The Counseling Psychologist

http://tcp.sagepub.com/

Xenophobia : Understanding the Roots and Consequences of

Negative Attitudes Toward Immigrants
Oksana Yakushko
The Counseling Psychologist 2009 37: 36 originally published online 15 April
2008
DOI: 10.1177/0011000008316034

The online version of this article can be found at:

http://tcp.sagepub.com/content/37/1/36

Published by:

http://www.sagepublications.com

On behalf of:

Division of Counseling Psychology of the American Psychological Association

Additional services and information for The Counseling Psychologist can be found at:

Email Alerts: http://tcp.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts

Subscriptions: http://tcp.sagepub.com/subscriptions

Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav

Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav

Citations: http://tcp.sagepub.com/content/37/1/36.refs.html

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

 >> Version of Record - Dec 16, 2008

OnlineFirst Version of Record - Apr 15, 2008

What is This?

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

 The Counseling Psychologist
Volume 37 Number 1
January 2009 36-66
© 2009 the Division of
Xenophobia Counseling Psychology
10.1177/0011000008316034
http://tcp.sagepub.com
Understanding the Roots and hosted at
http://online.sagepub.com
Consequences of Negative Attitudes
Toward Immigrants
Oksana Yakushko
University of Nebraska–Lincoln

The current xenophobic cultural environment in the United States makes it

imperative that psychologists understand the nature of xenophobia and rec-
ognize its consequences. This article explores sociological, social psycho-
logical, and multicultural research to examine the causes of negative attitudes
toward immigrants. Xenophobia is presented as a concept descriptive of a
socially observable phenomenon. Historical and contemporary expressions
of xenophobia in the United States are examined and compared with cross-
cultural scholarship on negative attitudes toward immigrants. Last, sugges-
tions are provided for how counseling psychologists can integrate an
understanding of xenophobia into their clinical practice, training, research,
and public policy advocacy.

afael Garcia escaped torture and abuse during the days of brutal civil
R and drug gang wars in Guatemala when he came to the United States
15 years ago. Rafael works as a carpenter, pays his taxes, sends money back
home to support his mother, and directs a choir at his church. He is, how-
ever, one of the “illegal alien” workers who says that he lives every day of
his life in fear of being sent home, a place where he experienced tremen-
dous abuse (Catholic News, 2006). Rafael is among many millions who
have come to this country in search of a better life who are now being por-
trayed as dangerous criminals whose presence in this country is unwanted
and burdensome. Tara, who is a legal immigrant from Albania, described
her struggle to survive and her disappointments with the mistreatment she
receives as an immigrant: “I am again that nobody, human dust that can be
easily ignored and dismissed” (Berger, 2005, p. 80). Her statement echoes
the voices of many recent immigrants who live and work in dehumanizing

The Division 17 logo denotes that this article has been approved for continuing
education credit. To access the CE test, please visit http://per-ce.net/ce/tcp.php.

36

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

 Yakushko / Xenophobia 37

conditions. Current news media are filled with stories in which recent
immigrants are denigrated, belittled, and discriminated against. Incidents of
anti-immigrant prejudice are common, yet often are not recognized as
being connected by an underlying set of attitudes based on fear, dislike, or
hatred of foreigners: xenophobia.
Immigration has become a focal point of heated national debates
(Dillon, 2001; Fuentes, 2006; Munro, 2006; Smith & Edmonston, 1997;
Toy, 2002). Immigrants are repeatedly associated with the declining economy,
overpopulation, pollution, increased violence, depleted social resources
(i.e., medical and educational), erosion of cultural values, and terrorism
(Cowan, Martinez, & Mendiola, 1997; Munro, 2006). Immigrant individuals
are often portrayed as criminal, poor, violent, and uneducated (Espanshade &
Calhoun, 1993; Muller & Espanshade, 1985). Negative attitudes toward
immigrants have begun to receive the attention of social psychologists (e.g.,
Stephan, Renfro, Esses, Stephan, & Martin, 2005; Stephan, Ybarra, &
Bachman, 1999; Stephan, Ybarra, Martinez, Scharzwald, & Tur-Kaspa,
1998). The focus of their research has been primarily on the roots and char-
acteristics of this prejudice. Little or no attention has being given to the detri-
mental influence of xenophobia on the targets of the prejudice, such as the
psychological implications of prejudice toward immigrant individuals.
Counseling psychology has been at the forefront of examining multicul-
tural psychology and the impact of multiculturalism on clinical practice
(e.g., Pope-Davis, Coleman, Liu, & Toporek, 2003; Sue, 2001). Although a
focus on immigrants who are racial and ethnic minorities has existed in
counseling literature (e.g., Comas-Díaz & Greene, 1994; Sue & Sue, 1999),
less systematic writing has been done on the unique influence of recent
events and attitudes concerning immigration and the attitudes of host com-
munities on individuals who relocate. Undoubtedly, counseling psycholo-
gists are serving and interacting with immigrant populations in their clinical,
scholarly, and activist pursuits. Approximately 12% of the U.S. population
is foreign born, of whom 75% have immigrated since 1980 (Larsen, 2004).
Counseling psychology will be better equipped to work with the growing
foreign-born population in the United States by giving explicit attention to
the unique experiences of these populations, including the negative attitudes
toward this group held by the host community. An understanding of xeno-
phobia aids clinicians and scholars in recognizing sociopolitical factors that
are detrimental to immigrants’ adjustment and well-being. Moreover, under-
standing xenophobia can be a critical step in the direction of reducing and
even someday eliminating prejudice against immigrants in the United States.
This article provides an introduction for counseling psychologists and
others involved in the mental health field to xenophobia as a socially

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

38 The Counseling Psychologist

observable phenomenon. After a brief description of the migration circum-

stances and historical patterns of immigration in the United States, past and
current expressions of xenophobia in the United States are highlighted.
Current cross-cultural scholarship on negative attitudes toward immigrants
is reviewed. Last, the article offers suggestions for how counseling psy-
chologists can integrate an understanding of xenophobia into their clinical
practice, training, research, and public policy goals.
Although marked differences exist between various groups of immigrants
based on their relocation circumstances, such as their status as refugees or
undocumented migrant workers, this article highlights immigrants’ shared
experiences of negative attitudes by the host community toward them as a
group. Both legal and scholarly terminology have tended to refer to all people
who relocate to the United States from other countries, regardless of their
method of migration, as immigrants. Thus, this article uses “immigrant” as an
overarching category while highlighting the unique experiences of different
immigrant groups. To recognize the distinctive patterns of migration, a brief
discussion of the U.S. legal immigration system is provided.

The U.S. Immigration System

Immigration is a complex phenomenon and constitutes a wide array of

relocation circumstances. These circumstances have significant repercus-
sions for individuals who enter the United States and their experiences while
in this country. These various circumstances of relocation also carry unique
challenges for those who come to the United States from Third World coun-
tries in comparison to immigrants from the “developed” world. For instance,
difficulties faced by migrant workers from Mexico or “mail-order brides”
from eastern Europe are much different than faced by a person coming from
a wealthier background and with a white-collar skill, such as computer abil-
ities. Although all mentioned individuals are immigrants or “aliens” in legal
terminology, their experiences are likely to be widely divergent.
Legal immigration refers to the process by which noncitizens are
granted legal permanent residence or a “green card” by the federal govern-
ment of the United States. Legal permanent residence includes the right to
remain in the country indefinitely, to be gainfully employed, and to seek the
benefits of U.S. citizenship through naturalization, although it does not
include the right to vote (Mulder et al., 2001). A distinction is made
between legal immigrants who are new arrivees to the United States versus
those who are termed adjustees (i.e., their immigrant status was adjusted
while they were in the United States) or asylees (i.e., those who claimed

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

 Yakushko / Xenophobia 39

that it was impossible for them to return to their native countries because of
wars or political persecution) (Perry, Vandervate, Auman, & Morris, 2001).
One of the most common ways of receiving legal status in the United
States is through family-sponsored immigrant visas, which are granted to
individuals who seek to become citizens or residents of the United States
through family connections to U.S. citizens or legal residents (Mulder et al.,
2001). Besides having a family member sponsor, another avenue for immi-
gration is commonly referred to as the “brain drain” method (Simon, 2001).
U.S. immigration policies allow for legal immigrant status to be granted to
those who are deemed to be “persons of extraordinary ability” or to those
who have advanced training or skills in occupations that are important for
the U.S. labor market (e.g., engineers, nurses). Companies or agencies can
sponsor such individuals in gaining legal immigrant status. In 2002,
approximately 175,000 out of 362,000 permanent resident documents were
granted for “employment-based” reasons (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005). One
of the more recent developments in U.S. immigration policy was designed
to create more equal opportunities for individuals of various countries to
legally emigrate to the United States. Each year, the Diversity Lottery
Program makes 55,000 immigrant visas available for a fee to people who
come from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States
(U.S. Department of Justice, 2002).
A different type of immigration status is granted to individuals who are
considered refugees. Refugees are defined by the 1967 United Nations
(UN) Protocol on Refugees as those people outside their country of nation-
ality who are unable or unwilling to return to that country because of per-
secution or a well-founded fear of persecution (Mulder et al., 2001). The
U.S. Refugee Act of 1980 stated that under circumstances outlined by the
UN protocol, the United States will allow a certain number of individuals
of any country to enter the United States as refugees (U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services, 2007). This number is determined by the U.S. pres-
ident and Congress and has a ceiling. Approximately 20 countries in the
world have official relocation programs for refugees, and the United States
accepts approximately 4% of the estimated world refugee population (UN,
2004). Among the cultural and ethnic groups who have been resettled as
refugees to the United States since the 1960s have been Hmong, Kurdish,
Vietnamese, Cuban, Bosnian, Kosovo Albanian, Iraqi, Iranian, Sudanese,
Ukrainian, and Russian individuals (Bemak & Chung, 2002).
A final category of immigrants includes individuals who relocate to the
United States in search of employment and better living conditions. Often
referred to as “illegal” or “undocumented,” the unauthorized migrant pop-
ulation consists primarily of two groups: those entering the United States,

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

40 The Counseling Psychologist

primarily across the land borders, without inspection and those entering the
United States with legal temporary visas who stay beyond the specified
time allotment (Mulder et al., 2001). The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (2007) estimated that in recent years, nearly one third of all immi-
grants who enter the United States are undocumented (i.e., approximately
300,000 individuals a year). The majority of undocumented immigrants in
the United States are Mexicans. However, individuals from all parts of the
world may also be living and working in the United States without legal
documentation (Passel, 2006). It is estimated that nearly 45% of unautho-
rized immigrants within the United States have entered the country legally
(Pew Hispanic Center, 2006).
The current system of immigration in the United States has been shaped
by historical events, broad cultural attitudes, and changing global realities.
For instance, as will be discussed below, the Civil Rights movement in the
United States significantly altered patterns of immigration. Because immi-
gration is a core theme that runs through much of the post-Columbus
American history, the following review of immigration and immigrant poli-
cies is concise and focuses on those policies that reflect cultural attitudes
toward the recent immigrants.

