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Schedule:
Saturday, January 23, 2027
Continental 1-4 (Hilton San Francisco Union Square)
* noted as presenting author
Background and Purpose:
Discrimination is a pervasive post-migration stressor linked to refugee mental health, yet its psychosocial mechanisms and contextual contingencies remain insufficiently specified. Existing research has largely examined discrimination, social integration, and neighborhood context in isolation, limiting theoretical development. This study advances an ecological and psychosocial framework by examining perceived welcome as a distinct mechanism of symbolic inclusion, testing whether neighborhood ethnic density conditions the magnitude and pathways linking discrimination to emotional distress. We ask: (1) Does perceived welcome mediate the association between discrimination and sadness beyond social connection? and (2) Does neighborhood ethnic density moderate these pathways?
Methods:
We used pooled data from the 2020–2022 Annual Survey of Refugees (N = 4,246 weighted; analytic N = 3,744), a nationally representative sample of U.S. refugee newcomers. Multivariable regression and moderated serial mediation models (PROCESS Model 85) estimated direct and indirect effects of discrimination on sadness through perceived welcome and social connection, with neighborhood ethnic density as a moderator. Models adjusted for demographic, socioeconomic, health, and resettlement-related factors. Conditional effects were estimated using 5,000 bootstrap samples with bias-corrected confidence intervals, and Johnson–Neyman techniques probed regions of significance.
Results:
Twenty-three percent of respondents reported discrimination, and 13% reported frequent sadness. In adjusted models, discrimination (b = −0.13, p < .001), lower perceived welcome (b = −0.08, p = .001), and lower co-ethnic density (b = −0.10, p < .001) were independently associated with more frequent sadness. Discrimination was positively associated with lower perceived welcome (b = 0.03, p < .001), with stronger effects in lower co-ethnic density neighborhoods (interaction b = 0.03, p < .001). Perceived welcome was strongly associated with sadness (b = −0.31, p < .001), whereas social connection was not (b = 0.02, ns). The direct effect of discrimination on sadness varied significantly by neighborhood context, strongest in higher co-ethnic density settings (b = −0.236, p < .001), attenuated at moderate density (b = −0.106, p < .001), and non-significant in low-density contexts (b = −0.041, p = .265). The indirect effect through perceived welcome was significant across contexts and strongest in low-density neighborhoods (b = −0.045 vs. −0.019 in high-density). The index of moderated mediation was significant (b = −0.009, 95% CI [−0.017, −0.002]).
Conclusions and Implications:
Findings identify perceived welcome as a theoretically distinct and empirically robust mechanism linking discrimination to emotional distress, advancing conventional social connection frameworks. Results also challenge dominant assumptions that co-ethnic density uniformly buffers stress; instead, neighborhood context redistributes how discrimination operates, amplifying direct effects in higher-density settings and indirect, meaning-making pathways in lower-density environments. These findings refine ecological models of refugee mental health by integrating symbolic inclusion and spatial context. For social work practice, assessment and intervention should explicitly target perceived welcome and experiences of recognition, not solely network-based support. At the policy level, resettlement strategies must be paired with investments in inclusive community climates and institutional practices that foster belonging. Future research should employ longitudinal and mixed-method designs to further unpack temporal dynamics and the construction of symbolic inclusion.
Discrimination is a pervasive post-migration stressor linked to refugee mental health, yet its psychosocial mechanisms and contextual contingencies remain insufficiently specified. Existing research has largely examined discrimination, social integration, and neighborhood context in isolation, limiting theoretical development. This study advances an ecological and psychosocial framework by examining perceived welcome as a distinct mechanism of symbolic inclusion, testing whether neighborhood ethnic density conditions the magnitude and pathways linking discrimination to emotional distress. We ask: (1) Does perceived welcome mediate the association between discrimination and sadness beyond social connection? and (2) Does neighborhood ethnic density moderate these pathways?
Methods:
We used pooled data from the 2020–2022 Annual Survey of Refugees (N = 4,246 weighted; analytic N = 3,744), a nationally representative sample of U.S. refugee newcomers. Multivariable regression and moderated serial mediation models (PROCESS Model 85) estimated direct and indirect effects of discrimination on sadness through perceived welcome and social connection, with neighborhood ethnic density as a moderator. Models adjusted for demographic, socioeconomic, health, and resettlement-related factors. Conditional effects were estimated using 5,000 bootstrap samples with bias-corrected confidence intervals, and Johnson–Neyman techniques probed regions of significance.
Results:
Twenty-three percent of respondents reported discrimination, and 13% reported frequent sadness. In adjusted models, discrimination (b = −0.13, p < .001), lower perceived welcome (b = −0.08, p = .001), and lower co-ethnic density (b = −0.10, p < .001) were independently associated with more frequent sadness. Discrimination was positively associated with lower perceived welcome (b = 0.03, p < .001), with stronger effects in lower co-ethnic density neighborhoods (interaction b = 0.03, p < .001). Perceived welcome was strongly associated with sadness (b = −0.31, p < .001), whereas social connection was not (b = 0.02, ns). The direct effect of discrimination on sadness varied significantly by neighborhood context, strongest in higher co-ethnic density settings (b = −0.236, p < .001), attenuated at moderate density (b = −0.106, p < .001), and non-significant in low-density contexts (b = −0.041, p = .265). The indirect effect through perceived welcome was significant across contexts and strongest in low-density neighborhoods (b = −0.045 vs. −0.019 in high-density). The index of moderated mediation was significant (b = −0.009, 95% CI [−0.017, −0.002]).
Conclusions and Implications:
Findings identify perceived welcome as a theoretically distinct and empirically robust mechanism linking discrimination to emotional distress, advancing conventional social connection frameworks. Results also challenge dominant assumptions that co-ethnic density uniformly buffers stress; instead, neighborhood context redistributes how discrimination operates, amplifying direct effects in higher-density settings and indirect, meaning-making pathways in lower-density environments. These findings refine ecological models of refugee mental health by integrating symbolic inclusion and spatial context. For social work practice, assessment and intervention should explicitly target perceived welcome and experiences of recognition, not solely network-based support. At the policy level, resettlement strategies must be paired with investments in inclusive community climates and institutional practices that foster belonging. Future research should employ longitudinal and mixed-method designs to further unpack temporal dynamics and the construction of symbolic inclusion.