Links Between Anti-Immigration Efforts and the Psychological Well-Being of Latino Young Adults

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Keywords

Immigration, Ethnic Identity, Minority Status Stress, Well-Being

Department

Psychology

Major

Psychology

Abstract

Given the increased use of media outlets to portray biased or unbalanced views of minority groups, the current study analyzed the immediate impact of exposure to anti-immigration sentiments to the psychological well-being of Latino young adults. Informed by the social identity theory, the minority status stress model, and the rejection-identification model, we designed a mixed-experimental study that analyzes differences in mood, stress, ethnic identification, and motivation to take action across the different generations American (immigrants from Latin America, first-generation Latino Americans, second-and-up generation Latino Americans and non-Latinos), after exposure to an anti-immigration video. Participants completed an online survey that randomly assigned them to either an experimental condition involving viewing a veridical anti-immigration video or a control condition of viewing a video about multivitamins. Participants completed an ethnic identification scale prior to and after viewing their assigned video, and completed measures of positive and negative affect, stress, and motivation to take action after viewing their assigned video. As hypothesized, those who viewed the anti-immigration video exhibited significantly higher levels of negative affect and motivation to take action than those who viewed the multi-vitamin video, with first-generation Latino Americans scoring highest, followed by second generation and higher Latino Americans. Ultimately, our results indicate that, across immigration generation statuses, Latino young adults are impacted by anti-immigration messages in the media. Further, despite literature on the Rejection-Identification theory, our results indicated that European White participants, in addition to Latino participants, identified with their ethnic group significantly less after viewing the anti-immigration video.

Faculty Mentor

Dr. Joseph, Dr. Mancuso

Funding Source or Research Program

Not Identified

Presentation Session

Session B

Location

Plaza Classroom 189

Start Date

29-3-2019 3:15 PM

End Date

29-3-2019 3:30 PM

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Mar 29th, 3:15 PM Mar 29th, 3:30 PM

Links Between Anti-Immigration Efforts and the Psychological Well-Being of Latino Young Adults

Plaza Classroom 189

Given the increased use of media outlets to portray biased or unbalanced views of minority groups, the current study analyzed the immediate impact of exposure to anti-immigration sentiments to the psychological well-being of Latino young adults. Informed by the social identity theory, the minority status stress model, and the rejection-identification model, we designed a mixed-experimental study that analyzes differences in mood, stress, ethnic identification, and motivation to take action across the different generations American (immigrants from Latin America, first-generation Latino Americans, second-and-up generation Latino Americans and non-Latinos), after exposure to an anti-immigration video. Participants completed an online survey that randomly assigned them to either an experimental condition involving viewing a veridical anti-immigration video or a control condition of viewing a video about multivitamins. Participants completed an ethnic identification scale prior to and after viewing their assigned video, and completed measures of positive and negative affect, stress, and motivation to take action after viewing their assigned video. As hypothesized, those who viewed the anti-immigration video exhibited significantly higher levels of negative affect and motivation to take action than those who viewed the multi-vitamin video, with first-generation Latino Americans scoring highest, followed by second generation and higher Latino Americans. Ultimately, our results indicate that, across immigration generation statuses, Latino young adults are impacted by anti-immigration messages in the media. Further, despite literature on the Rejection-Identification theory, our results indicated that European White participants, in addition to Latino participants, identified with their ethnic group significantly less after viewing the anti-immigration video.