A Brief History Of Immigration And Attitudes

Toward Immigrants In The United States

The United States has been known throughout its history as a nation of
immigrants (Smith & Edmonston, 1997). At the same time, the United
States has a long history of xenophobia and intolerance of immigrants
(Fuchs, 1995; Takaki, 1989). White western Europeans, who colonized the
Americas, as well as individuals from many other nations, moved to the
United States relatively freely and in great numbers until the restrictions of
the early 1900s (Daniels, 2002). In 1921, the U.S. Congress passed the
Quota Act, which established a new system of national origin restrictions,
favoring northern European immigrants over those from other regions of
the world. In 1924, the Johnson-Reed Act further reduced the quota and
created the U.S. Border Patrol. Subsequent immigration policies continued
to be guided by race and social class-based policies (e.g., Chinese
Exclusionary Act, the Alien Land Act, the McCarran-Walter Act) that
denied entry or the right to citizenship to non-White immigrants (Daniels,
2004). Non-White immigrants were first able to become naturalized citi-
zens only in 1952, whereas this privilege had been granted to the majority
of White immigrants since 1790 (Daniels, 2002). Immigration laws in the

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

 Yakushko / Xenophobia 41

1940s and 1950s were marked by strong prejudices against individuals of

German descent as well as all those who might be “communists”
(Gabaccia, 2002). With the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, the ethni-
cally and racially restrictive immigration quotas were challenged (Daniels,
2002; Gabaccia, 2002). In 1965, the Immigration and Nationality Act abol-
ished quotas that favored European immigrants (see Table 1 for demo-
graphic characteristics of immigrants reported by the 2000 U.S. Census).
This policy resulted in significant demographic shifts in the immigrant pop-
ulation, with nearly 50% of documented immigrants entering the United
States from Latin America and the Caribbean, 25% from Asia, and less than
15% from Europe by the year 2000 (Larsen, 2004).
Even greater diversity resulted from the ratification of the U.S. Refugee
Act in 1980, which opened borders to several million refugees were then
resettled across the country (Gabaccia, 2002). In the late 1990s, the number
of resettled refugees approached 130,000 a year (U.S. Census Bureau,
2005). Recently, however, refugee resettlement has been restricted by the
U.S. government because of the fear that refugee status would be used as a
basis for entrance by potential terrorists (Sengupta, 2001).
Undocumented migration to the United States has been especially targeted
in recent policies and cultural debates (Gabaccia, 2002). Prior to the 1960s,
migrant agricultural workers, especially from Mexico, could gain lawful tem-
porary employment in the United States under the bracero program. The
1965 Immigration Act resulted in a denial of all legal rights to migrant work-
ers, and their status in the United States became that of undocumented or ille-
gal immigrants. However, the demand for migrant labor in the United States
increased rather than diminished, and in spite of policies that made life more
difficult for them, the numbers of undocumented workers has continually
increased (Daniels, 2004; Perea, 1997). New restrictions appeared in the
1980s to address this increase of undocumented immigration.
Since the 1980s, both documented and undocumented immigration con-
tinued to be viewed negatively by many politicians and the general public
(Fry, 2001; Gabaccia, 2002). The 1990 Immigration Act established a ceil-
ing for the overall number of immigrants admitted to the country, easing
immigration opportunities only for those who have high-demand work
skills such as scientists, engineers, and nurses (Daniels, 2002). Tougher
measures to deal with immigration were implemented with the Illegal
Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996 (Daniels,
2004). New reforms came after the September 11, 2001 events. These
events prompted the creation of the Smart Border Declaration and Action
Plan, which was based on a view of immigration as “a potential threat to

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

42 The Counseling Psychologist

Table 1
General Characteristics of the Immigrant Population: Census 2000a
Characteristic Total No. Percentage

Total foreign born 31,098,946 100

Citizenship status
Naturalized 12,556,533 40.4
Not a citizen 18,542,413 59.6
Place of birth
Mexico 9,064,828 29.1
Asia 8,276,315 26.6
Other Latin America 6,917,622 22.2
Europe 4,956,908 15.9
Africa, Oceania, other regions 1,883,272 6.1
Year of entry
Before 1970 5,012,740 16.1
1970-1979 4,789,199 15.4
1980-1989 8,437,062 27.1
1990-1999 12,326,269 39.6
2000 533,676 1.7
Age at entry
Younger than 18 3,154,305 10.1
18-29 7,005,350 22.5
30-49 12,727,607 40.9
50 and older 8,211,685 26.4
Sex
Male 15,487,452 49.8
Female 15,611,495 50.2
Race/Hispanic origin
Hispanic 13,847,759 44.5
Non-Hispanic White 7,568,020 24.3
Non-Hispanic Asian 6,939,470 22.3
Non-Hispanic Black 2,157,634 6.9
Non-Hispanic other 586,062 1.9

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2003).

a. All categories reported as defined by the Census Bureau.

the public and economic security” of the United States (Lin & Green, 2001,
pp. 272-273). At the time this article is being written, political and cultural
debates are focusing specifically on the legal status of the undocumented
population, with repeated calls being made for increased border security
and stronger pressure on those who employ immigrant laborers as well as
possible felony charges for those who reside in the United States without
proper documentation (Fuentes, 2006; Sarkar, 2006). An overview of the

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

 Yakushko / Xenophobia 43

current media portrayal of the immigration issues highlights the particularly

strong anti-immigrant fervor of both the U.S. legislature as well as the
public (e.g., Connelly, 2006; Rieff, 2005). Furthermore, many groups that
focus on restriction of immigration, such as the Zero Population Growth
and the Californians for Population Stabilization, have recently reported
dramatic increases in members and contributions (Connelly, 2006).
A history of immigration in the United States would not be complete
without the mention of organizations and individuals who lobby and work
on the side of immigrants. Pro-immigrant movements have had a long
history in the United States, and many Americans do indeed have favorable
feelings toward immigrants (Haubert & Fussell, 2006). Recent anti-
immigrant debates within the U.S. legislature resulted in an outpouring of anger
and concern by both the immigrant community and its supporters (Sarkar,
2006). Arguments from these pro-immigrant quarters often emphasize the
economic utility of immigrants willing to work difficult, low-wage jobs and
frequently ask the U.S. government to be more concerned for the humanity
and welfare of these people groups.
However, as this brief history reveals, immigrants coming to the United
States have typically been met by discrimination and prejudice at worst and
by mild distrust and indifference at best. Indeed, the popular myth of the
United States as a “melting pot” of assimilated immigrants is neither sup-
ported by historical data nor by evaluation of the treatment of immigrants
in the United States, especially for the immigrants of color (Schirmer,
1998). Although restrictive and punitive immigration measures have specif-
ically targeted migrants because of their race and social class, a broader
cultural milieu of anti-immigrant sentiment has prevailed regardless of
immigrants’ demographic characteristics (Perea, 1997). These prejudices
are perhaps best comprehended under the heading of xenophobia, and
recent research provides insights into the nature of xenophobic attitudes.

Xenophobia

Definitions
Xenophobia is a form of attitudinal, affective, and behavioral prejudice
toward immigrants and those perceived as foreign. The Merriam-Webster
Online Dictionary’s (n.d.) definition of xenophobia as the “fear and hatred
of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign” high-
lights that the term has been historically used to emphasize a sense of fright

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

44 The Counseling Psychologist

of outsiders. However, more recent definitions of xenophobia suggest that

the fear of foreigners and their impact is linked with ethnocentrism, which
is characterized by the attitude that one’s own group or culture is superior
to others (Merriam-Webster Online, n.d.). V. Reynolds and Vine (1987)
stated that xenophobia is a “psychological state of hostility or fear towards
outsiders” (p. 28). Crowther (1995) emphasized that xenophobia focuses on
individuals who come from “other countries” and toward whom native indi-
viduals have “an intense dislike or fear” (p. 1385).
Scholars have also used the term nativism to describe negative feelings
toward immigrants and immigration (Gellner, 1995). Higham (1988) pro-
vided the following definition of nativism in the United States:

Nativism is an intense opposition to an internal minority on the grounds of

its foreign (i.e., “un-American”) connections. Specific nativist antagonisms
may and do vary widely in response to the changing character of minority
irritants and the shifting conditions of the day; but through each separate hos-
tility runs the connecting, energizing force of modern nationalism. While
drawing on much broader cultural antipathies and ethnocentric judgments,
nativism translates them into zeal to destroy the enemies of a distinctively
American way of life. (p. 2)

The preference for the term nativism is typically based on the emphasis
of the neutrality of the word in contrast to xenophobia, which implies the
presence of prejudice or fear (e.g., Fry, 2001). However, even those schol-
ars who use the term nativism usually highlight the negative implications of
nativist attitudes (Fry, 2001; Perea, 1997). Because these attitudes are not
neutral, xenophobia, as a term, seems to more clearly indicate the presence
of attitudinal and behavioral hostility toward nonnative individuals.
Moreover, the term xenophobia is commonly used by social psychologists,
human rights organizations, and the United Nations to describe anti-
immigrant sentiments. Thus, the term xenophobia may be most appropriate
for naming and understanding prejudices toward recent immigrants to the
United States.

