| Adapting to a new society and culture is difficult and stressful for many immigrants. The limited research on and increase in the growth of the Caribbean immigrant population in the United States point to a growing need to understand factors that impact psychological and social adaptation. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships among social support, ethnic identity, socioeconomic status, psychological adaptation, and attitude towards seeking professional psychological help among Caribbean immigrant women. Seventy female Caribbean immigrants between 21 and 70 years of age participated in the study. A semistructured interview that included administration of the Personal Resource Questionnaire, Symptom Checklist-90-R, Hollingshead Index of Socioeconomic Status, Attitude Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale, and Phinney's Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure was used to obtain data about participants' adjustment experiences, coping strategies, and psychological symptomology. Hierarchical multiple regression and correlation analyses were used to assess the relationships between the variables highlighted in the study. Findings indicated no significant relationship between the social support and psychological adaptation, between socioeconomic status and utilization of services, and between ethnic identity and psychological adaptation. However, social support was positively correlated with ethnic identity and negatively correlated with attitude towards seeking professional psychological help. As immigrant populations continue to increase, the need also increases for mental health professionals to provide relevant services to immigrants, particularly women who are plagued with problems of ''inequality'' and unfairness in the workplace. |
