Although numerous studies have documented the associations between perceived discrimination, acculturation and well-being in immigrants, far fewer have examined these associations in adolescent immigrants in the context of forced displacement. The focus of this study was to refine our understanding of the link between acculturation, perceived discrimination and subjective well-being in understudied forcibly displaced Syrian adolescents residing in Turkey. The data were collected from 181 Syrian adolescents (53.19% girls) aged between 10 and 16 years (Mage = 13, SD = 1.53). The participants completed measures of acculturation, perceived discrimination, positive affect and negative affect alongside demographic variables. The results indicated that boys reported more experience of positive affect while girls reported more experience of negative affect. Younger adolescents reported greater positive affect, higher heritage acculturation and lesser negative affect. Adolescents who had higher host acculturation and experienced low perceived discrimination had a greater positive, whereas adolescents who experienced perceived discrimination had a greater negative affect. Host acculturation and perceived discrimination significantly contributed to the variance in explaining positive and negative affect over and above the age and gender. The results elucidate our understanding in terms of acculturation and perceived discrimination that significantly contribute to subjective well-being in the context of forcibly displaced Syrian adolescents.
Keywords: Acculturation; Perceived discrimination; Subjective well-being; Syrian adolescents; Turkey.
© 2021 International Union of Psychological Science.