Less Happy, Though More Educated

What Explains Lower Life Satisfaction Among Highly Educated First‐Generation Immigrants in Highly Prosperous Countries

Bibliographic Data

ID20109074
AuthorsSamitha Udayanga (0000-0002-9826-691X, Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences University of Bremen & Constructor University Bremen Germany, corresponding author)
Year2026
Publication date2026-05-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Social Science Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-8701 • E-ISSN: 1468-2451
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/issj.70050
OpenAlexW7160046380
LanguageEN
References cited96

Conventional wisdom suggests that higher education (HE) and national prosperity (or wealth) contribute to improved life satisfaction. Is this also true for first‐generation immigrants? Using multilevel models on 16,368 individuals across 35 European countries from the European Social Survey, the results demonstrate that, although immigrants generally become more satisfied with their lives as country‐level prosperity increases, highly educated immigrants enjoy a greater life‐satisfaction advantage in less prosperous countries than their less‐educated counterparts; however, this advantage is partly reversed in highly prosperous countries. The present study examined two mechanisms for this observation: perceived discrimination and occupational downgrading. Results reveal that occupational downgrading, rather than discrimination, constitutes the primary pathway, accounting for approximately one‐quarter of the negative effect observed among highly educated immigrants in high‐prosperity contexts. The psychological harm of working below one's qualification level intensifies with country prosperity, suggesting that blocked mobility is particularly damaging where meritocratic advancement is expected. The substantial positive direct effect of HE suggests that when labour market integration is successful, education provides considerable benefits for life satisfaction. However, institutional barriers to credential recognition in more prosperous host countries prevent many highly educated immigrants from accessing appropriate positions, partially offsetting the advantages of high prosperity. These findings have significant policy implications for reforming credential recognition in migration programmes in developed countries

Credential · Harm · Higher education · Immigration · Life satisfaction · Meritocracy · Prosperity · Social policy · Cultural Differences and Values · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction

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