Everyday discrimination, co-ethnic social support and mood changes in young adult immigrants in Germany – Evidence from an ecological momentary assessment study

Background: First-generation migrants often face a high number of stressors after arrival in the host society. Exploring which social resources can buffer the negative impact of discrimination on mental health is therefore important. Conceptually, previous work has emphasized the distinction between the availability of intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic support for processing stressors. The first social contacts in the country of arrival are often members of the same ethnic group, and they are, therefore, more likely to be providers of social support in the first years after arrival. However, perceived support by members of the host society should notably mitigate feelings of rejection associated with discrimination. Objective: The aim is to investigate the momentary impact of discrimination experiences on mood changes and to examine the extent to which buffering tendencies exist through perceived social support. In addition, the relevance of the ethnicity of the interaction partner is investigated. Method: Using an ecological momentary assessment design, first-generation migrants in Germany, who recently migrated from Poland, Turkey, or Syria, were questioned three times a day over seven days in June 2021 (N individuals=976; N observations=11.470). A series of hybrid mixed-effects regression models were estimated to separate within and between-subject effects. Results: The mixed-effects models indicate that perceived social support buffers the negative effect of everyday? discrimination experiences on mood only moderately. The multivariate models do not provide clear evidence as to whether inter- or intra-ethnic support is of greater importance. For situational variations in perceived social support as well as for support by interaction partners, a positive main effect for mood is observed. Conclusion: The findings illustrate that being embedded in a supportive network is important in everyday life, regardless of the occurrence of stressors. Furthermore, the study indicates that the extent of perceived support is more important for first-generation migrants than the ethnic origin of the support provider.