Well-Being and Social Justice Among Moroccan Migrants in Southern Spain

• Published in: American journal of community psychology 2014-09, Vol.54 (1-2), p.1-11
• Main Authors: Paloma, Virginia, García-Ramírez, Manuel, Camacho, Carlos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Clinical Psychology; Community; Community and Environmental Psychology; Context; Emigrants and Immigrants - psychology; Female; Health Psychology; Humans; Liberation; Living conditions; Male; Mental Health; Migrants; Migration; Minority & ethnic groups; Models, Psychological; Morocco - ethnology; Multilevel Analysis; Oppression; Original Article; Personal Satisfaction; Personality and Social Psychology; Prediction models; Prejudice - psychology; Psychology; Public Health; Regression Analysis; Social justice; Social Justice - psychology; Social Marginalization - psychology; Spain; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Well-being; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0091-0562; 1573-2770
• DOI: 10.1007/s10464-014-9663-1

The decision to migrate is normally based on expectations of improving one’s actual living conditions and therefore, one’s well-being. However, these expectations are not usually met in receiving contexts that relegate newcomers to lower power positions. From a liberating community psychology approach, this study aims to develop a predictive model of the well-being of Moroccan migrants living in southern Spain. Data were collected from a survey sample of 633 migrants (the average age was 31.9 years and 51.8 % were women) from 20 territorial units of Andalusia. Through a process of multilevel regression analysis, this study reveals that the well-being of the Moroccan community is closely determined by the following: (a) the level of social justice in the receiving context (openness to diversity of receiving communities, cultural sensitivity of community services, and residential integration); and (b) the individual strengths of the population (use of active coping strategies, satisfaction with the receiving context, and temporal stability in the new environment). These results empirically support the impact that different ecological levels of analysis have on well-being. Major theoretical contributions of the model and useful suggestions for improving migrant well-being are discussed.