Transnationalism, Immigration Stress and Subjective Well-Being Among Ecuadorian Immigrants in London
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2012 Transnationalism, Immigration Stress and Subjective Well-Being Among Ecuadorian Immigrants in London Lucia E. Orellana-Damacela Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Social Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Orellana-Damacela, Lucia E., "Transnationalism, Immigration Stress and Subjective Well-Being Among Ecuadorian Immigrants in London" (2012). Dissertations. 375. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/375 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 2012 Lucia E. Orellana-Damacela LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO TRANSNATIONALISM, IMMIGRATION STRESS AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING AMONG ECUADORIAN IMMIGRANTS IN LONDON A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY PROGRAM IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BY LUCIA E. ORELLANA-DAMACELA CHICAGO, ILLINOIS AUGUST 2012 Copyright by Lucia Orellana-Damacela, 2012 All rights reserved. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special thanks to Dr. R. Scott Tindale, my advisor at Loyola University Chicago, for his support, guidance, encouragement and patience. Thanks to Drs. Fred Bryant and Anne Sutter for their invaluable input in the design and analysis of this dissertation. Thanks to Dr. Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar, who was my mentor when I arrived at Loyola University, for her constant encouragement and crucial support. Many thanks to the people at the Ecuadorian Consulate in London, and to the social service organizations and Ecuadorian-owned businesses that opened their doors for me to conduct data collection at their premises. Without their help, this study could have not been possible. Above all, my most heartfelt gratitude to the dozens of London Ecuadorians, men and women, who found time out of their busy schedules to generously take part in this research. Special thanks to my loved ones: my parents Lucio (+) and Eugenia, my husband, Roque, and my beloved children, Roque Darío and Gabriela Eugenia. They have shared with me this long journey, if not in person, in spirit. Your encouragement, support, cheerfulness and love have given me strength, confidence and joy. I cannot thank you enough! iii To my parents Lucio (+) and Eugenia, my husband Roque, and to my children Roque Darío and Gabriela, with all my unconditional love. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES ix ABSTRACT x CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 Purpose of the Study 9 Structure of the Dissertation 11 CHAPTER TWO: THE ECUADORIAN COMMUNITY IN LONDON 12 Antecedents: The Ecuadorian Migration 12 Statistics of Ecuadorians in the United Kingdom 15 The Immigrant Community in London 18 The Lives of Ecuadorians in London 19 CHAPTER THREE: TRANSNATIONAL MIGRATION AND PRACTICES 24 The Transnational Migrants 27 Transnational Practices 28 Transnational Public Practices 30 Transnational Private Practices 37 Comparing Transnational Practices 44 CHAPTER FOUR: TRANSNATIONAL PRACTICES AND PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS 48 Psychosocial Antecedents to Transnational Practices 48 Integration 48 Immigration Stress 58 Subjective Well-Being variables 62 Transnational Social Support 62 Self-Esteem 64 Psychological Well-Being 67 Transnationalism and Subjective Well-Being 69 Demographic Antecedents 70 Review of Purpose of Study and Hypotheses 72 CHAPTER FIVE: METHOD 76 Participants 76 Procedure 76 Measures 77 v Analysis 87 CHAPTER SIX: RESULTS: TRANSNATIONAL PRACTICES AND THEIR ANTECEDENTS 89 Univariate Analysis of Transnational Practices and their Antecedents 90 Correlational Analysis of Transnational Practices and their Antecedents 95 Preliminary Analysis 99 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analysis of Public Transnational Practices 102 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analysis of Private Transnational Practices 104 Summary of Results of the Hierarchical Regression Analyses 108 Review of Exploratory Questions and Hypotheses Regarding Antecedents to Transnational Practices 109 CHAPTER SEVEN: RESULTS: TRANSNATIONAL PRACTICES AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING 114 Univariate Analysis of Subjective Well-Being Variables 114 Subjective Well-Being Variables Associations with Demographic, Immigration and Integration Factors 116 Analysis of the Effect of Transnational Practices on Subjective Well-Being Variables 119 Preliminary Analysis 119 Path Analyses of the Models 123 Overall Model Fit 124 Model Comparison 125 Parameter Estimates of the Complete Mediation Model 128 Analysis of Mediation and Indirect Effects 