Socio-Economic Status and Psychological Well-Being in a Sample of Turkish Immigrant Mothers in Germany

This study analyzes the relation of socio-economic status and psychological well-being in a sample of 327 Turkish immigrant mothers in Germany. We assessed maternal psychological well-being with the CES-D-10, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and selected items of the Hassles Scale referring to daily hassles. Mothers' SES was assessed by means of household income and maternal education. The sample has a predominantly low to very low household income. A cluster analysis on maternal education and household income identified three SES-groups: A low-income cluster, a low-education cluster, and a third cluster of mothers who were slightly more advantaged in terms of household income and education. When applying the 10-point criterion of the CES-D-10, the three clusters differed regarding depression. About 40% of the mothers with lowest income and lowest education were depressed, compared to 28% of the more-advantaged cluster. The clusters further differed with respect to daily hassles and life-satisfaction. A higher SES was associated with less daily hassles, a higher life satisfaction, and less depression. This replicates findings of other studies regarding the relation of SES and psychological well-being. A follow-up assessment for about 60% of the mothers after 1 year revealed no changes in the well-being scales for each SES cluster, and a significant multivariate effect of the SES clusters. This suggests that SES is a long-term influential factor on psychological well-being. We discuss our findings in terms of the importance to integrate Turkish immigrant mother into the Germany society and in terms of the importance of maternal psychological well-being for children's positive development

Socio-economic status and psychological well-being in a sample of Turkish immigrant mothers in Germany

This study analyzes the relation of socio-economic status and psychological well-being in a sample of 327 Turkish immigrant mothers in Germany. We assessed maternal psychological well-being with the CES-D-10, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and selected items of the Hassles Scale referring to daily hassles. Mothers’ SES was assessed by means of household income and maternal education. The sample has a predominantly low to very low household income. A cluster analysis on maternal education and household income identified three SES-groups: A low-income cluster, a low-education cluster, and a third cluster of mothers who were slightly more advantaged in terms of household income and education. When applying the 10-point criterion of the CES-D-10, the three clusters differed regarding depression. About 40% of the mothers with lowest income and lowest education were depressed, compared to 28% of the more-advantaged cluster. The clusters further differed with respect to daily hassles and life-satisfaction. A higher SES was associated with less daily hassles, a higher life satisfaction, and less depression. This replicates findings of other studies regarding the relation of SES and psychological well-being. A follow-up assessment for about 60% of the mothers after 1 year revealed no changes in the well-being scales for each SES cluster, and a significant multivariate effect of the SES clusters. This suggests that SES is a long-term influential factor on psychological well-being. We discuss our findings in terms of the importance to integrate Turkish immigrant mother into the Germany society and in terms of the importance ofmaternal psychological well-being for children’s positive development

Ethnic and National Identity Development and School Adjustment: A Longitudinal Study With Turkish Immigrant-Origin Children

We examined developmental trajectories of ethnic and national identity during early adolescence and linked subgroups of identity change to ethnic minority children’s school adjustment. Our longitudinal data on Turkish immigrant-origin children in Germany ( N = 146; MT1 = 10.42 years, 46.6% male) covered three waves of annual measurement. A person-oriented approach using growth mixture modeling revealed two different classes (subgroups) of identity change: Class 1 comprised children with a high and stable Turkish identity, and Class 2 comprised children with a medium and increasing Turkish identity. German identity was medium and stable in both classes. Results further showed generally high levels of school adjustment in both classes but lower levels of school motivation and teacher support among children in Class 2. Our findings point toward heterogeneity in ethnic minority children’s identity development during early adolescence and support the “ethnic identity as a resource” hypothesis. </jats:p