Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Félix Neto
&
Maria da Conceição Pinto
Universidade do Porto, Portugal
Address correspondence relating to this paper to Félix Neto, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da
Educacão, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Manuel Pereira da Silva, 4200-392 Porto; email:
fneto@fpce.up.pt. This work was supported by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation,
Grant Nº PTDC/PSI/69887/2006. The authors are grateful to one anonymous reviewer for the thoughtful
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Happiness and migration
Abstract
This study examined the level of happiness among adolescents whose families are
from India, in comparison to Portuguese adolescents who did not go through an
acculturation process. It examined also if happiness can be predicted by demographic
and mental health factors. There were 542 adolescent participants. Three hundred and
sixty six were Portuguese and 175 belonged to families coming from India. The
participants completed the Oxford Happiness Inventory, the Revised UCLA Loneliness
Scale, the Satisfaction With Life Scale, and a short biographical form. The hypotheses
were partially supported. Indian adolescents from an immigrant background living in
Portugal showed more happiness than Portuguese adolescents. Psychological constructs
(self-esteem, satisfaction with life, and loneliness) were more important in the
prediction of happiness than the sociodemographic variables. With immigrant youth
showing good psychological adaptation, our study lends further support to several
studies from the United States, suggesting that immigrant children generally adapt well
and in some cases better than their national peers.
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Happiness and migration
Migration has often been viewed as a highly stressful process and a number of
studies have explored its psychological impact by focusing on the prevalence of mental
illness in different immigrant groups (e.g., Cochrane, 1977; Rack, 1988). However,
such studies tend to define mental ill health in terms of admissions to psychiatric
hospitals, thus limiting the area of study to the more severe forms of psychological
distress.
affect, lack of negative affect and life satisfaction (Diener, Oishi, & Lucas, 2003). The
living in Portugal and young Portuguese living in the same country without migratory
experience.
Happiness
It was not until comparatively recently that psychologists looked at the correlates,
theoretical perspective, Argyle and Crossland (1987) suggest that happiness comprises
three components: the frequency and degree of positive affect or joy; the average level
of satisfaction over a period; and the absence of negative feelings, such as depression
and anxiety. Working from this definition, they developed the Oxford Happiness
Inventory. The validation study (Argyle, Martin, & Crossland, 1989) of the Oxford
reliability of 0.78. Validity was established against happiness ratings by friends and by
correlations with measures of positive affect, negative affect and life satisfaction.
3
Happiness and migration
A series of studies employing the Oxford Happiness Inventory has begun to map
the correlates of the operational definition of happiness (Argyle, Martin, & Lu, 1995).
For example, positive predictors of happiness have been identified as social competence
(Argyle & Lu, 1990), social skills and cooperativeness (Lu & Argyle, 1992) and
engagement in a serious leisure activity (Lu & Argyle, 1994). Lu and Argyle (1992)
found an inverse relationship between happiness and the total time spent watching
television. Other studies have reported significant relationships between happiness and
self-esteem (Lu & Argyle, 1991), coping styles (Rim, 1993) and religiosity (Robbins &
Francis, 1996).
Further evidence of the construct validity of the Oxford Happiness Inventory has
Canada (Francis, Brown, Lester & Phillipchalk, 1998). This study has demonstrated that
& Cheng, 1999). In China and Britain, but not in Japan, neuroticism is a negative
predictor of happiness, while in Britain, psychoticism too plays a small part, being
Whereas a series of studies have already been conducted about the psychological
family background and the happiness of immigrants has been relatively neglected.
