Family Support Differences Between Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Adolescents Across 30 Countries: Examining the Moderating Role of Cultural Distance, Culture of Origin, and Reception in Receiving Societies.

This article focuses on differences in perceived family support among first- and second-generation immigrant adolescents compared to non-immigrant peers across 30 receiving countries in Europe, Central Asia, and Israel. Using data from the 2017–2018 Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey, the study found that immigrant adolescents reported slightly lower family support than non-immigrants, with first-generation immigrants perceiving the least support. Differences in family support were not significantly influenced by receiving countries' restrictive integration policies, anti-immigrant attitudes, immigrant density, or the obedience orientation of the origin country. However, greater cultural distance between the origin and receiving countries—measured by differences in obedience versus independence orientation—was associated with larger gaps in family support, particularly for second-generation immigrants. These findings suggest that cultural distance may exacerbate stressors affecting family support among immigrant adolescents, while broader societal factors showed limited impact.