Origins, Causes, and Characteristics

Not unlike other prejudices, xenophobia is a multidimensional and mul-
ticausal phenomenon. Xenophobia is intricately tied to notions of national-
ism and ethnocentrism, both of which are characterized by belief in the
superiority of one’s nation-state over others (Licata & Klein, 2002;

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

 Yakushko / Xenophobia 45

Schirmer, 1998). Esses, Dovidio, Semenya, and Jackson (2005) teased out
some important distinctions regarding constitutive elements of xenophobia.
They found that individual and group national identity focus that is nativis-
tic (i.e., believing that national identity is based on birth) rather than civic
and cultural (i.e., believing that national identity is based on voluntary com-
mitment to institutions) results in stronger negative views of foreigners.
Their experimental studies also revealed that nationalism (belief in the
superiority of one’s nation over others) rather than patriotism (affective
attachment to one’s nation) is related to increased negative views of immi-
grants. Last, Esses, Dovidio, Jackson, and Armstrong (2001) have shown
that high social dominance orientation, which is related to individual belief
in inherent cultural hierarchies and inequalities within a society, is predic-
tive of anti-immigrant sentiments. Thus, this scholarship suggests that eth-
nocentrism, nationalism, nativism, and belief in a hierarchical world order
have been strongly associated with xenophobia.
Watts (1996, p. 97) hypothesized that xenophobia is a “discriminatory
potential,” which is activated when ideology, such as ethnocentrism, is con-
nected to a sense of threat on a personal or group level. An example of such
threat is an individual or cultural perception that foreigners are taking jobs
from native workers. Watts further suggested that this prejudice produces
political xenophobia, which results in the desire to create and apply public
policies that actively discriminate against foreign individuals. Similarly,
Radkiewicz (2003, p. 5) postulated that xenophobia is related to an ethno-
centric “syndrome” with two separate dimensions: (a) beliefs about
national superiority and (b) hostile, reluctant attitudes toward representa-
tives of other countries.
Xenophobia is often associated with times of economic and political
instability. Economic imbalance pulls individuals toward countries with
prospects of higher earnings or sheer survival, whereas political, economic,
and cultural tensions push many out toward new lands (Marsella & Ring,
2003). In turn, the migration of large groups of people across borders can
result in the host community’s reaction of feeling threatened by the new-
comers whether because of perceptions of economic strain or of cultural
dissimilarity (Esses et al., 2001). Suarez-Orozco and Suarez-Orozco (1995)
argued that negative views of immigrants emerge from fears of diminished
economic resources, rapid demographic changes, and diminished political
influence. Scholars from both western Europe and the United States indi-
cated that foreigners are often targeted as convenient scapegoats during dif-
ficult cultural and economic transitions. Fritzsche (1994) suggested that
prejudice against immigrants can offer an emotional outlet for fear when

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

46 The Counseling Psychologist

both the internal and external affairs of a country are unstable.

Unlike other forms of prejudice, anti-immigrant discourse frequently
focuses on justifying the legitimacy of prejudicial reactions (Fry, 2001).
Questions such as “Should the needs and rights of the host country or the
needs and the rights of its migrants be seen as primary?” and “Are selective
immigration policies discriminatory?” are common in both popular and
scholarly debates (e.g., LeMay, 2004). Anti-immigrant sentiments are fre-
quently accepted as justifiable because they are seen as based on the realis-
tic concern of the host community (Fry, 2001). Specifically, the bases for
feelings of threat from immigrants have been related to evolutionary
(Falkner, Schaller, Park, & Duncan, 2004; Kanazawa & Frerichs, 2001),
economic (Buck et al., 2003; Thornton & Mizuno, 1999), and environ-
mental (Ervin, 1994; Tactaquin, 1998) concerns. However, the presence of
these reality-based considerations is not dissimilar to concerns that have
underlined the causes of prejudice toward native nonimmigrant minorities.
For example, economic recessions and resulting fears of losing jobs to
minorities have been also connected to an increase in racist and sexist
beliefs (Ott, 1995; Runciman, 1966). Furthermore, the economic and social
data do not support typical anti-immigrant arguments. Economic and
crime-rate statistics highlight the fallacy of claims that immigration puts
economic and social strains on U.S. society (Lee, Martinez, & Rosenfeld,
2001; National Academy of Science, 1997). For example, immigrants as a
labor force produce nearly $10 billion in profits for the U.S. economy,
which is highly dependent on immigrants who are willing to work in low-
level, low-paid jobs (National Academy of Science, 1997).

Theories About the Causes of Xenophobia

Because attitudes about immigration often relate to national economic
stability, several theories have attempted to delineate how perceived feel-
ings of threat contribute to the creation of negative views toward those who
seem to challenge the economic well-being of the in-group. Realistic group
conflict theory (Sherif, Harvey, White, Hood, & Sherif, 1961) suggests that
competition for access to limited resources results in a conflict between
groups. Competition for these limited resources between groups leads to
prejudices against the out-group, whose members are viewed by the in-
group as a source of competition.
Expanding the view of threat outside the economic area, the integrated
theory of prejudice (Stephan & Stephan, 1996, 2000; Stephan et al., 1999)
suggests that there are four types of threat that lead to prejudice: realistic

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

 Yakushko / Xenophobia 47

threat, symbolic threat, intergroup anxiety, and negative stereotypes. Realistic

threat concerns both the economic and political power of the in-group that
is perceived to be challenged by the out-group (e.g., jobs being given to the
members of the out-group). Symbolic threat stems from differences in val-
ues, beliefs, morals, and attitudes between the in-group and out-group
members. These threats are directly related to conflicts in worldviews
between the members of the in-group whose values, beliefs, and attitudes
are being challenged by the newcomers. The final two types of threat, inter-
group anxiety and negative stereotypes, focus on the avoidance of unpleas-
ant interactions with others and the meaning of this interaction. Stephan
and Stephan (2000) suggest that individuals in the in-group experience feel-
ings of threat when interacting with members of the out-group in ways that
challenge their self-image (e.g., being embarrassed when in contact with
something unfamiliar), and this threat perception results in anxiety. Further-
more, when members of the in-group approach interactions with members
of the out-group whom they stereotype to be aggressive, unintelligent, and
lazy, their feelings of threat are increased in light of the prospects of such
interactions.
Theories about social hierarchies and justification of the systemic order
also help explain how individuals develop and maintain xenophobic attitudes.
Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth, and Malle (1994) have suggested that individuals
with high social dominance orientation believe that social structures are inher-
ently hierarchical and that such structures must be upheld (e.g., native born
individuals thus must be held in higher regard than foreigners). Jost and Banaji
(1994) similarly highlight that individuals develop strong system-justification
beliefs that emphasize the maintenance of the status quo in the society.
This overview of definitions, causes, characteristics, and theories about
xenophobia and individuals who tend to be xenophobic highlights significant
parallels between this form of prejudice and racism. Because large numbers
of recent immigrants to the United States are also racial minorities (see Table
1) in the context of a racially segregated United States, it is important to dis-
cuss the shared and distinctive characteristics of racism and xenophobia.
Recognizing the similarities and differences between xenophobia and racism
aids the development of our awareness of how these two types of oppression
influence the psychological functioning and well-being of immigrants.

Xenophobia and Racism

Xenophobia and racism are highly interrelated and mutually supporting

forms of oppression. These two forms of oppression appear to be very sim-

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

48 The Counseling Psychologist

ilar yet also have distinct features in regard to their origins, targets, and
typical expressions. Moreover, communities across the globe may define
racism and xenophobia differently because of specific historical factors.
For example, in the context of western Europe, racism has been associated
with the anti-Semitism of the Nazi period and the Holocaust, whereas xeno-
phobia refers to what is termed racism in the United States as well as neg-
ative attitudes toward foreigners (Fernando, 1993).
Across the globe, racist and xenophobic prejudices share much in
common (Wimmer, 1997). As stated earlier, the history of immigration to
the United States has been significantly shaped by racist ideologies
(Gabbacia, 2002; Miles, 1982). The socially constructed notions of race
include the separation of people into distinct groups based primarily on
their skin color as well as factors such as their worldviews, cultural values,
attitudes, customs, and products (Gotanda, 1991). Racial minorities in the
United States are often perceived as foreigners rather than as native-born
individuals, especially in the case of persons of Asian and Latino descent
(Sue, 2003). Upon relocating to Western countries, immigrants who are
racial minorities enter the stratified racial social order that relegates people
who appear non-White to a secondary status (Fernando, 1993; Wimmer,
1997; Yakushko & Chronister, 2005). On the other hand, immigrants who
are White gain the many advantages accorded to White individuals in the
United States: they inherit the benefits of White privilege (see Foner &
Fredrickson, 2004; Jaynes, 2000, for discussion). Discrimination and hate
crimes are more likely to be reported by immigrants who are visibly differ-
ent from their host community, especially in regard to their racial charac-
teristics (Jasinskaja-Lahti, Liebkind, & Perhoniemi, 2006).
Xenophobia and racism are also distinct. Racism has been typically
associated with prejudices against individuals founded on a socially con-
structed notion of groups’ differentiating visible phenotypical markers,
such as skin color (Castles & Miller, 1993; Helms, 1994; Helms & Talleyrand,
1997; Marger, 1997).
In contrast, xenophobia targets specifically those individuals who are
foreigners in a particular community, often regardless of their visible char-
acteristics or visible differences with the native individuals (Boehnke,
Hagan, & Hefler, 1998; Wimmer, 1997). Studies have shown that all immi-
grants, whether perceived as racially similar or dissimilar to the host com-
munity’s majority, can be targets of prejudice and discrimination against
them (Hernandez, 2006; Jasinskaja-Lahti & Liebkind, 2001; Liebkind &
Jasinskaja-Lahti, 2000a, 2000b). Whereas racism focuses on the superiority