recognizing the fact that the minorities can be targets of prejudice, certain questions can
emerge: can happiness fluctuate depending on the culture and the belonging to a
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Happiness and migration
diverse cultures? In this article we will examine some answers to these questions
comparing the level of happiness of adolescents from Indian families with immigrant
Indians in Portugal
(Neto & Mullet, 1998; Neto, 2008). If emigration in this country has an old tradition,
Portugal has recently become an immigration country. In 1498 Vasco da Gama arrived
in India. The Portuguese remained in India until 1961. After the integration of Goa,
Damao and Diu in the Indian Union, many Indians came to Portugal. A new wave from
Mozambique came immediately after decolonization (1974-75), but it was in the 80s
There are no current statistics on the number of people from India living in
Portugal. The Embassy of India in Portugal estimates the ethnic Indian community and
Indians in Portugal together would number approximately around 70, 000, including
seven thousand with Indian passports. According to the Center of the Department of
Immigration, Control and Tutors Documentary supplied by the Foreign Service (SEF),
there are currently 15 thousand Indians awaiting citizenship. Data for 2005 from Central
records, estimates that there are only 1623 Indian citizens authorized to reside and work
in Portugal, and 3353 with authorization to stay until 2010 as people who can live in the
country and pursue a work of subordinates, but do not have the freedom to travel in the
There are four distinct communities (Hindus, Muslins, Ismaeliens, and Roman
Catholics of Goa). They differ not only in religion, but also by education: Goans have
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Happiness and migration
high educational and occupational standing compared with other groups. The Indian
community in Portugal specialize their activities (usually with a family) in retail trade of
products imported from the East, as well restaurants and other services marked by
ethnic origin. This community is well integrated in the country and has a low rate of
The purpose of this investigation was two-fold. The first objective was to examine
whether migration has an effect on happiness, thus in the present study we aimed to
One basic question about bicultural individuals is whether they are confused
outsiders or special individuals with a broader understanding (Bhugra & Jones, 2001;
Berry, Phinney, Sam, & Vedder, 2006). Until recently, the dominant western view of
the multiethnic person was portrayed as troubled and anxious outsider who lacked a
clear identity (e.g., Nakashima, 1992). However, the results of recent empirical research
Alipuria, 1996). Two studies have shown that young Portuguese living in France did not
differ on loneliness and satisfaction with life from young Portuguese who had never
migrated and were living in Portugal (Neto, 1995, 1999). The same could also be found
Thus, the previously negative picture has been replaced by a more optimistic one.
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Happiness and migration
risks are in themselves not a destiny (Beiser et al., 1988). The immigrant group of
interest in this study are adolescents of second generation (born in receiving country, or
arriving before the age of 7). Focusing on adolescents instead of young children is
warranted because adolescents are in a better position to report on their own adaptation.
With younger children, mainly teacher or parent reports may have to be used.
with immigrant background in Portugal with their host peers. We examined whether
The second aim was to examine if happiness can be predicted by demographic and
involvement, and being currently in love. Although female teenagers report more
negative affects, they also seem to have experienced greater joys, so that little difference
in global happiness is usually found between the genders (Diener, 1984; Neto, 2001a).
happiness. Most studies on church attendance and participation in religious groups show
positive relations to well-being (Argyle, 2001). Argyle (2001) reported that religion
but also on general happiness, mental and physical health. Thus we expected to find that
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Happiness and migration
experienced as being more happy (Argyle, 2001; Neto, 2005). Falling in love is for most
people a very positive experience. Thus we expect to find that participants being in love
(Diener et al., 1999). For example, Andrews & Withey (1976) gave a figure of less than
Thus it is important to examine other factors related to happiness, and we will consider
also the link between happiness and other mental health constructs: self-esteem,
satisfaction with life, and loneliness. Self-esteem refers to the affective valence
attributed to the self. In Western cultures self-esteem is a factor associated with high
levels of subjective well-being (Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999). Satisfaction with
chosen criteria. Judgments are based on a comparison with a standard which each
(Peplau & Perlman, 1982). Unhappiness seems to be related to the quality of or social
relationships. The research suggests that loneliness is associated with different affective
states as being unhappy (Fischer & Philips, 1982; Neto, 2001a). These three variables
frequency and degree of positive affect; satisfaction with life is related to the level of
satisfaction; and loneliness is related to the absence of negative feelings. These negative
feelings are closely related to neuroticism which has been found to be correlated with
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Happiness and migration
In summary, in this study we set out to explore both the level of happiness among
adolescents with immigrant background and its predictors. Specifically, on the basis of
influence the level of happiness, but gender will not influence it.
happiness and self-esteem and satisfaction with life, and a negative correlation between
satisfaction with life and loneliness will account for the larger part of the explained
METHOD
Participants
The participants were 541 students (257 males and 284 females), aged 16 to 19 (M
age 17.6 yr., SD = 1.19), who were enrolled in high education school in the Lisbon area.
