ACCULTURATION ON STRESS FOLLOWING THE GUJARAT EARTHQUAKE AMONG FIRST-GENERATION INDIAN IMMIGRANTS

Abstract

This study examined the impact of acculturation, operationalized in terms of the number of years living abroad, on stress response to the Gujarat Earthquake among first-generation Indian immigrants living in a large United States urban center. The results indicated that Indians who had resided longer in the United States reported significantly lower intrusion and avoidance stress symptoms, independent of damage and injury to relatives and friends from the earthquake. Moreover, they reported less guilt over the suffering of the earthquake victims and a tendency toward less use of nonmaterial causal explanations, such as attributing the cause of the earthquake to a divine being. Finally, guilt was found to partly mediate the impact of acculturation on stress symptoms. The results are discussed in terms of the impact of acculturation on changes in the Indian worldview belief in nonmaterial causes of suffering and collectivist values.