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

 Yakushko / Xenophobia 49

of one race over others across all geographic and ethnocultural boundaries
(Helms & Talleyrand, 1997), prejudice against immigrants is typically con-
nected to ethnocentrism, which is a belief in the superiority of one nation-
state over others (Hagendoorn & Sniderman, 2001).
Furthermore, racism and xenophobia are influenced by different historical
realities. The sociocultural factors that contribute to racism are based on his-
tories of subordination, slavery, colonialism, and segregation (Gotanda, 1991;
Helms, 1994). Xenophobia is typically related to times of economic and
political instability or imbalance that result in the migration of large groups
of people across borders as well as to the host community’s reaction of feel-
ing threatened by the newcomers (Esses et al., 2001; Marsella & Ring, 2003).
Racism characteristically occurs within cultural and economic structures
in which one group seeks to dominate and exploit others, gaining cultural
and economic privileges from such domination (Alexander, 1987; Helms &
Talleyrand, 1997; Sue, 2003). Xenophobic prejudice typically emphasizes
the discomfort with the presence of foreigners in a community and the
infringement of these foreigners on the economic, cultural, and social cap-
ital of the host community (Esses et al., 2001).
It is important to recognize that incidences of xenophobia are as common
in communities with shared racial characteristics as in those where distinct
racial groupings are perceived. Tensions between native-born racial minority
individuals and immigrants have been documented and examined (e.g.,
Espanshade, 2000; Kim, 2000; Thornton & Mizuno, 1999; Waldinger, 1997).
The UN’s (2006) State of the World’s Refugees highlights that refugees
across all areas of the world are subject to xenophobia and that experiences
of prejudice are common for refugees who cross no boundaries of race.
Xenophobia in western and eastern Europe, Australia, and the United States
has been well documented and publicized (Baumgartl & Favell, 1995;
Oakley, 1996; Pettigrew, 1998; Smith & Edmonston, 1997; Sue, 2003).
Xenophobia is also widespread in Asia, Africa, and Latin America (Gray,
1998; Jung, 2004; Klotz, 2000; Ramachandran, 2002; Vale, 2002).
Unquestionably, xenophobia and racism are interactive and mutually
supporting forms of prejudice. However, racism does not always imply
xenophobia. Conversely, xenophobia does not always include racist atti-
tudes. Recognition of both the convergent and divergent aspects of these
phenomena can aid in theorizing about the roots of these prejudices as well
as about their influence on individuals and society. The significance of the
powerful effects of these two forms of prejudice on immigrants is espe-
cially staggering considering that the vast majority of immigrants to the
United States are non-White (see Table 1).

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

50 The Counseling Psychologist

The Impact of Xenophobia

An atmosphere of hostility can shape the cultural discourse on immigra-

tion and can have detrimental affects on those who are the targets of preju-
dice toward immigrants. Images of immigrants in the popular culture are
often negative and inconsistent. Immigrants are likely to be portrayed in
very stereotypical ways as, for example, lazy, criminal, and uneducated
(Espanshade & Calhoun, 1993; Muller & Espanshade, 1985). Films about
immigrants, such as the The Foreign Affair and The Birthday Girl, create an
image of scheming mail-order brides, and many TV shows about criminal
elements in U.S. society focus on immigrant Mafia and gangs as sources of
threat to the American public. Sexualizing or desexualizing immigrant
women is also common (Lemish, 2001).
Contradictory perceptions held by native-born individuals often leave
immigrants at impossible crossroads of expectations. For example, Esses
and colleagues (2001) highlight that immigrants are perceived to be a threat
to the majority culture when they are doing well because this perception
emphasizes the fact that immigrants are taking jobs and educational oppor-
tunities away from native individuals. On the other hand, immigrants who
are shown as having a need for governmental support in the form of social
services are attacked for becoming a burden to society and its native-born
members.
Several studies have shown that members of the host culture tend to
demand that immigrants assimilate to their culture, leaving their own cul-
tural heritage behind (Florack, Piontkowski, Rohmann, Balzer, & Perzig,
2003; Kosic, Mannetti, & Sam, 2005; Shamai & Ilatov, 2001). Such demands
may result in increased cultural confusion and isolation as immigrant indi-
viduals and groups attempt to hold on to their sense of cultural identity
while making an effort to connect to their host community and create a
home for themselves and their children. Kurman, Eshel, and Sbeit (2005)
found that immigrants’ perceptions of host environments’ hostile pressures
to assimilate resulted in diminished psychological adjustment for these
immigrants.
Horenczyk (1996) theorized that inconsistent and negative treatment of
immigrants results in their vulnerability to anxiety and related disorders.
Barry and Grilo (2003) found that East Asian immigrants perceived both
individual and group discrimination in their host community and this per-
ception negatively influenced their functioning. Perceived discrimination
was related to psychological distress in a sample of 108 Arab Americans, a
majority of whom were born outside the United States (Moradi & Hasan,

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

 Yakushko / Xenophobia 51

2004). Several recent studies with large samples of recent immigrants to

Finland have shown that perceived prejudice and discrimination were detri-
mental to their psychological functioning (Jasinskaja- Lahti, Liebkind,
Jaakkola, & Reuter, 2006; Liebkind & Jasinskaja-Lahti, 2000; Liebkind,
Jasinskaja-Lahti, & Solheim, 2004). Their studies found that immigrants’
cultural or racial similarity to the host country did not protect individuals of
various groups from experiencing perceived discrimination because of their
immigrant status.
Because the pressure to acculturate is closely related to xenophobia,
studies about ethnic identity and acculturation may provide insights into the
influences of anti-immigrant sentiments on newcomers. Hovey (2000)
reported a strong link between an experience of acculturative stress and
depression and suicidality among recent immigrants from Mexico. Similarly,
higher levels of anxiety were reported by migrant farm workers from
Mexico who experienced greater acculturative stress (Hovey & Magana,
2003). Struggles with acculturation and cultural adjustment were associated
with mental health distress in a sample of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean
youth (Yeh, 2003). These studies highlight that discrimination is a reality
for many immigrant individuals and that discrimination has detrimental
effects on their mental health.
The negative influence of perceived discrimination and prejudice may
extend to the second generation of immigrants. For example, Hernandez
(2006) found that psychological and social functioning of immigrant
children and adolescents declined from first to second generation across all
studied immigrant groups. It is possible that one of the explanations for this
finding is related to both the racist and xenophobic environments to which
immigrants are exposed in their host country.
Xenophobic prejudice may carry a negative influence for individuals
who experience it that is similar to other forms of prejudice. Studies about
racial minorities within the United States have shown that experiences of
both blatant and subtle racism have dramatic costs for those who are targets
of prejudice (see Sue & Sue, 1999, for review). Certainly, xenophobia
results in significant costs for the well-being of recent immigrants. Future
studies ought to be aimed at investigating the role of xenophobia on immi-
grants’ well-being by directly examining immigrants’ perceptions of anti-
immigrant hostility on their lives. In addition, attention must be given to the
influences of intersecting oppressions on immigrants of color, lesbian and
gay immigrants, immigrant women, and immigrants with disabilities.
Counseling psychology stands in an excellent position to challenge the
societal milieu that justifies xenophobia and, instead, to proactively address
the unique needs of immigrant populations.

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

52 The Counseling Psychologist

The Role of Counseling Psychology

Counseling scholars and professionals have long worked to develop a set

of principles that could inform issues of diversity in all areas of psychology
(e.g., Aredondo, 1998; Sue, Aredondo, & McDavis, 1992). The Guidelines on
Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational
Change for Psychologists, adopted by the American Psychological Associa-
tion as policy and published in 2003, provide the framework for the essential
competencies required in mental health work with minority populations. The
guidelines emphasize the paramount importance of awareness, knowledge,
and skills in working with marginalized groups, lack of which can result in
detrimental consequences for the individuals with whom psychologists work.
These principles can serve as a structure for addressing the issues involved in
working with immigrants in the United States and seeking to address the role
of xenophobia in their lives.

