Migration, Adaptation, and Health: Cross-Cultural Study

Rumbaut, Ruben

Abstract

This is a proposal for a 2 1/2-year longitudinal, cross-cultual study of adaptation and health of Indochinese migrants in San Diego County. A multivariate, multiple regression model, based on a stress-adaptation perspective, is proposed to measure and specify the interrelationships between three sets of variables: stressful life events, adaptional resources, and adaptational outcomes. One objective is to identify and explain the paths that lead to differential adaptation outcomes in a context of severe resettlement pressures and constraints. Bilingual interviews will be conducted at two time periods (T1 andT2) with a representative sample of 300 Indochinese households comprising 5 ethnocultural groups: Cambodian, Hmong, Lao, Vietnamese, and ethnic Chinese Vietnamese. At these interviews, data will be collected on the adaptive experience of randomly selected adult males and females, adolescents and children. Following T1 analysis, a typologically selected subsample of 50 households will be interviewed in depth to enhance the quantitative findings with qualitative data, and to explore the complex psychosocial linkages between adaptational resources and outcomes. Migration life ev ents will be scaled via a weighting method to obtain an objective measure of stressfulness. """"""""Adaptational resources"""""""" are conceptualized to include demographic """"""""preparedness"""""""" characteristics, the mode of economic and cultural integration, and the quantity and quality of social support. """"""""Adaptational outcomes"""""""" include two types of quality-of-life variables: health status and psychological well-being. the former is measured via the Health Status Index, an extraordinarily reliable (r = .98) survey instrument with many practical uses in health planning and policy analysis. The implications of project results for social policy are far-ranging. The project seeks also to evaluate a model of collaborative, mutually-beneficial relationships between survey researchers and minority communities.