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Only Real When Shared: Social Well-Being, Collective Efficacy, and Social Networks Among Immigrant Emerging Adults in Spain

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Well-Being of Youth and Emerging Adults across Cultures

Part of the book series: Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology ((CAPP,volume 12))

Abstract

Achieving satisfactory levels of social well-being may be challenging for minority groups and especially for immigrant youth. This chapter aims to compare levels of social well-being between female and male host national and immigrant emerging adults in Spain. We also analysed the role of perceived collective efficacy and social networks for immigrants’ perceptions of discrimination and social well-being. A sample of 232 young immigrants from Latin America, Africa, and Romania living in Spain, as well as their 49 host national counterparts, filled in a questionnaire measuring perceived personal and group discrimination, ethnic and host support networks, collective efficacy, and social well-being. We found that young Romanian females reported higher social contribution compared to young host national females. Also, young Romanian females reported higher social acceptance compared to their African counterparts. Among males, host support networks, low perceived group discrimination, and collective efficacy were positively associated with immigrants’ social well-being. In contrast, among females, co-ethnic support networks, low perceived group but also personal discrimination was linked to social well-being. Perceived collective efficacy and host (but not co-ethnic) support networks were negatively related with perceived discrimination and thus positively associated with young immigrants’ social well-being. Together, this chapter expands research on social well-being across ethnic minorities.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the following Research Grants: MICINN (PSI2008-02689/PSIC/PSI2014-51923-P), GIC07/113-IT-255-07, as well as by a Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation Predoctoral Fellowship Program Grant awarded to Magdalena Bobowik: AP2008-01980.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Psychology and Methodology of Behaviour Sciences, Psychology Faculty, University of the Basque Country, Avenida Tolosa 70, 20018, San Sebastián, Spain

    Magdalena Bobowik & Nekane Basabe

  2. Escuela de Psicología, Universidad Católica del Norte, Chile Avda. Angamos 0610, 1270709, Antofagasta, Chile

    Anna Wlodarczyk

Authors
  1. Magdalena Bobowik
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  2. Nekane Basabe
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  3. Anna Wlodarczyk
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Correspondence to Magdalena Bobowik .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Radosveta Dimitrova

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Bobowik, M., Basabe, N., Wlodarczyk, A. (2017). Only Real When Shared: Social Well-Being, Collective Efficacy, and Social Networks Among Immigrant Emerging Adults in Spain. In: Dimitrova, R. (eds) Well-Being of Youth and Emerging Adults across Cultures . Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68363-8_11

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