Practice
One of the key areas for addressing the needs of immigrants in the United
States involves the provision of culturally relevant mental health services to
this population (Prendes-Lintel, 2001). Immigrants are a vastly heteroge-
neous group, and many of their mental health needs may be best served with
attention to multiple spheres of their experience, both premigration and post-
migration. When providing services, practitioners may also be faced with
unusual challenges. For example, frequently services must be conducted
through interpreters, and issues of quality language interpretation in mental
health settings have begun to receive more attention (Hwa-Froelich &
Westby, 2003; Raval & Smith, 2003). Not only can it be difficult to locate a
trained professional interpreter, but the obstacle of reimbursement for their
services is another barrier that can prevent immigrant clients and providers
from working together. In addition, practitioners who work with undocu-
mented immigrants may have to struggle with ethical and legal dilemmas
not encountered in other client situations (Pinto, 2002). In addition to facing
these challenges, awareness of immigrant clients’ sources of strength, posi-
tive coping, and resilience can help empower them in the contexts of dis-
crimination and oppression (Yakushko & Chronister, 2005).
Scholarly literature on the unique aspects of clinical work with immi-
grants is beginning to emerge. Deen (2002, p. 3) provided an example of
using various treatment modalities, such as education, counseling, and
community work, to help newly arrived immigrants develop a “survival kit”

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

 Yakushko / Xenophobia 53

for dealing with a new culture. Among other in-depth discussions of thera-
peutic work with immigrants is the recent contribution of Bemak and
Chung (2002), who suggested a multilevel model of counseling and psy-
chotherapy that specifically focuses on mental health services for refugees.
According to these authors, service provision to refugees should include
mental health education, psychotherapy, cultural empowerment, and inte-
gration of Western and indigenous healing methods.
An example of creating a culturally responsive clinical practice with
immigrants can be seen in the work of Dr. Maria Prendes-Lintel, a coun-
seling psychologist who created the For Immigrants and Refugees
Surviving Torture (F.I.R.S.T.) Project in Lincoln, Nebraska. The F.I.R.S.T.
project employs a holistic, multidisciplinary approach to working with
immigrants and their families and focuses on prevention, strength building,
and community involvement. In addition to counseling, the project is able
to provide such services as groups on parenting, yoga and meditation
classes, art classes, massage, biofeedback, and psychiatric consultations.
The project’s office includes a separate space, termed the café, where any-
one can come together over a cup of tea or coffee and work on a jigsaw puz-
zle, a game of chess, or read a newspaper and check e-mails. Services for
immigrant individuals and groups such as the F.I.R.S.T. Project can be
guided by multicultural service delivery models proposed in the counseling
literature (e.g., Atkinson, Thompson, & Grant, 1993; Sue, 2001).

Education and Training

Training of counseling professionals is one of the fundamental areas of
counseling psychology as a field. Information about immigrants has been
included in the current multicultural coursework, albeit unsystematically,
because of their possible status as racial minorities within the United States.
However, a more systematic look at the sociopolitical influences and unique
psychological needs of immigrant populations can provide a better theoretical
and clinical framework for those who may eventually serve these individuals.
Knowledge, awareness, and skills are the components integral to the
development of multicultural counseling competence (Sue & Sue, 1999).
The training curriculum in counseling psychology can expand to include
information on immigrant populations such as the history, circumstances of
relocation, current policies, and legal practices that may directly or indi-
rectly influence the psychological functioning of immigrant women, men,
and children (Bemak & Chung, 2002). For all those who are not the indigenous

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

54 The Counseling Psychologist

peoples in this country, awareness may be encouraged through trainees’

reflections about their own migration stories or that of their families. Esses
and colleagues (2001) found that helping individuals gain awareness of
their own immigrant histories helped to develop greater empathy and
reduce xenophobia. Awareness may also be raised through giving attention
to beliefs, misinformation, and prejudices toward immigrants that are com-
monly expressed in the American public sphere and may be shared by
students themselves. Trainees can work on attaining skills in serving immi-
grant clients by learning more about working with people whose cultural,
religious, psychological, and social worldviews may be vastly different
than theirs. Developing proficiencies in working with severe trauma, relax-
ation and biofeedback, dream work, and psychodrama may help future
counselors have a necessary therapeutic repertoire to address the complex
mental health needs of many immigrants (Bemak & Chung, 2002).
Receiving training on working through interpreters may also be necessary
for all new counselors (Prendes-Lintel, 2001). In addition, training ought to
focus on helping future counseling professionals recognize the strengths
and resilience of immigrant individuals as well as the essential role of cul-
tural and personal empowerment (Bemak & Chung, 2002; Prendes-Lintel,
2001; Yakushko, 2006; Yakushko & Chronister, 2005).
Another specific example of creating a more immigration-focused train-
ing is through internationalizing curricula and including a specific focus on
Third World peoples. Dr. Kathryn Norsworthy of Rollins College leads her
graduate counseling psychology students on trips to villages in Thailand
where students can witness firsthand the pressures to migrate placed on
many people around the globe. Such direct international experience seems
to result in students’ greater recognition of their previously held ethnocen-
tric and xenophobic attitudes. Indeed, cross-cultural exposure has been
shown to reduce xenophobia (e.g., Sheunpflug, 1997).
A. L. Reynolds (1995) has suggested that changes in multicultural
awareness proceed from the level of individual awareness to paradigm
shifts. Efforts to create active learning environments for the distilling of
information about immigrant populations can facilitate this transition from
“knowing about” others to being actively concerned for the well-being of
those who often have little power and protection in this country. This para-
digm shift can then facilitate a way of working with immigrant populations
that incorporates the social justice and multicultural delivery service
models proposed in the counseling psychology literature (Atkinson et al.,
1993; Vera & Speight, 2003).

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

 Yakushko / Xenophobia 55

Research
Culturally relevant practice and education must be informed by research
on immigrant populations. Research with immigrants is growing, yet also
continues to be unsystematic and difficult to conduct. Yu (1985) suggested
that conventional research methods based on Western standards may not be
appropriate with immigrant populations and that difficulties arising in such
research may include low response rates, high mobility of migrant groups,
suspicion of researchers’ agendas, language barriers, and differences in
status between the researcher and the researched. The universal applicabil-
ity of conventional Western research methods with immigrants and refugees
has been criticized by several scholars who study immigrant individuals and
groups (Flaskerud & Liu, 1991; Pernice, 1994; Roysircar, 2003).
Pernice (1994), in her article titled “Methodological Issues in Research
With Refugees and Immigrants,” highlighted the uniqueness of studying
this population in contrast to all other majority and minority groups. She
proposed six areas that must be taken into consideration when conducting
research with immigrants and refugees, especially from developing or non-
Western countries. The first area deals with contextual differences between
the researcher and the researched such as the contrasts between relative
political calm in the West versus other countries’ experiences of war and
political instability and capitalist versus socialist or communist govern-
ments, as well as protection for legal rights versus living in fear of author-
ity. As a result of these contextual differences, immigrant and refugee
participants may avoid all contact with “official” researchers, refuse to sign
consent forms, decline taping or recording, and respond to questions in
ways that seek to protect them rather than reveal vulnerabilities.
The second area of difficulty in research with immigrants, according to
Pernice (1994), deals with conceptual problems—mainly linguistic difficul-
ties with communication, accurate translations, and use of instruments. For
example, immigrant participants may not be able to read or write either in
English or in their own language. The third area of difficulty arises when try-
ing to find an adequate and random sample within a given immigrant or
refugee population. Complexity arises especially in studying undocumented
immigrants or those individuals and groups that frequently migrate.
Linguistic problems are the fourth area of difficulty, which may result in mis-
communication and mistrust of the researchers who are using interpreters.
The fifth difficulty that Pernice highlights is knowledge and observation of
cultural etiquette in researching immigrants from quite different cultural con-
texts than the Western frame of reference. For instance, researchers may need

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

56 The Counseling Psychologist

to approach a given community’s leaders to request their approval before

beginning or proceeding with research within a given immigrant group.
A final difficulty that Pernice (1994) points out is the significance of
researchers having such personality characteristics as “open-mindedness,
having accurate perceptions of the similarities and differences between
their social context and the context of the migrant group, the ability to com-
municate affectively with others, and to have minimal levels of prejudice
and ethnocentrism” (p. 210). This difficulty may stem directly from unex-
amined xenophobic prejudices against immigrants and immigration. It may
be necessary for researchers to undergo specific training in working with
immigrants and refugees that would not only focus on the methodological
difficulties that arise in such research but also on the pervasive nature of
prejudice, ethnocentrism, and stereotyping of immigrants that is common
to many native-born Western people.
Counseling psychologists who are interested in or already include immi-
grant populations in their work may heed Pernice’s (1994) call for devel-
oping a set of guidelines for research specifically for studies with refugees
and immigrants. In addition to new methodologies and approaches, current
psychological research on racial and ethnic minorities in the United States
has had developments that could apply to research with recent immigrants.
As with native-born or second-generation immigrant communities, specific
attention can be given to cross-cultural validation of measures used in
research. Unique areas of research with this population may include inves-
tigations on processes of transition and acculturation; on the impact of
xenophobia, racism, and other prejudices; on barriers and facilitators of
successful adjustment; on the influence of premigration experiences on
acculturation; and on the transformations of self and relationships in new
communities. Studies that focus specifically on xenophobia can also be
aided by new assessments, such as Ommudsen and Larsen’s (1997)
Attitudes toward Illegal Aliens Scale developed for assessing prejudice
against undocumented immigrants. Qualitative and mixed-methods explo-
rations are also essential in establishing that research with this population
is culturally relevant and comprehensive. Suzuki, Prendes-Lintel, Wertlieb,
and Stallings (1999) provide an excellent discussion of qualitative approaches
to research with immigrants.
Research with recent immigrants and refugees can be grounded in the
liberatory communitarian approach described by Prilleltensky and Nelson
(2002). This approach views all scholarship as a tool toward empowerment
of those who are studied. An example of such empirical work is found in the
scholarship conducted by the University of Oregon counseling psychology

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

 Yakushko / Xenophobia 57

faculty, Dr. Krista Chronister. Her studies with Latina women who are vic-
tims of domestic violence are integrated within the provision of needed
services for these women. For example, she has worked to create a career
intervention program that can aid recently immigrated Latinas who experi-
ence abuse within their relationships in identifying what career opportuni-
ties are available to them and how they can pursue their work goals. Such
empirical work not only directly benefits the immigrant participants, it also
serves as a springboard for subsequent policy work that is essential for
changing the larger structures of oppression that recent immigrants and
refugees face in their host communities.

