Social Support Effectiveness of the Mental Health of Immigrants Living in Belgium

Abstract

The increase in immigration has required social workers to focus more on this field and understand the social support systems of immigrants and the effects of their relationships with these systems to improve their effectiveness. Subsequently, this study examined the perceived social support, psychological resilience and coping strategies of immigrants living in Belgium, which has a significant immigrant population compared with its population. Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 289 participants living in Belgium. According to our findings, immigrants with a high perceived level of social support also have high psychological resilience. However, immigrants’ high levels of perceived social support lead to more intense use of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping styles. These findings emphasise the functionality of the social support system for immigrants and shed light on the issues that social workers should focus on when working with immigrants.