Bicultural Acceptance Attitude as a Protective Factor Against the Effect of Acculturative Stress on Life Satisfaction Among Korean Multicultural Adolescents

As we enter the era of globalization, it is becoming crucial to understand the unique experience that multicultural adolescents have to go through. As such, this study examined the moderating effect of Bicultural Acceptance Attitude between Acculturative Stress and Life Satisfaction. A nationwide sample of 1,857 youth(M_age = 11.05, SD = .03; 52.3% male) is analyzed, using the 2nd wave(2021) data of the 2nd term Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study(MAPS) provided by the National Youth Policy Institute of South Korea(NYPI). The hypothesis was tested through SPSS PROCESS macro and the Johnson-Neyman method. Findings have revealed that Acculturative Stress is negatively associated with Life Satisfaction, and the Bicultural Acceptance Attitude worked as a protective factor in its relationship. The bicultural acceptance attitude had a significant effect on the relationship between acculturative stress and life satisfaction only when its value was -6.77 or above (upper 4.15%, lower 95.85%). These findings contribute to alleviating the impact of Acculturative Stress as a risk factor on Life Satisfaction among multicultural adolescents.