Policy Work
Vera and Speight (2003) encourage all psychological research, practice,
and education to be informed by the ideals of “communitarian social jus-
tice” (p. 265). These authors call for psychological practice to integrate
attention to public policy, both in its prevention and intervention compo-
nents. Specifically, they suggest that researchers aim to become involved in
assessments of the influences of public policies on specific populations
and/or conduct survey research that has direct policy implications for given
populations. In light of the varieties of ways, outlined in this article, that
immigrant populations can be seen as some of the least legally and socially
protected groups within the United States (e.g., they do not have a demo-
cratic representation through voting), psychological research that seeks to
understand and empower immigrants is likely to involve important impli-
cations for public policy.
Counseling psychologists can enter public debates on immigration by
highlighting the detrimental effects of xenophobia on immigrants’ well-
being and the cost of prejudice for native-born individuals and society at
large. Empirically based recommendations for pro-immigrant policy work
have included a focus on native-born Americans’ commonalities with
immigrants as well as a dispute of fallacies about immigration as a social
and economic burden rather than a benefit (Esses et al., 2001; Pratto &
Lemieux, 2001). Moreover, studies have shown that advocacy by majority
members on behalf of minorities and immigrants can facilitate attitude
change among majority members (Mugny, Kaiser, Papastamou, & Perez,
1984; Sanchez-Mazas, 1996).
Another example of a specific area of policy work that can significantly
improve delivery of mental health services to immigrant populations has
focused on clinical work through interpreters. At this time, mental health

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

58 The Counseling Psychologist

interpreters are rarely trained in systematic ways nor do they receive certi-
fication to conduct work specifically with immigrants. Inadequate training
of interpreters in the medical field has received attention because of the
possible consequences for poor outcomes such as complications or death as
well as inefficiencies and increased costs of services (U.S. Department of
Justice, 2002). Mental health interpreters, even more so than medical inter-
preters, may face challenges due to lack of training: They may deal with
interpretations of disturbing information that evokes difficult feelings or
memories, or they may be a part of a small ethnic community in which
clients or those persons that their clients refer to are known to them (Hwa-
Froelich, & Westby, 2003; Raval & Smith, 2003). Furthermore, public policy
work can extend toward the mitigation of financial barriers of reimburse-
ment for immigrants who seek mental health treatment, such as payment
for interpreters.
Clinical practice, training, research, and policy work with immigrants
are cornerstones for the counseling psychology profession’s engagement
with the immigrant community. Greater competencies in each of these
areas will be useful for counseling psychologists who choose to increase
their involvement in issues pertaining to immigrants and immigration. Such
involvement, in turn, can bring about shifts in the zeitgeist of our profession
and our communities: We can begin to directly address xenophobia, its
impact on immigrant women and men, on our nation, and within ourselves.

Conclusion

Among Western nations, the United States has one of the highest
numbers of total immigrants coming to live within its borders each year.
Discrimination against immigrants in the United States has long been noted
and documented. Nevertheless, xenophobia and other anti-immigrant prej-
udices in the United States have not received much focused attention from
counseling psychologists. This is made more compelling by observations
that ethnocentrism and xenophobia appear to be highly characteristic of
U.S. society in general. The growth of personal and structural awareness of
attitudes toward immigrants on the part of psychology and psychologists
may be one of the first steps toward making immigrants and refugees more
visible in psychology, and in general.
This article has outlined the roots, causes, and consequences of xenopho-
bia. One aim of this work has been to suggest specific strategies for including
a systematic focus on immigrant populations and the impact of xenophobia in

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

 Yakushko / Xenophobia 59

psychological practice, education, research, and policy advocacy. Counseling

psychology’s leadership in the area of multiculturalism places our field in a
solid position for extending our awareness and skills to the study of immi-
grants. In light of recent world and national events that may leave immigrant
populations even more vulnerable to discrimination, this new focus may be
urgent. By spotlighting immigrant women, men, and children, counseling
psychology can once again “effectively promote the health, development, and
well-being of oppressed groups” (Vera & Speight, 2003, p. 270).

References
Alexander, P. (1987). Racism, resistance, and revolution. London: Bookmarks.
American Psychological Association. (2003). The guidelines on multicultural education, training,
research, practice, and organizational change for psychologists. American Psychologist,
58, 377-402.
Aredondo, P. (1998). Integrating multicultural counseling competencies and universal helping
conditions in culture-specific contexts. The Counseling Psychologist, 26, 592-601.
Atkinson, D. R., Thompson, C. E., & Grant, S. K. (1993). A three-dimensional model for
counseling racial/ethnic minorities. The Counseling Psychologist, 21, 257-277.
Barry, D. T., & Grilo, C. M. (2003). Cultural, self-esteem, and demographic correlates of per-
ception of personal and group discrimination among East Asian immigrants. American
Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 73, 223-229.
Baumgartl, B., & Favell, A. (Eds.). (1995). New xenophobia in Europe. London: Kluwer Law
International.
Bemak, F., & Chung, R. C. (2002). Counseling and psychotherapy with refugees. In P. B.
Pedersen, J. G. Draguns, W. J. Lonner, & J. E. Trimble (Eds.), Counseling across cultures
(2nd ed., pp. 209-232). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Berger, R. (2005). Immigrant women tell their stories. New York: Haworth Press.
Boehnke, K., Hagan, J., & Hefler, G. (1998). On the development of xenophobia in Germany:
The adolescent years. Journal of Social Issues, 54, 585-603.
Buck, B., Hobbs, M., Kaiser, A., Lang, S., Montero, D., Romines, K., et al. (2003).
Immigration and immigrants: Trends in American public opinion, 1964-1999. Journal of
Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 12, 73-90.
Buss, D. M. (1994). The evolution of desire: Strategies for human mating. New York: Basic
Books.
Castles, S., & Miller, M. J. (1993). The age of migration: International population movements
in the modern world. London: Macmillan.
Catholic News. (2006). Uncertain legal status leaves immigrants in uncomfortable state.
Retrieved January 3, 2007, from http://www.nccbuscc.org/mrs/uncertain.shtml
Comas-Díaz, L., & Greene, B. (Eds.) (1994). Women of color: Integrating ethnic and gender
identities in psychotherapy. New York: Guilford.
Connelly, M. (2006, April 14). In polls, illegal immigrants are called burden. The New York
Times, p. A16.
Cowan, G., Martinez, L., & Mendiola, S. (1997). Predictors of attitudes toward illegal Latino
immigrants. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 19, 403-415.

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

60 The Counseling Psychologist

Crowther, J. (Ed.) (1995). Oxford advanced learners dictionary of current English:

International new students (5th ed.). London: Oxford University Press.
Daniels, R. (2002). Coming to America: A history of immigration and ethnicity in American
life. San Francisco: Harper Perennial.
Daniels, R. (2004). Guarding the golden door: American immigration policy and immigrants
since 1882. New York: Hill & Wang.
Deen, N. (2002). Newcomers in European societies: Implications for education and counsel-
ing. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 24, 3-17.
Dillon, S. (2001, October 15). Mexican immigrants face new set of fears. The New York Times
(Late ed.), p. A-14.
Ervin, N. (1994). Immigration and the environment. In N. Mills (Ed.), Arguing immigration:
Are new immigrants a wealth of diversity . . . or a crushing burden? (pp. 90-96). New
York: Simon & Schuster.
Espenshade, T. J. (2000). Immigrants, Puerto Ricans, and the earnings of native Black males.
In G. D. Jaynes (Ed.), Immigration and race: New challenges for American democracy
(pp. 125-142). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Espanshade, T. J., & Calhoun, C. A. (1993). An analysis of public opinion toward undocu-
mented migration. Population Research and Policy Review, 12, 189-224.
Esses, V. M., Dovidio, J. F., Jackson, L. M., & Armstrong, T. L. (2001). The immigration
dilemma: The role of perceived group competition, ethnic prejudice, and national identity.
Journal of Social Issues, 57, 389-412.
Esses, V. M., Dovidio, J. F., Semenya, A. H., & Jackson, L. M. (2005). Attitudes toward immi-
grants and immigration: The role of national and international identity. In D. Abrams,
M. A. Hogg, & J. M. Marques (Eds.), The social psychology of inclusion and exclusion
(pp. 317-337). London: Psychology Press.
Falkner, J., Schaller, M., Park, J. H., & Duncan, L. A. (2004). Evolved disease-avoidance
mechanisms and contemporary xenophobic attitudes. Group Processes & Intergroup
Relations, 7, 333-353.
Fernando, S. (1993). Racism and xenophobia. Innovation: The European Journal of Social
Sciences, 6, 9-11.
Flaskerud, J. H., & Liu, P. Y. (1991). Effects of an Asian client—therapist language, ethnicity
and gender match on utilization and outcome of therapy. Community Mental Health
Journal, 27, 18-29.
Florack, A., Piontkowski, U., Rohmann, A., Balzer, T., & Perzig, S. (2003). Perceived inter-
group threat and attitudes of host community members toward immigrant acculturation.
Journal of Social Psychology, 143, 633-648.
Foner, N., & Fredrickson, G. M. (Eds.). (2004). Not just Black and White: Historical and con-
temporary perspectives on immigration, race, and ethnicity in the United States. New
York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Fritzsche, K. (1994). Conditions for xenophobia in eastern Germany (formerly the GDR). In
R. F. Farnen (Ed.), Nationalism, ethnicity, and identity: Cross national and comparative
perspectives (pp. 277-284). Edison, NJ: Transaction.
Fry, B. N. (2001). Responding to immigration: Perceptions of promise and threat. New York:
LFB Scholarly.
Fuchs, L. H. (1995). The American civil culture and the inclusivist immigration policy. In
J. A. Banks & C. A. McGee Banks (Eds.), Handbook of research on multicultural educa-
tion (pp. 293-309). New York: McMillan.
Fuentes, A. (2006, July 28). Immigration backlash goes local. USA Today, p. 13a.

