Journal of consulting and clinical psychology
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J Consult Clin Psychol · Jun 1997
Stress, maternal distress, and children's adjustment following immigration: the buffering role of social support.
This study examined, in the context of a stress-buffering model, the relationship of certain family-level variables to children's adjustment after immigration. Immigrant Chinese mothers from Hong Kong completed questionnaires regarding postmigration stress, personal distress, perceived social support, and their child's adjustment. Another adult also provided child behavior ratings. ⋯ Contrary to expectation, the relationship between maternal distress and boys' problems was stronger at higher levels of maternal support. For families of girls, although there were significant relationships between the predictors and child behavior, no stress buffering was evident. Cultural explanations are discussed.