What Makes Immigrants Generous?: The Effects of Acculturative Stress and Resources

Although the literature in the field has examined why and how individuals give, there is still a lack of systematic research regarding immigrants’ philanthropic giving behavior in the United States. This study pays attention to the influence of two major dimensions, the acculturative stress that immigrants undergo during the immigration process and the personal resources that they possess in the United States, on their giving. The empirical analysis presented here is based on a survey of 1,493 Korean immigrants and indicates that acculturative stress moves in negative direction as predicted but is not statistically significant in estimating giving. In terms of personal resources—human (education and income), social (marriage, homeownership, employment), and cultural (religiosity) —turn out to be significant indicators of giving.