Estrés por aculturación y satisfacción con la vida en estudiantes migrantes en Chile: Asociaciones indirectas con sintomatología postraumática

Background: Child and adolescent migration poses relevant challenges for understanding the psychosocial well-being of migrant children and adolescents in Chile, particularly in school and border contexts. This study examined direct and indirect associations between dimensions of acculturative stress, post-traumatic symptomatology, and life satisfaction among migrant students. Method: The sample consisted of 237 migrant students enrolled in schools in Arica, Chile, aged between 12 and 18 years (M = 14.26; SD = 1.70). Measures included sources of acculturative stress, post-traumatic symptomatology, and life satisfaction. Structural equation models with robust estimation were conducted to examine direct and indirect associations among the variables. Results: Post-traumatic symptomatology was negatively associated with life satisfaction. When dimensions of acculturative stress were examined, only difficulties in adaptation at school, within the family, and in peer relationships showed a significant indirect effect on life satisfaction through post-traumatic symptomatology (β = −.066, 95% CI [−.156, −.014], p = .018). No significant indirect effects were found for longing for the country of origin or discrimination. Conclusion: The findings are consistent with a model in which everyday adaptation difficulties are associated with lower life satisfaction among migrant children and adolescents, partially through higher levels of post-traumatic symptomatology. Given the cross-sectional design, these results should be interpreted as associations compatible with a partial mediation model, rather than as causal evidence.