The Effects of Partner Relationships on Asian Immigrants' Stress

Presented by: Hyeeun Chung, Norm Epstein

This study examined the roles of partner support and strain as moderators of the associations between Asian immigrants' experiences of (a) acculturative stress and (b) perceived racial discrimination and their levels of psychological distress. Using the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), multiple regression analyses indicated that acculturative stress and perceived racial discrimination are associated with greater psychological distress in the Asian immigrant sample (n = 1,012). In addition, social strain from a partner exacerbated the negative association between perceived racial discrimination and psychological distress, but social support did not act as a moderator.

Immigration Stress, Dyadic Coping, and Relationship Satisfaction in Latino Couples

Presented by: Mariana Falconier, Fridtjof Nussbeck, Guy Bodenmann

Structural equation modeling was used to analyze data from 105 Latino immigrant couples and examine the associations among immigration stress, relationship satisfaction and supportive dyadic coping (SDC; partner's support) and common dyadic coping (CDC; couple's conjoint coping). Results indicate that CDC and the male SDC can attenuate the negative association of various aspects of Latinas' immigration stress mostly with her relationship satisfaction and to some extent with her male partner's as well. However, CDC and the female SDC do not moderate the relationship between most dimensions of the male immigration stress and either partner's relationship satisfaction. Implications are discussed

Potential Social Capital for Intermarried Persons

Presented by: Juyoung Jang, Sharon M. Danes

The proposed study aimed to investigate the influence of intermarriage on potential social capital. Using Data of 12,876 married persons (11,483 intramarried and 1,393 intermarried persons) from the 2001 Integrated Health Interview Series, the study performed two identity-linked Poisson generalized linear models to estimate the influence of intermarriage on potential social capital. The results revealed that intermarried persons were likely to have less potential social capital relative to intramarried persons. Considering the type of intermarriage, only interracial marriage significantly reduced potential social capital, which is a partial support to previous research concerning about lack of social capital for intermarried persons.

Eastern European Wives in Transnational Marriages: Areas of Potential Vulnerability

Presented by: Polina Levchenko, Catherine Solheim

Based on the current literature on marriage migrants we analyzed three areas of potential vulnerability of Eastern European-born wives in transnational marriages. These areas matched the octants of Minnesota Power and Control Wheel and included: the potential for within-couple power imbalance; the possibility for couple situations that might create dependency; and the potential isolation of EE-born wives from contacts outside home. This study determines the impact of these within-couple and individual characteristics on the type of marriage (transnational interethnic vs. intraethnic). A sample from 2008-2010 American Community Survey was used to answer the research question.