Discrimination and Social Support: Impact on Behavior Outcomes of Children of Immigrants

Priya Gopalan

The dramatic growth of immigration into the United States in the past two decades has resulted in an escalating proportion of children from immigrant backgrounds in American schools. Children of immigrants have unique needs due to their special circumstances arising from acculturation and perception of discrimination. However, young children of immigrants are an understudied population and there is a gap in research about their needs. Immigrant families experience the negative effects of discrimination, which may impact the behavioral outcomes of their children. Social support and school setting are potential buffers against the negative effects of perceived discrimination (PD). Data collected by the Longitudinal Immigrant Families and Teachers Study (LIFTS) in the third wave (2009) was analyzed to examine the moderating influence of social support and school setting on the relation between discrimination and behavioral problems of third grade children (N=103) from immigrant families in public and Islamic schools. Results suggest that there are no significant differences in PD or social support between genders. However, a correlation exists between PD and behavioral problems of children, as measured by total CBCL scores. Thus, the role of PD in the maladaptive behavioral outcomes is a crucial study in cultural psychology.