Interrelationships among individual and family factors, peer relationships, acculturation and well-being of Iranian adolescents in Malaysia

Teenage Years are vital years in the human development. According to the latest Iranian Statistics Centre report, in 2016, Iran is one of the youngest countries in the world with about 20.5 million adolescents (26%) (Parsa, 2016). In recent years, one of the critical issues in Iran is the migration of Iranian adolescents (with or without their families) to other countries. In current decades, migration of Iranian to Malaysia increased. Concerning the Iranian population in Malaysia, the academic literature relevant to the psychological outcomes for such migration are limited and, in most cases, focused solely on the adults. Hence, it is worthwhile to study the positive well- being of Iranian adolescents to support them in developing the necessary social and emotional competencies for a better transition to adulthood. The present study intends to investigate the effect of gender, family income, parenting styler and moderating role of acculturation and school type on the positive well-being of Iranian adolescents living in Malaysia. The main purpose is to understand if these variables play any role in how well the adolescents are able to adjust and live normal lives in the host country. The present study employed the Lerner’s developmental system theory and Berry’s acculturation theory to provide a valid foundation for explaining and predicting positive well-being among Iranian adolescents. 194 girls and boys, aged 11-15 years, contributed in this research through stratified random sampling method. Sampling conducted among Iranian and international schools in Selangor state. Positive Youth Development-Short Form (PYD-SF), Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ), Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Questionnaire (LSDQ), and Iranian Version of Self-Identity Acculturation Scale (SL- ASIA) were utilized. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used for data analysis. Results showed that there were no significant relationships between the adolescents’ gender and family income and their positive well-being. However, there was a significant association between parenting and positive well-being of Iranian adolescents in Malaysia. Also, adolescents with higher quality of peer relationship have a higher positive well-being. Moreover, findings advocated the moderating role of acculturation between parent-adolescent and peer relationships with adolescents’ positive well-being. While, the effect of parent-adolescent and peer relationships on the positive well-being of Iranian adolescents in Malaysia was not significantly dependent on the type of school. Finally, current study showed positive parenting is the strongest predictor of adolescents’ positive well-being. The outcomes of the present study can be helpful for parents and youths and also counsellors. As a result, it is recommended that policy makers should involve parents in counselling at the time of migration itself with frequent feedback sessions to ensure that enough support is provided to these adolescents.

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