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
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.