The Effects of Discrimination, Social Support, Cultural Distance, Engagement Coping and Acculturation Orientations on Brazilians´ Psychological and Sociocultural Adaptations in Japan

The current study evaluated the relationships among cultural distance perceived, social support perceived, discrimination perceived, acculturation orientations and acculturation outcomes in a sample of 410 Brazilian immigrants and sojourners in Japan. Data were collected through the administration of an online questionnaire and analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling. Results indicated adequate model fit indices. Psychological adaptation was significantly predicted by discrimination perceived, social support perceived and acculturation orientations. Sociocultural adaptation was significantly predicted by discrimination perceived, acculturation orientations and cultural distance perceived. Discrimination perceived also acted indirectly on sociocultural adaptation and on psychological adaptation mediated by the two acculturation orientations, and social support perceived acted indirectly on psychological and sociocultural adaptations mediated by home orientation. These results were discussed based on the theories of Social and Acculturation Psychology. The study`s contributions, limitations and recommendations for future research were presented as concluding remarks.