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

 Yakushko / Xenophobia 61

Gabaccia, D. R. (2002). Immigration and American diversity: A concise introduction. Malden,

MA: Blackwell.
Gellner, E. (1995). Nationalism and xenophobia. In B. Baumgartl & A. Favell (Eds.), New
xenophobia in Europe (pp. 6-9). London: Kluwer Law International.
Gotanda, N. (1991). A critique of “Our constitution is color-blind.” Stanford Law Review, 44,
1-68.
Gray, C. J. (1998). Cultivating citizenship through xenophobia in Gabon: 1960—1995. Africa
Today, 45, 389-411.
Hagendoorn, L., & Sniderman, P. (2001). Experimenting with a national sample: A Dutch sur-
vey of prejudice. Patterns of Prejudice, 35, 19-31.
Haubert, J., & Fussell, E. (2006). Explaining pro-immigrant sentiment in the U.S.: Social
class, cosmopolitanism, and perceptions of immigrants. International Migration Review,
40, 489-507.
Helms, J. E. (1994). The conceptualization of racial identity and other “racial” concepts. In
E. Trickett, R. Watts, & D. Birman (Eds.), Human diversity: Perspectives on people in con-
text (pp. 285-311). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Helms, J. E., & Talleyrand, R. M. (1997). Race is not ethnicity. American Psychologist, 52,
1246-1247.
Hernandez, D. J. (2006, January). Immigration and diversity transforming America in the 21st
century. Opening plenary session conducted at the meeting of Expert Summit on
Immigration of the American Psychological Association, San Antonio, TX.
Higham, J. (1988). Strangers in the land. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Hofstra, J. van Oudenhoven, J. P., & Buunk, B. P. (2005). Attachment styles and majority
members’ attitudes towards adaptation strategies of immigrants. International Journal of
Intercultural Relations, 29, 601-619.
Horenczyk, G. (1996). Immigrants’ perceptions of host attitudes and their reconstruction of
cultural groups. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46, 34-38.
Hovey, J. D. (2000). Acculturative stress, depression, and suicidal ideation in Mexican immi-
grants. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 6, 134-151.
Hovey, J. D., & Magana, C. J. (2003). Psychosocial predictors of anxiety among immigrant
Mexican migrant farmworkers: Implications for prevention and treatment. Cultural
Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 8, 274-289.
Hwa-Froelich, D. A., & Westby, C. E. (2003). Considerations when working with interpreters.
Communication Disorders Quarterly, 24, 78-85.
Jasinskaja-Lahti, I., & Liebkind, K. (2001). Perceived discrimination and psychological
adjustment among Russian-speaking immigrant adolescents in Finland. International
Journal of Psychology, 36, 74-185.
Jasinskaja-Lahti, I., Liebkind, K., Jaakkola, M., & Reuter, A. (2006). Perceived discrimina-
tion, social support networks, and psychological well-being among three immigrant
groups. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 37, 293-311.
Jasinskaja-Lahti, I., Liebkind, K., & Perhoniemi, R. (2006). Perceived discrimination and
well-being: A victim study of different immigrant groups. Journal of Community and
Applied Social Psychology, 16, 267-284.
Jaynes, G. D. (Ed.) (2000). Immigration and race: New challenges for American democracy.
New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Jost, J. T., & Banaji, M. R. (1994). The role of stereotyping in system-justification and the pro-
duction of false consciousness. British Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 1-27.

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

62 The Counseling Psychologist

Jung, Y. (2004). Can Japan become a “society attractive to immigrants?” Identity, gender, and
nation-states under globalization in East Asia. International Journal of Japanese
Sociology, 13, 53-68.
Kanazawa, S., & Frerichs, R. L. (2001). Why single men might abhor foreign cultures. Social
Biology, 48, 321-328.
Kim, C. J. (2000). The politics of Black-Korean conflict: Black power protest and the mobiliza-
tion of racial communities in New York City. In G. D. Jaynes (Ed.), Immigration and race:
New challenges for American democracy (pp. 74-97). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Klotz, A. (2000). Migration after the apartheid: Deracializing South African policy. Third
World Quarterly, 21, 831-847.
Kosic, A., Mannetti, L., & Sam, D. L. (2005). The role of majority attitudes towards out-group
in the perception of the acculturation strategies of immigrants. International Journal of
Intercultural Relations, 29, 273-288.
Kurman, J., Eshel, Y., & Sbeit, K. (2005). Acculturation attitudes, perceived attitudes of the
majority, and adjustment of Israeli-Arab and Jewish-Ethiopian students to an Israeli uni-
versity. Journal of Social Psychology, 145, 593-612.
Larsen, L. J. (2004). The foreign-born population in the United States: 2003. Current popula-
tion reports, P20-551. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.
Lee, M. T., Martinez, R., & Rosenfeld, R. (2001). Does immigration increase homicide?
Negative evidence from three border cities. Sociological Quarterly, 42, 559-580.
LeMay, M. C. (2004). U.S. immigration: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-
CLIO.
Lemish, D. (2001). The whore and the other: Israeli images of female immigrants from the for-
mer USSR. Gender & Society, 14, 333-349.
Licata, L., & Klein, O. (2002). Does European citizenship breed xenophobia? European iden-
tification as a predictor of intolerance towards immigrants. Journal of Community and
Applied Social Psychology, 12, 323-337.
Liebkind, K., & Jasinskaja-Lahti, I. (2000a). Acculturation and psychological well-being
among immigrant adolescents in Finland: A comparative study of adolescents from differ-
ent cultural backgrounds. Journal of Adolescent Research, 15, 446-469.
Liebkind, K., & Jasinskaja-Lahti, I. (2000b). The influence of experiences of discrimination
on psychological stress: A comparison of seven immigrant groups. Journal of Community
and Applied Social Psychology, 10, 1-16.
Liebkind, K., Jasinskaja-Lahti, I., & Solheim, E. (2004). Cultural identity, perceived discrim-
ination, and parental support as determinants of immigrants’ school adjustment:
Vietnamese youth in Finland. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19, 635-656.
Lin, A. C., & Green, N. W. (2001). Immigration. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly.
Marger, N. (1997). Race and ethnic relations: American and global perspective. New York:
International Thompson.
Marsella, A. J., & Ring, E. (2003). Human migration and immigration: An overview. In L. L.
Adler & U. P. Gielen (Eds.), Migration: Immigration and emigration in international per-
spective (pp. 3-22). Westport, CT: Praeger.
Merriam-Webster Online. (n.d.). Dictionary. Retrieved July 15, 2002, from http://www.
m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary
Miles, R. (1982). Racism and migrant labour: A critical text. London: Routledge.
Moradi, B., & Hasan, N. T. (2004). Arab American persons’ reported experiences of discrim-
ination and mental health: The mediating role of personal control. Journal of Counseling
Psychology, 51, 418-428.

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

 Yakushko / Xenophobia 63

Mugny, G., Kaiser, C., Papastamou, S., & Perez, J. A. (1984). Intergroup relations, identifica-
tion, and social influence. British Journal of Social Psychology, 23, 317-322.
Mulder, T. J., Hollmann, F. W., Lollock, L. R., Cassidy, R. C., Costanzo, J. M., & Baker, J. D.
(2001). U.S. Census Bureau measurement of net international migration to the United
States: 1990-2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved from http://www
.census.gov/population
Muller, T., & Espanshade, T. J. (1985). The fourth wave: California’s newest immigrants.
Washington, DC: Urban Institute.
Munro, N. (2006). The immigrant numbers game. National Journal, 38, 5-7.
National Academy of Science. (1997). Overall U.S. economy gains from immigration, but it’s
costly to some states and localities. Retrieved March 20, 2006, from www4.nationalacademies
.org/news.nsf/isbn0309063566?OpenDocument
Oakley, R. (1996). Tackling racist and xenophobic violence in Europe: Review and practical
guidelines. Strasbourg, Germany: Council of Europe Publishing.
Ommudsen, R., & Larsen, K. S. (1997). Attitudes toward illegal aliens: The reliability and
validity of a Likert-type scale. Journal of Social Psychology, 137, 665-667.
Ott, E. M. (1995). Effects of the male-female ratio at work: Policewomen and male nurses.
Psychology of Women Quarterly, 13, 41-57.
Passel, J. S. (2006). Size and characteristics of the unauthorized migrant population in the
U.S.: Estimates based on the March 2005 Current Population Survey. Washington, DC:
Pew Hispanic Center. Retrieved August 28, 2006, from http://pewhispanic.org/reports/
report.php?ReportID=61
Perea, J. F. (1997). Introduction. In J. F. Perea (Ed.), Immigrants out! The new nativism and
the anti-immigrant impulse in the United States (pp. 1-12). New York: New York
University Press.
Pernice, R. (1994). Methodological issues in research with refugees and immigrants.
Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 25, 207-213.
Perry, M., Vandervate, B., Auman, L., & Morris, K. (2001). Evaluating components of inter-
national migration: Legal migrants (Population Division Working Paper #59). Retrieved
July 16, 2002, from http://www.census.gov/population
Pettigrew, T. F. (1998). Reactions toward the new minorities of Western Europe. Annual
Review of Sociology, 24, 77-103.
Pew Hispanic Center. (2006). Modes of entry for the unauthorized migrant population.
Retrieved January 3, 2007, from http://pewhispanic.org/files/factsheets/19.pdf
Pinto, R. M. (2002). Social work values, welfare reform and immigrant citizenship conflicts.
Families in Society, 83, 85-92.
Pope-Davis, D. B., Coleman, H. L. K., Liu, W. M., & Toporek, R. L. (Eds.). (2003). Handbook
of multicultural competencies: In counseling & psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Pratto, F., & Lemieux, A. F. (2001). The psychological ambiguity of immigration and its impli-
cations for promoting immigration policy. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 413-430.
Pratto, F., Sidanius, J., Stallworth, L. M., & Malle, B. F. (1994). Social dominance orientation:
A personality variable predicting social and political attitudes. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 67, 741-763.
Prendes-Lintel, M. (2001). A working model in counseling recent refugees. In J. G. Ponterotto,
J. M. Casas, L. A. Suzuki, & C. M. Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural counsel-
ing (pp. 729-752). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Prilleltensky, I., & Nelson, G. (2002). Doing psychology critically: Making a difference in
diverse settings. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

