Acculturation, coping styles, and mental health of first generation Kenyan immigrants in the United States.

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationships among acculturation, acculturative stress, transnationalism, and coping styles among first generation Kenyan immigrants in the United States. This study also investigated the effects of these variables on health outcomes in this immigrant sample. A web-based survey was administered to 209 Kenyans residing in the United States. Questionnaire items assessed levels of American, Kenyan, and Bicultural acculturation, acculturative stress, social support, religious coping, transnational contacts/ties, and demographic factors. Health outcome items assessed depressive and somatic symptoms, and subjective health ratings. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to determine the relationships among study variables. Independent sample t-tests and one-way analyses of variance were used to examine group differences in study variables. Results indicated that higher utilization of religious coping strategies were associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms. Female participants also reported higher levels of depressive symptoms and subjective health compared to males. Results also revealed that higher levels of acculturative stress were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms and poor subjective health ratings. With respect to acculturation, results revealed that younger age was associated with American acculturation, while older age was associated with Kenyan acculturation. Findings also indicated that male participants reported higher levels of American, Kenyan, and Bicultural acculturation compared to females. Transnational contact was positively associated with Kenyan and Bicultural acculturation. With regard to coping styles, results revealed that religious coping was associated with older age, shorter length of stay in the U.S., female gender, and transnational ties. These findings suggest that choice of coping styles and acculturation of Kenyan immigrants in the U.S. are affected by demographic factors and transnational ties. In addition, findings suggest that health outcomes are influenced by coping styles, acculturative stress, and demographic factors. These findings contribute to the understanding of the acculturation experience of Kenyan immigrants in the U.S. and indicate the need for further study of adjustment processes in this population. Clinically, these findings may be utilized in the development of culturally-sensitive mental health interventions for Kenyan immigrants in the U.S.PhDBlack studiesClinical psychologyCultural anthropologyPsychologySocial SciencesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/126528/2/3253373.pd