Acculturative stress is a critical factor affecting psychological well-being during the cross-cultural adaptation process. Although existing research highlights its generally negative impact on mental health, less is known about the pathways that connect acculturative stress with outcomes like life satisfaction, especially how interpersonal dynamics and identity negotiation come into play in non-traditional immigrant contexts. The current study examined how acculturative stress relates to life satisfaction directly as well as indirectly through the roles of social contact and cultural identity. The investigation involved 415 Chinese mainland immigrants (59.8% were females) living in Macau and employed a path model based on the acculturation framework to examine these relationships.
Analysis revealed several key findings. Acculturative stress was positively associated with both ethnic group contact (β = .147, 95% CI [.038, .229]) and ethnic cultural identity (β = .312, 95% CI [.143, .313]). Moreover, ethnic group contact enhanced ethnic cultural identity (β = .342, 95% CI [.185, .316]), and a stronger ethnic cultural identity, in turn, predicted higher life satisfaction (β = .186, 95% CI [.068, .374]). Similarly, mainstream group contact was linked to mainstream cultural identity (β = .342, 95% CI [.241, .411]) and directly correlated with life satisfaction (β = .136, 95% CI [.020, .217]), with mainstream cultural identity itself also contributing (β = .123, 95% CI [.013, .223]). Mediation analyses confirmed that ethnic cultural identity, as well as the chain of ethnic group contact followed by ethnic cultural identity, mediated the effects of acculturative stress on life satisfaction.
These results suggest that when faced with higher levels of acculturative stress, individuals are more inclined to seek support within their ethnic communities, thereby reinforcing their cultural identity. This cross-cultural adaptation process can transform stressful experiences into opportunities for cultural reaffirmation, ultimately boosting life satisfaction.
