Acculturative Stress and Psychosocial Well-Being of Multicultural Youth in South Korea: The Moderating Role of Host Culture Identity

Abstract

Given the constant rise in racially and ethnically diverse populations in South Korean society, the need for understanding multicultural youth’s cultural challenges and promoting their psychosocial well-being has correspondingly increased in South Korea. This study aimed to examine the association between acculturative stress and psychosocial well-being consisting of self-esteem, social competence, and life satisfaction of multicultural youth living in South Korea (n = 2271). In addition, the current study investigated the buffering effect of multicultural youth’s host culture identity development in the relationship between acculturative stress and psychosocial well-being of multicultural youth in South Korea by conducting a moderation analysis. Research findings in this study showed that multicultural youth’s acculturative stress was significantly associated with their psychosocial well-being (i.e., self-esteem, social competence, and life satisfaction). Furthermore, the results of the moderation analysis identified that the host culture identity development had a significant buffering effect. Implications and future directions for mental health professionals, educators, and researchers were discussed.