Three hundred and sixty six (166 males and 200 females) were Portuguese and 175 (91
males and 84 females) were Indian from immigrant families (Table 1). The
ethnocultural groups were not significantly associated with gender (X2=.15, df=1,
p>.05).
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Happiness and migration
Material
Happiness Inventory (Argyle, Martin, & Crossland, 1989; Neto, 2001a), the Revised
UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, 1980; Neto, 1992) and the
Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) (Diener et al.,1985; Neto, 1993a, 2002). These
three scales have been previously adapted for the Portuguese population. In designing
short biographical form. Beyond asking the sex, age, religion, and ethnicity, other
questions were asked such as, if the participants were currently in love. Also included
was one item as a measure of self-esteem: "the way I feel about myself generally is "
(Hendrick, & Hendrick, 1988; Neto, 1993b). This item had appropriately labelled 5-
Procedure
Participants were asked to fill out the questionnaire in the school environment. It
took about 30 min to complete. Authorization from administrative bodies and parents,
and consent from the adolescents were obtained before the questionnaires were
administered. The confidentiality was stressed and the response rate was above 95%.
RESULTS
The internal consistency coefficient of the Oxford Happiness Inventory was .91
for the Indian sample and also .91 for the Portuguese sample. The internal consistency
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Happiness and migration
coefficient of the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale was .85 for the Indian sample and
.83 for the Portuguese sample. The internal consistency coefficient of the Life
Satisfaction Scale was .85 for the Indian sample and also .85 for the Portuguese sample.
Thus the internal consistency of the scales seem adequate for both ethnocultural groups.
included to assess in an orderly way some of the potential suppositions about how
The means and F ratio for OHI are shown in Table 2 for several background
variables. The F ratio for each one-way analysis is shown at the top of the relevant
column of means.
F(1, 540)=5.95, p<.05, η2 =.01. Indian adolescents scored higher on happiness (M=41.7)
than Portuguese adolescents who did not go through an acculturation process (M=38.8).
nonbelievers/nonattendees (M=35.6).
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Happiness and migration
Currently in love. There was a significant effect of being in love now on happiness
F(1, 537)=4.90, p<.05, η2=.01. Clearly, participants “in love now” were happier
As can be seen in Table 3 for both ethnocultural groups the correlations between
happiness, and satisfaction with life and self-esteem were significant and positive, and
the correlation between happiness, and loneliness was also significant in a negative
religious involvement, and love status) were first introduced in the model (in Step 1)
and then the psychological characteristics (self-esteem, satisfaction with life, and
loneliness) (in the Step 2). Because of differences in the degree of happiness among the
ethnocultural groups, happiness was regressed separately for Indian and Portuguese
participants. This was done in order to see whether there were differences in factors
accounting for happiness among the different ethnocultural groups (Table 4). The
combined explained variance following the introduction of the demographic factors was
4% for the Indian adolescents and 5% for the Portuguese adolescents. For the Indian
adolescents only gender contributed significantly to the model and for the Portuguese
introducing the psychological factors, the explained variance increased to 41% for both
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Happiness and migration
samples. For Indian adolescents there were two factors that contributed significantly to
the model: self-esteem and satisfaction with life. For Portuguese adolescents there were
five factors that contributed significantly to the model: satisfaction with life, self-
DISCUSSION
This study explored the degree of happiness among adolescents with Indian
acculturation process, and the factors that may be related to the level of happiness
among them. Four hypotheses were put forward, and these were partially supported.
