Distress and wellbeing among 1.5-generation immigrants 3 decades after immigration to Israel

The aim of the study was to examine psychological adaptation levels (distress and wellbeing) and their association to acculturation strategies among 1.5 generation immigrants from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union (FSU), 3 decades after large waves of immigrants from these countries came to Israel. Three-hundred and forty-one participants, 176 from Ethiopia and 165 from FSU, completed survey questionnaires assessing their acculturation attitudes and the levels of their wellbeing and stress. Personal wellbeing and distress were found to be moderate among all participants. In addition, while no ethnic group differences were found for integration, separation and marginalization, FSU immigrants reported higher levels of using assimilation strategies than those who came from Ethiopia. Regression findings show that personal wellbeing was significantly explained by the acculturation strategies of integration and marginalization, such that a greater use of integration and a lower use of marginalization were associated with higher personal wellbeing. The adaptation process in which immigrant groups adapt to a host society is dynamic, takes many years and the acculturation strategies change over time. The change is related to attitudes toward the destination culture and to the culture of origin, both among the immigrants and the host society.