Psychological Health and Meaning in Life Stress, Social Support, and Religious Coping in Latina/Latino Immigrants

This study examined the relative contributions of (a) gender, (b) perceived stress, (c) social support from family and significant other, and (d) positive and negative dimensions of religious coping to the prediction of the psychological health and meaning in life among 179 Central American immigrants from El Salvador and Guatemala. Findings reveal that greater perceived stress by Latinas/Latinos was predictive of psychological health and meaning in life, while social support from a significant other also explained variance in meaning in one's life. Negative religious coping, specifically reappraisal of God's powers, was predictive of search for meaning in one's life.