The Role of Social Support in the Association Between Perceived Discrimination and Mental Health Among Young Immigrants in Norway

Abstract

We investigated ethnic group differences in the association between social support, perceived discrimination and mental health in one adolescent and one preadolescent sample of immigrant children in Norway. The study is based on self-report questionnaire data collected in 2000/2001 from 286 students in 10 th grade with backgrounds from Turkey, Somalia, and Vietnam, and from 359 students in 5 th–8 th grade with origin in Turkey, Somalia, and Sri Lanka, collected between 2007 and 2009. The findings revealed three different patterns of associations between support, discrimination and mental health, with substantial ethnic group variation: One direct pattern, one mediating pattern, corroborating the Rejection-Identification Model, and one moderating pattern. The results were discussed with respect to the ethnic groups' varied immigration history, out-group orientation, cultural fit, and visibility.