64 The Counseling Psychologist

Radkiewicz, P. (2003). The national values as a concept helpful in explaining the development
of nationalistic attitudes and xenophobia. Polish Psychological Bulletin, 34, 5-13.
Ramachandran, S. (2002). “Operation Pushback”: Sangh Parivar, state, slums, and surrepti-
tious Bangladeshi in New Delhi. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 23, 311-332.
Raval, H., & Smith, J. A. (2003). Therapists’ experiences of working with language inter-
preters. International Journal of Mental Health, 32, 6-31.
Reynolds, A. L. (1995). Challenges and strategies for teaching multicultural counseling
courses. In J. G. Ponterotto, J. M. Casas, L. A. Suzuki, & C. M. Alexander (Eds.),
Handbook of multicultural counseling (pp. 312-330). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Reynolds, V., & Vine, I. (1987). The socio-biology of ethnocentrism: Evolutionary dimensions
of xenophobia, discrimination, racism, and nationalism. London: Croom Helm.
Rieff, D. (2005, November 6). Migrant worry. The New York Times, p. 6-15.
Roysircar, G. (2003). Understanding immigrants: Acculturation theory and research. In F. D.
Harper & J. McFadden (Eds.), Culture and counseling: New approaches. (pp. 164-185).
San Francisco: Allyn & Bacon.
Runciman, W. G. (1966). Relative deprivation and social justice: A study of attitudes to social
inequality in twentieth-century England. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Sanchez-Mazas, M. (1996). Minority influence under value conflict: The case of human rights
and xenophobia. British Journal of Social Psychology, 35, 169-178.
Sarkar, S. (2006, June 19). What they’re marching for. The Nation, pp. 18-20.
Schirmer, D. (1998). Introduction. In N. Finzsch & D. Schirmer (Eds.), Identity and intoler-
ance: Nationalism, racism, and xenophobia in Germany and the United States (pp. xi-
xxxix). Washington, DC: Cambridge University Press.
Sengupta, S. (2001, October 29). A Nation challenged: Refugees at American’s door find it
closed after attacks. The New York Times, p. A1.
Shamai, S., & Ilatov, Z. (2001). Assimilation and ethnic boundaries: Israeli students’ attitudes
toward Soviet immigrants. Adolescence, 36, 681-695.
Sherif, M., Harvey, O. J., White, B. J., Hood, W. R., & Sherif, C. W. (1961). Intergroup cooperation
and competition: The Robbers Cave experiment. Norman, OK: University Book Exchange.
Sheunpflug, A. (1997). Cross-cultural encounters as a way to reduce xenophobia.
International Education Review, 43, 109-116.
Simon, R. J. (Ed.). (2001). Immigrant women. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
Sloan, T. (2005). Globalization, poverty, and social justice. In G. Nelson & I. Prilleltensky
(Eds.), Community psychology: In pursuit of liberation and well-being. (pp. 309-329).
New York: Palgrave.
Smith, J. P., & Edmonston, B. (1997). The new Americans: Economic, demographic, and fis-
cal effects of immigration. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Stephan, W. G., Renfro, C. L., Esses, V. M., Stephan, C. W., & Martin, T. (2005). The effects
of feeling threatened on attitudes toward immigrants. International Journal of
Intercultural Relations, 29, 1-19.
Stephan, W. G., & Stephan, C. W. (1996). Intergroup relations. Boulder, CO: Westview.
Stephan, W. G., & Stephan, C. W. (2000). An integrated threat theory of prejudice. In
S. Oskamp (Ed.), Claremont symposium on applied social psychology (pp. 23-46). Hillsdale,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Stephan, W. G., Ybarra, O., & Bachman, G. (1999). Prejudice toward immigrants: An inte-
grated threat theory. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29, 2221-2237.
Stephan, W. G., Ybarra, O., Martinez, C., Scharzwald, J., & Tur-Kaspa, D. (1998). Prejudice
toward immigrants to Spain and Israel: An integrated threat theory analysis. Journal of
Cross-Cultural Psychology, 29, 559-576.

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

 Yakushko / Xenophobia 65

Suarez-Orozco, C., & Suarez-Orozco, M. (1995). Transformations: Immigration, family life, and
achievement motivation among Latino adolescents. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
Sue, D. W. (2001). Multidimensional facets of cultural competence. The Counseling
Psychologist, 29, 790-821.
Sue, D. W. (2003). Overcoming our racism: The journey to liberation. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Sue, D. W., Aredondo, P., & McDavis, R. J. (1992). Multicultural counseling competencies and
standards: A call to the profession. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70, 477-486.
Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (1999). Counseling the culturally different: Theory and practice. New
York: John Wiley.
Suzuki, L. A., Prendes-Lintel, M., Wertlieb, L., & Stallings, A. (1999). Exploring multicultural
issues using qualitative methods. In M. Kopala & L. A. Suzuki (Eds.), Using qualitative
methods in psychology (pp. 123-133). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Tactaquin, C. (1998). The greening of the anti-immigrant agenda. Network News. Retrieved
March 3, 2008, from http://www.nnirr.org/news/archived_netnews/thegreening.htm
Takaki, R. (1989). Strangers from a different shore. Boston, MA: Little Brown.
Thornton, M. C., & Mizuno, Y. (1999). Economic well-being and Black adult feelings toward
immigrants and Whites, 1984. Journal of Black Studies, 30, 15-44.
Toy, V. S. (2002, April 28). Immigrant issues sprout like the daisies. The New York Times (Late
Ed.), p. 14LI-1.
United Nations. (2004). The United Nations high commissioner for refugees: 2004 statistical
yearbook. Retrieved February 21, 2007, from http://www.unhcr.org/statistics/STATISTICS/
44e96c842.pdf
United Nations. (2006). State of the world’s refugees, 2006. Retrieved August 28, 2006, from
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/template?page=publ&src=static/sowr2006/
toceng.htm
U.S. Census Bureau. (2003). Foreign-born population 2000: Census 2000 brief. Retrieved
March 5, 2008, from http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-34.pdf
U.S. Census Bureau. (2005). Statistical abstracts of the United States: 2004-2005. Retrieved
August 16, 2006, from http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/04statab/pop.pdf
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (2007). INA: ACT 207, Annual admission of
refugees and admission of emergency situation refugees. Retrieved March 3, 2008, from
http://www.uscis.gov/propub/ProPubVAP.jsp?dockey=d8aaedc1f80fa1b6abefeac
31e665f1c
U.S. Department of Justice. (2002). Immigration and Naturalization Services: Diversity lot-
tery. Retrieved July 15, 2002, from http://www.ins.usdoj.gov
Vale, P. (2002). Migration, xenophobia, and security-making in post-apartheid South Africa.
Politikon, 29, 7-29.
Vera, E. M., & Speight, S. L. (2003). Multicultural competence, social justice, and counseling
psychology. The Counseling Psychologist, 31, 253-272.
Waldinger, R. (1997). Black/immigrant competition re-assessed: New evidence from Los
Angeles. Sociological Perspectives, 40, 365-386.
Watts, M. W. (1996). Political xenophobia in the transition from socialism: Threat, racism and
ideology among East German youth. Political Psychology, 17, 97-126.
Wimmer, A. (1997). Explaining xenophobia and racism: A critical review of current research
approaches. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 20, 17-41.
Yakushko, O. (2006). Career development of immigrant women. In W. B. Walsh & M. J.
Heppner (Eds.), Handbook of career counseling of women (pp. 387-426). Hillsdale, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum.

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013

66 The Counseling Psychologist

Yakushko, O., & Chronister, K. (2005). Immigrant women and counseling: The invisible oth-
ers. Journal of Counseling and Development, 83, 292-299.
Yeh, C. J. (2003). Age, acculturation, cultural adjustment, and mental health symptoms of
Chinese, Korean, and Japanese immigrant youths. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority
Psychology, 9, 34-48.
Yu, E. S. H. (1985). Studying Vietnamese refugees: Methodological lessons in transcultural
research. In T. C. Owan (Ed.), Southeast Asian mental health: Treatment, prevention,
services, training and research (DHHS Publication No. ADM 85-1399, pp. 517-541).
Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

Oksana Yakushko, PhD, is an assistant professor in Counseling Psychology program at the

University of Nebraska-Lincoln and received her doctorate from the University of Missouri-
Columbia. Her scholarship focuses primarily on issues related to experiences of recent immi-
grants such as xenophobia, stress and coping, gender roles, help seeking behaviors, and career
development.

Downloaded from tcp.sagepub.com by DONNA MERTENS on June 4, 2013