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Volume 9
Journal of Neurology and Neuroscience
ISSN: 2171-6625
Page 11
July 23-24, 2018 Birmingham, UK
&
JOINT EVENT
24
th
International Conference on
Neuroscience and Neurochemistry
26
th
Edition of International Conference on
Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience
Courtland C Lee
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, USA
Courtland C Lee, J Neurol Neurosci 2018, Volume 9
DOI: 10.21767/2171-6625-C2-010
A study of acculturative stress, coping and quality of life among third country nationals (TCNs)
W
hile a great deal of attention has been focused on those individuals who often flee their country of origin due to conflict
or natural disaster seeking refugee or asylum-seeker status, there is another important group of immigrants who
voluntarily immigrate for social or economic reasons. These individuals are classified as Third Country Nationals (TCNs). The
purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among acculturative stress, coping and quality of life among TCNs in
a Southern European country. The study employed a mixed-methods research design. The overall research sample consisted
of 117 adult TCNs who had been residing in the host country for more than one year. For the qualitative aspect of the study 13
adult TCNs were invited to take part in one-on-one interviews. They were asked a series of questions about their pre-migration
experiences. For the quantitative aspect of the study TCNs were invited to respond to an anonymous questionnaire. The
questionnaire measured acculturative stress with the Revised Social, Attitudinal, Familial and Environmental Acculturative
Stress Scale, coping with the Brief COPE scale, and quality of life with the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF
scale. A total of 104 adult TCNs completed the questionnaire. Two themes emerged from the qualitative interviews related to
the pre-immigration life of TCNs: Push/pull factors and loss. With respect to the quantitative analysis, negative correlations
were found between the SAFE-R scores and the scores on the four domains of WHOQOL-BREF. This suggests that the lower
the level of a TCNs acculturative stress, the higher the individual’s perception of his/her quality of life in the host country. In
addition, negative correlations were found between problem-focused Brief Cope subscale scores and the scores on the four
domains of WHOQOL-BREF, suggesting that the more ineffective one’s coping mechanisms, the lower the quality of life.
Recent Publications
1. Bălţătescu S (2007) Central and Eastern Europeans migrants’ subjective quality of life. A comparative study. Journal of
Identity and Migration Studies 1(2):67-81.
2. Maneze D, Salamonson Y, Attwood N and Davidson P M (2013) Acculturative stress in Filipino migrants with
functional English: implications for health promotion. International Journal of Culture and Mental Health 7(4):357-
369.
3. Norris A E, Aroian K J and Nickerson D M (2011) Premigration persecution, postmigration stressors and resources,
and postmigration mental health: A study of severely traumatized U.S. Arab immigrant women. Journal of the
American Psychiatric Nurses Association 17:283-293.
4. Revollo H W, Qureshi A, Collazos F, Valero, S and Casas M (2011) Acculturative stress as a risk factor of depression
and anxiety in the Latin American immigrant population. International Review of Psychiatry 23(1):84-92.
Biography
Courtland Lee is a Professor in the Counselor Education Program at the Washington DC campus of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. He is the author,
editor, or co-editor of seven books on multicultural counseling and three books on counseling and social justice. In addition, he has published numerous book chapters and
articles on counseling across cultures. Dr. Lee received his Ph.D. in Counseling at Michigan State University. He is a Fellow of both the American Counseling Association
and the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. Dr. Lee’s main area of research is multicultural counseling.
clee@thechicagoschool.eduVivian V Lee
Johns Hopkins University, USA