Abstract:

Host country satisfaction, as an index of immigrants’ psychological adaptation, has particular importance for immigrant communities in the destination country. We explain immigrant adolescents’ satisfaction with their level of life in Spain by examining the contribution of sociodemographic variables, ethnic and mainstream identification, the perception of ethnic group discrimination, and the length of time lived in the host country. We examine a group of 347 Moroccans and Ecuadorians adolescent immigrants, two of the biggest immigrant communities in Spain that differ in their cultural distance (e.g., language, religion) to the mainstream culture. We provide empirical evidences that; first, Spanish language proficiency, mainstream (and not ethnic) identification, and time lived in Spain are positively related to host country satisfaction; second, immigrants’ perception of ethnic discrimination is negatively associated with host country satisfaction; and third, cultural distance to the mainstream does not significantly moderate these associations (i.e. the relationships are similar for the two ethnic groups). Considering these results, social policies aimed at promoting positive attitudes towards cultural diversity and supporting immigrants’ participation in the host society should be encouraged.

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