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Cobb CL, Branscombe NR, Meca A, et al. Toward a Positive Psychology of Immigrants. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2019;14(4):619-632doi: 10.1177/1745691619825848.
Cobb, C. L., Branscombe, N. R., Meca, A., Schwartz, S. J., Xie, D., Zea, M. C., Molina, L. E., & Martinez, C. R. (2019). Toward a Positive Psychology of Immigrants. Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 14(4), 619-632. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619825848
Cobb, Cory L, et al. "Toward a Positive Psychology of Immigrants." Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science vol. 14,4 (2019): 619-632. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619825848
Cobb CL, Branscombe NR, Meca A, Schwartz SJ, Xie D, Zea MC, Molina LE, Martinez CR. Toward a Positive Psychology of Immigrants. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2019 Jul;14(4):619-632. doi: 10.1177/1745691619825848. Epub 2019 Apr 18. PMID: 30998855.
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Perspect Psychol Sci. 2019 Jul;14(4):619-632. doi: 10.1177/1745691619825848. Epub 2019 Apr 18.

Toward a Positive Psychology of Immigrants.

Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science

Cory L Cobb, Nyla R Branscombe, Alan Meca, Seth J Schwartz, Dong Xie, Maria Cecilia Zea, Ludwin E Molina, Charles R Martinez

Affiliations

  1. 1 Department of Psychology and Counseling, University of Central Arkansas.
  2. 2 Department of Psychology, University of Kansas.
  3. 3 Department of Psychology, Old Dominion University.
  4. 4 Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami.
  5. 5 Department of Psychology, George Washington University.
  6. 6 Department of Educational Methodology, Policy, and Leadership, University of Oregon.

PMID: 30998855 DOI: 10.1177/1745691619825848

Abstract

The vast majority of immigration-focused research in psychology is rooted in deficit models that center on negative health outcomes (e.g., depression, acculturative stress, anxiety, substance use), resulting in a widely held assumption that immigrants are at greater risk for pathology and poor well-being compared with native-born individuals. Moreover, current political discourse often portrays immigrants as more prone to crime compared with native-born individuals. From a positive-psychology perspective, we argue that, despite numerous migration-related challenges, many immigrant populations report positive patterns of psychological health. We also provide evidence that immigrants are, in fact, less prone to crime than their native-born counterparts. We conclude by discussing several contributing factors that account for positive immigrant well-being across the range of destination countries. Ultimately, the field should address questions regarding (a) immigrants' strategies for coping with the challenges involved in adapting to new homelands and (b) asset-based factors that help immigrants to thrive during difficult life challenges.

Keywords: adaptation; immigrants; positive psychology; strength; well-being

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