Psychosocial empowerment and social support factors associated with employment status of immigrant welfare recipients.

2007

Fabricio Balcazar
[email protected]
312-413-1646

Garcia-Ramirez, M., Martinez, M. F., Balcazar, F. E., Suarez-Balcazar, Y., Albar, J., Dominguez, E., & Santolaya, F. J. (2005). Psychosocial empowerment and social support factors associated with employment status of immigrant welfare recipients. Journal of Community Psychology, 33(6), 673-690. We analyzed the role that psychosocial empowerment and social support factors play in the employment status of immigrants who participate in jobreadiness programs financed by the European Social Funds and the Welfare Services of Andalusia, a region in the south of Spain. The goal of these programs is to find new ways to improve immigrants' social-labor participation and community integration. By means of a logistical regression analysis applied to data obtained in interviews with 188 participants, a predictor model of psychosocial factors associated with employment status was obtained. Significant psychological empowerment factors included having a positive professional self-concept, having an internal attribution of causality of employment, and having an active job search. Ability to depend on both compatriots and members of the host country in one's support network and the advice and information received from them was a significant factor in social support. Suggestions for future program development include increasing the use of psychosocial resources in interventions designed to improve immigrants' employment status. ? 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 33: 673-690, 2005.

Peer-reviewed publications in scholarly journals Published/In Press

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