Figure 1 Stress by parent gender and country of origin at times 1 and 2 ABSTRACT Newly immigrant parents (N = 253) were interviewed to assess their levels of stress and the impact of stress on adjustment over the first two years of post-migration. Experiences of stress varied by gender and country of origin. Social support, discrimination, cultural preference, and expectancy violation predicted the amount of stress reported by the participants and decreases in stress were related to better adjustment over time. INTRODUCTION Immigration impacts the entire family, but parents in particular, who are the primary household heads, might be under considerable pressure to make a living in a foreign land. However, little is known about their initial adjustment to their post-migration circumstances. In this study, temporal changes in immigration stress, adjustment outcomes, and contributing factors to the immigration-adaptation process were examined among newly immigrant parents. The following questions were investigated: (1) Does the level of immigration stress change over the first two years of post-migration? (2) Does the change in immigration stress relate to adjustment? (3) What factors contribute to changes in stress and adjustment? (4) Do mothers and fathers experience immigration differently? (5) Are immigration stress and adaptation comparable for different groups of immigrants? METHOD Sample and Procedure A total of 253 parents of school-age children from Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, and the West Indies participated. They completed home surveys and returned them by mail. Measures Immigration Stress. A 26-item checklist designed for the project taps the domains of social disruption, experiences of prejudice and discrimination, adjusting to new circumstances, difficulties being understood culturally and linguistically, and family issues. Affect Balance. Positive and negative affect was assessed with the scale developed by Bradburn (1969). Life Satisfaction. A single item index asked “How satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?” (Campbell et al., 1976). Satisfaction with the Immigration Decision. A single item index asked “Overall, how satisfied are you about coming to the U. S. to live?” Sociodemographic Information. Information was obtained on education, employment, marital status, and economic hardship Social Support. This was indexed by the number of persons who would assist the parent in times of need. Expectancy Fulfillment/Violation. A single item index asked “Is life here in the U.S. different than what you expected?” Discrimination. Discrimination was measured with a scale employed by Jackson ( in progress). Acculturation. The extent to which parents endorse American culture and their native culture was assessed (Szapocznik et al., 1980). RESULTS Over the first two years of post-migration, stress levels varied by gender and country of origin (Figure 1). Females were more stressed overall than males. Haitians were significantly more stressed than Argentineans and West Indians, and Cubans were more stressed than Argentineans. For all adjustment measures (affect balance, life satisfaction, and satisfaction with the immigration decision), change in stress over time was a good predictor. There was a stress by group interaction, but only in life satisfaction. Reduced stress at Time 2 predicted greater life satisfaction for Argentineans, Colombians, and Cubans, but not for Haitians or West Indians. With regard to contributors (Table 1), participants receiving more social support, those experiencing less discrimination, and (except for West Indians) those expressing less preference for the culture of their homeland were less stressed over time. Expectancy violation was associated with increased stress for females, but not for males. CONCLUSIONS Thus, experiences of stress varied by gender and country of origin, decreases in stress were related to better adjustment, and social support, discrimination, cultural preference, and expectancy violation were significant predictors of stress. The findings shed light on the immigration- adaptation process by helping our understanding of its mechanisms among newly immigrant parents from different cultures. Project SOL Florida International University S tudents from O ther L ands Post-Migration Stress and Adjustment in Newly Immigrant Parents Maree K. Lee, Mary J. Levitt, & Jerome Levitt Florida International University, Miami-Dade County Public Schools