Canada. In Block 1 of a hierarchical multiple regression analysis, the experience of out-group hassles and of general hassles both contributed to the prediction of depression. In Block 2, psychological adjustment and perceived cultural competence in the host society, along with out-group hassles, predicted depression. General hassles were the only predictor of physical symptoms. Psychological adjustment, as a buffer, interacted with hassles in enhancing the prediction of distress. The importance of distinguishing and accounting for both immigrant-specific and immigrant-nonspecific hassles in predicting outcome measures was considered, as was the importance of assessing dispositional variables in this context.