The role of social support and acculturative stress in health-related quality of life among day laborers in Northern San Diego.

There is evidence to suggest that Latino day laborers experience higher levels of acculturative stress than Latinos in employment sectors in the US. Given the stress-buffering role that social support plays in minimizing the negative physical and mental health outcomes of stress, this study examined this relationship in a sample of 70 Latino Day laborers in the northern San Diego area(100% male, mean age = 27.7, SD = 9.1). Results from multivariate regression analyses showed that there was a significant interaction effect between social support and acculturative stress (P = 0.025) on physical health, indicating that higher levels of social support buffered the negative effects of acculturative stress on physical health.Acculturative stress and social support were not associated with mental health status. Overall, these findings suggest that fostering social support may be an essential strategy for promoting health among Latino male day laborers.