Acculturation orientations, social contact, and depression symptoms among ethnic minorities in Hong Kong

Previous research has documented the main effects of acculturation orientations and contact with host nationals and co-nationals on adaption outcomes among immigrants and sojourners. The present study seeks to extend the existing literature by scrutinizing how acculturation orientations will interact with social contact to influence depression symptoms among ethnic minorities. We hypothesized that the relationships of home culture orientation and host culture orientation with depression symptoms would be moderated by contact with family members, co-national friends, and local friends. A total of 348 South Asians (173 Nepalese and 175 Pakistanis, 70.1% female) aged from 16 to 67 years (M = 26.06, SD = 7.70) in Hong Kong completed an online questionnaire. The results indicated that the association between home culture orientation and depression symptoms was significantly moderated by contact with family members, such that the negative association was stronger when contact with family members was lower. Moreover, the association between home culture orientation and depression symptoms was significantly moderated by contact with local friends, such that the negative association was stronger when contact with local friends was higher. These findings provide insights into the boundary conditions of the relationship between home culture orientation and depression symptoms among ethnic minorities.