Before presenting the findings, they should be interpreted cautiously since our
conclusions are bound by several limitations in our data. First, the basic design of
from ours; they should proceed cautiously. The roles of acculturation factors may vary
in other contexts (Berry et al., 2006). However the results of this study replicate earlier
findings and demonstrate some of the wide network of background and psychological
Using national youth as our comparison group, our results indicated that Indian
immigrant youth as a group were happier than their national peers. In other words,
studies (e.g., Neto, 1995; 1999; 2002; Phinney and Alipuria, 1996) we found that
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Happiness and migration
origin. Adolescents whose families were from India living in Portugal had not shown
lower levels of happiness in relation to the young Portuguese who had always lived in
the country. On the contrary, young Indians with immigrant background families were
found to be happier than young Portuguese. Therefore, the notion that the geographic
children seems to be incorrect. These results are in agreement with the conclusion that
the majority of immigrants adapt well in host societies, despite the difficulties that they
may find in the cultural changes and the fact of living in the confluence of two or more
relationships stressed by Indian culture. As Myers and Diener (1995) have noted: happy
individuals not only have specific traits but also have strong relationships. Two aspects
of social network family (relationships with parents) and school (peer relations and
people’s mental well-being and social adjustment (Argyle, 2001). Many researchers like
Herz and Gullone (1999) argue that the quality of the parent-child relationship has a
Our study lacked information on such family processes and in the absence of such
gender difference in happiness, namely that boys were happier than girls in both
ethnocultural groups. This finding is not in line with previous studies among migrants’
second generation nor in accordance with findings among adults (Imamoglu et al.,
1993; Warr and Payne, 1992). Although female teenagers reported more negative
affects, they also seemed to have experienced greater joys, so that little difference in
14
Happiness and migration
global happiness or satisfaction was usually found between the genders. Diener (1984)
reported only two studies where a modest interaction with age was found. However, it
has previously been found that in Portugal male teenagers have higher mean scores on
satisfaction with life than the female teenagers (Neto, 1993a). Future research must
confirmed in accord with diverse research (Argyle, 2001) that religiosity was linked
positively with happiness. People involved in religion may be happier than others for
many reasons. Three factors have been given serious consideration within psychology
(Argyle, 2000). First, religion provides a coherent belief system that allows people to
find meaning in life and hope for the future. Religious belief systems allow people to
make sense of the adversities, stresses and inevitable losses which occur over the course
of the life cycle and to be optimistic about an afterlife in which these difficulties will be
resolved. Second, involvement in routine attendance at religious services and being part
Participants who were in love at present were happier than were participants who
were not in love. Lovers really do wear rose-coloured glasses (Hendrick & Hendrick,
1988; Neto & Pinto, 2003). Whether someone is in love or not appears to affect
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Happiness and migration
The data supported the expected relationship between happiness and mental health
measures. A significant association has been found with the frequency and the degree of
positive affect, such as self-esteem and the level of satisfaction over a period, such as
satisfaction with life, and the absence of negative feelings, such as loneliness. The
The fourth hypothesis was also supported by the data. Our regression models
indicated that about 41% of the explained variance of happiness could be accounted for
by the combined demographic and psychological factors. Less than 6% of the explained
Andrews and Withey (1976) gave a figure of less than 10% of the variance in subjective
well-being accounted for by all the demographics they assessed. In this vein Diener
(1984) concluded that taken together, demographic variables probably do not account
for much more than 15% of the variance. Neto (1995, 2001b) and Sam (1998) also
found that demographic factors were less relevant to the understanding of life
psychological factors, which are more amenable to change, than at demographic factors,
combined with mental health factors were self-esteem and satisfaction with life. The
adaptation to a new cultural context can involve a lot of challenges. If one feels a sense
of self-worth, one’s sense of happiness improves. The fact that persons with a high level
of self-esteem have higher feelings of happiness is consistent with earlier studies (Neto,
1995; Sam, 1998). Many previous studies show that self-esteem is a major factor of
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Happiness and migration
develop a better sense of self-worth may improve the global assessment of happiness.
With immigrant youth showing good psychological adaptation, our study lends
further support to several studies from the United States, suggesting that immigrant
children generally adapt well and in some cases better than their national peers (Fuligni,
1998).
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Table 1
Description of the sample by ethnocultural group, age, and gender
Males Females M SD
Gender F=12.77***
Males 175 41.9a
Females 684 37.9b
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Happiness and migration
Happiness
Indian Portuguese
Loneliness -.15* -.29***
Satisfaction with life .43*** .53***
Self-esteem .57*** .52***
*p<.05; **p<.01; ***p<.001.
Indians
Demographic predictors (Stepwise)
1. Gender .20 .04 -.20 -2.72**
Portuguese
Demographic predictors (Stepwise)
1. Religious involvement .18 .03 -.18 -3.39**
2. Gender .22 .05 -.14 -2.72**
22