Adolescents with Turkish background in Norway and Sweden: a comparative study of their psychological adaptation.

Using a questionnaire survey, this study compared psychological adaptation (self-esteem, life satisfaction, and mental health problems) of Turkish adolescents in Norway and Sweden, and examined to what extent ethnic and majority identities, acculturation strategies, and perceived discrimination accounted for adaptation among Turkish adolescents. The samples consisted of 407 Turks (111 in Norway and 296 in Sweden) with a mean age of 15.2 years and 433 host adolescents (207 in Norway, 226 in Sweden) with a mean age of 15.6 years. Turks in Norway reported poorer psychological adaptation than Turks in Sweden. Predictors of good adaptation were Turkish identity and integration, whereas poor adaptation was related to marginalization and perceived discrimination. The results indicated that the poorer adaptation of Turks in Norway compared to that of Turks in Sweden could be due to lower degree of Turkish identity and higher degree of perceived discrimination.