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Social Integration of Latin-American Immigrants in Spain: the Influence of the Community Context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Asur Fuente  and
Juan Herrero
Asur Fuente*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Oviedo (Spain)
Juan Herrero
Affiliation:
Universidad de Oviedo (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Asur Fuente. Universidad de Oviedo, Despacho 219. Plaza Feijoo s/n 33001 – Oviedo (Spain) Phone: +34-985103257. Fax: +34-985104164. E-mail: fuenteasur@uniovi.es
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Abstract

The main goal of this study is to analyze the degree to which several community elements such as insecurity, discrimination and informal community support might have an influence on the social integration of Latin-American immigrants, a group at risk of social exclusion in Spain. Multivariate linear regression analyses results showed that informal community support is positively related to social integration whereas insecurity is negatively related. The statistical relationship between discrimination and social integration disappears once levels of informal community support are taken into account. A better understanding of the factors that either promote or inhibit the social integration progress of immigrant population is important to orientate public policies and intervention programs that contribute to the adaptation of this population to the host society.

El objetivo de este estudio es analizar en qué medida diferentes elementos del contexto comunitario como la inseguridad, la discriminación y el apoyo informal, pueden influenciar el proceso de integración social de los inmigrantes latinoamericanos en España, un grupo en riesgo de exclusión social. Los resultados del análisis de regresión lineal multivariado muestran que el apoyo comunitario informal se relaciona positivamente con la integración social mientras la inseguridad lo hace de forma negativa. Por otra parte, la relación estadística entre discriminación e integración social desaparece una vez que son tenidos en cuenta los niveles de apoyo comunitario informal. Un mayor entendimiento de los factores que promueven o dificultan el proceso de integración social de la población inmigrante es imprescindible para orientar políticas públicas y programas de intervención eficaces que contribuyan a la adaptación de esta población a la sociedad receptora.

Keywords

social integrationinsecuritydiscriminationinformal community supportLatin-American immigrantsintegración socialinseguridaddiscriminaciónapoyo comunitario informalinmigrantes latinoamericanos
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , November 2012 , pp. 1201 - 1209
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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