Haitian Immigration in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil: Psychosocial Aspects, Acculturation, Prejudice and Quality of Life

Abstract The present study traces a panorama of Haitian immigration in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, regarding psychosocial aspects, sociodemographic and socioeconomic profile, acculturative orientations, prejudice and quality of life. Participants included 67 Haitian immigrants, aged between 19 and 58 years old (M=33.87; DP=5.47). The sample was predominantly male (77.6%), presented high schooling (M = 10.5; SD = 4.53) and spoke the Portuguese language (56.7%). The predominant acculturative orientation is integration, which is more present among men; those who accessed the Brazilian social assistance system; the youngest; those with more fluency in other languages, and the ones that have been in Brazil for the longest amount of time. In addition, perceived prejudice and quality of life obtained significantly higher results in comparison to studies with Haitian immigrants carried out in other countries.