Post Migration Stress among Young Adults in Kerala: The Role of Migration Motives and Perceived Social Support

Abstract

The present study aims to analyse migration-related stress among young adults from Kerala, India, concerning migration goals and perceived social support. Hence, within the background of globalisation and migration, this work fills an important research gap in terms of investigating post-migration stress related to this group of people. The present study involved a sample of 201 young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 years who have migrated to European countries for work/study. The tools used for the study include the Post Migration Stress Questionnaire, the Reasons for Migration Scale (both developed by the researchers), and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. The result findings indicated that Socio-Political and Financial reasons for migration are found to be the significant predictors of Post-Migration Stress. The study also revealed that Socio-political reasons have a significant relationship with post-migration stress among the young adults of Kerala. In addition, perceived social support from friends had a significant relationship with post-migration stress. The study’s implications indicate that the intervention should address the given socio-political motives that make people migrate and enhance peer support to reduce stress after migration.