The relationship between bicultural identity, acculturative stress, and psychological well-being in multicultural adolescents: Verification using multivariate latent growth modelling

This study aimed to examine causal relationships between bicultural identity, acculturative stress, and subjective well-being among multicultural adolescents. Secondary longitudinal data that were obtained from 1,635 multicultural adolescents were analysed. The results showed that bicultural identity had a positive effect on psychological well-being and a negative impact on acculturative stress; in addition, greater acculturative stress was associated with lower psychological well-being. Finally, bicultural identity indirectly affected psychological well-being by mediating the effects of acculturative stress. These findings underscore the need to facilitate the adaptation of multicultural adolescents by reducing acculturative stress and promoting bicultural acceptance in educational institutions.