Acculturation orientations, acculturative stress and psychological well-being on Latin American immigrants settled in Santiago, Chile

Abstract In Chile, the significant increase of migratory flows from Latin America has drawn attention to the psychological and socio-cultural adjustment processes of new immigrants. This paper seeks to (i) establish relationships between acculturation orientations, acculturative stress and psychological well-being, (ii) identify profiles according to acculturation preferences, and (iii) determine the existence of significant differences in stress and well-being between these profiles. This correlational study was conducted with a sample of (N=194) Latin American immigrants with ages between 18 and 67 years (M=34.77; DE=10.181), where acculturation orientations, acculturation stress and psychological well-being were evaluated. Results indicate that the predominance of integration is more salutogenic than the tendency to cultural separation as a preeminent orientation, facilitating a better coping with the stressors of the migratory process. Three acculturative profiles were found: moderate individualist, integrationist and separatist. The comparison between profiles shows that when integration is predominant, well-being is greater than in the presence of individualism as the principal orientation. This study provides evidence regarding individualism as an acculturation orientation scarcely considered in the literature, whose possible negative influence can be related to group membership as a way to access resources that collaborate with adaptation to the new context.