The Influence of Family Climate on Stress and Adaptation for Muslim Immigrant Young Adults in Two Western Countries

Abstract

The research examined the influence of family climate on acculturative stress and adaptation for Muslim emerging adults in New Zealand ( n = 155) and the United Kingdom ( n = 147). A path model was proposed with family climate (congruence and obligations) as predictors of acculturative stress and having both direct and indirect (via stress) effects on life satisfaction and behavioral problems. The model was tested in order to determine if paths varied significantly as a function of national context. Although New Zealand Muslims had better adaptation outcomes and lower levels of stress than their British peers, there were very few differences in the family climate-stress-adaptation pathways. Acculturative stress predicted decrements in life satisfaction and greater behavioral problems, and obligations predicted fewer behavioral problems in both cultural contexts. Also, in both countries, the structural pathways in the model were not significantly different across cultures with the exception of the positive relationship between obligations and life satisfaction, which was only evident in the New Zealand sample. For Muslim emerging adults, family obligations functioned as a protective factor, exerting direct effects on adaptation (increased life satisfaction and decreased behavioral problems), although they also posed risks, predicting poorer adaptation via heightened acculturative stress. The results are discussed in terms of the positive and negative influences of family in the acculturation process for emerging adults.