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THE ROLES OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESOURCES IN IMMIGRANTS’ WELL-BEING IN THE UNITED STATES

Yeo, JeongHee
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243959514

Abstract Details

2009, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Family Resource Management.
Significant growth in the size of the immigrant population in the United States has called attention to immigration policy and public assistance programs for this group. Subjective indicators (e.g., a sense of well-being, life satisfaction, or happiness) are often used as an important index in evaluations of immigrants’ quality of life. Economic resources and social resources appear critical components of well-being. Different measures of those economic and social resources have provided mixed results in previous studies. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the roles of economic and social resources in immigrants’ well-being in the United States. To capture a person’s overall economic resources, both objective and subjective measures are used. Objective measures include total household income and total net worth. Subjective income is measured to indicate the degree to which a person is satisfied with her/his current financial condition. Social resources are seen as consisting of three dimensions of social relationships; the size of a social network, the level of social support and the engagement in social activities. Using the 2006 HRS and RAND HRS datasets, these questions are investigated. The sample used includes 626 respondents, aged 50 and older. Multivariate regression models are adopted to examine the effects of various economic resources and social resources on immigrants’ well-being. The results show that subjective income is positively associated with immigrants’ well-being. When subjective income is excluded from the models, however, total net worth becomes a significant predictor of immigrant well-being. Also, of the three different types of social resource variables, those representing social support from a spouse or children are associated with greater levels of well-being, while the size of social networks and participation in social activities are not significant predictors of well-being among immigrants. Particularly, the exchange of social support in family-based relationships – rather than friendship-based relationships – plays a critical role in enhancing immigrant well-being.
Loren V Geistfeld (Advisor)
Jinkook Lee (Committee Member)
Cazilia Loibl (Committee Member)
115 p.
Labor Economics; Social Research
well-being; immigrant; economic resource; social resource

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Yeo, J. (2009). THE ROLES OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESOURCES IN IMMIGRANTS’ WELL-BEING IN THE UNITED STATES [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243959514

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Yeo, JeongHee. THE ROLES OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESOURCES IN IMMIGRANTS’ WELL-BEING IN THE UNITED STATES. 2009. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243959514.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Yeo, JeongHee. "THE ROLES OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESOURCES IN IMMIGRANTS’ WELL-BEING IN THE UNITED STATES." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243959514

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1243959514
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© 2009, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.