128 The Private Transnationalism—Self-Esteem—Psychological Well-Being Path 130 The Immigration Stress—Self-Esteem—Psychological Well-Being Path 132 Bootstrapping Analysis of Multiple Mediation 133 Post-Hoc Analysis 135 Summary of Results 138 CHAPTER EIGHT: DISCUSSION 141 Engagement in Transnational Practices 142 Engagement in Transnational Private Practices 142 Engagement in Transnational Public Practices 144 Antecedents to Transnational Practices 146 Effect of Demographic, Immigration and Integration Variables on Subjective Well-Being 152 Transnational Practices and Subjective Well-Being 157 Limitations 164 Future Directions 168 Conclusions 169 vi APPENDIX A: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OF RESPONDENTS 174 APPENDIX B: CONSENT FORM 177 APPENDIX C: QUESTIONNAIRE 182 REFERENCE LIST 197 VITA 220 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page Table 1: Percentage of Respondents Engaging in each Transnational Practice During the Last Year, Means and Standard Deviations 93 Table 2: Intercorrelations among Items of the Transnational Practices 94 Questionnaire Table 3: Correlations of Demographics, Immigration and Integration with Transnational Practices 99 Table 4: Hierarchical Regression Analysis for Demographics, Immigration and Private Transnational Practices Predicting Public Transnationalism 106 Table 5: Hierarchical Regression Analysis for Demographics, Immigration and Public Transnational Practices Predicting Private Transnationalism 107 Table 6: Correlations between Transnational Practices and Subjective Well-Being Variables 116 Table 7: Correlations of Demographics, Immigration and Integration with Subjective Well-Being Variables 118 Table 8: Mediation of the Effects of Private Transnationalism and Immigration Stress on Psychological Well-Being through Self- Esteem and Transnational Social Support 135 Table 9: Percentage of Engagement on Transnational Private Practices among Ecuadorians Immigrants 144 Table 10: Percentage of Engagement on Transnational Public Practices among Latin American Immigrants 146 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page Figure 1: Model of Complete Mediation of the Relationship between Immigration Stress, Transnational Practices, Self-Esteem, Transnational Social Support and Psychological Well-Being 74 Figure 2: Model of Partial Mediation of the Relationship between Immigration Stress, Transnational Practices, Self-Esteem, Transnational Social Support and Psychological Well-Being 75 Figure 3: Standardized Estimates of the Model of Partial Mediation of the Effect of Transnational Practices on Psychological Well-Being 126 Figure 4: Standardized Estimates of the Model of Complete Mediation of the Effect of Transnational Practices on Psychological Well-Being 127 Figure 5: Test of Self-Esteem as a Mediator between Private Transnationalism and Psychological Well-Being 132 Figure 6: Test of Self-Esteem as a Mediator between Immigration Stress and Psychological Well-Being 133 Figure 7: Modified Model: Standardized Estimates of the Effect of Transnational Practices on Psychological-Well-Being 137 ix ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore antecedents to transnational practices among Ecuadorian immigrants in London, and to determine the connection between these practices and their subjective well-being. The study examined the extent to which Ecuadorians stay linked to their home country via various transnational practices, and the association with relevant demographic, immigration and integration factors. This research also aimed at examining the relations that immigration stress and transnational practices had with subjective well-being, as measured by perceived transnational social support, self-esteem, and psychological well-being. Overall, the findings from this study indicate that gender, socio-economic status, having family in Ecuador, network integration and expectation to return to Ecuador are key to understanding London Ecuadorians’ likelihood of engaging in transnational activities. These variables, however, impacted private and public transnational practices differently. Likewise, engaging in transnational private or public practices had different effects on subjective well-being. Whereas engagement in private transnationalism had direct positive effects on both perceived transnational social support and self-esteem, engagement in public transnational activities did not have any effect on the measures of subjective well-being included. Immigration stress had significant negative impact on both self-esteem and psychological well-being, and was unrelated to transnational activities. x CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Migration, like most human experiences, is a unique event for each individual involved, while at the same