Migrants worldwide frequently experience discrimination, which is considered a major stressor within their psychological acculturation process. Nevertheless, research has long overlooked the unique manifestations and implications of subtle and blatant forms of discrimination. Across three studies adopting diverse research methodologies and proposing novel bridges between key theoretical frameworks, this thesis sought to (a) systematize the current literature on (subtle and blatant) perceived discrimination and first-generation immigrants’ psychological acculturation (Study 1), (b) adopt an intracategorical intersectional approach to qualitatively (Study 2) and quantitatively (Study 3) examine the experiences of an understudied immigrant population (i.e., first-generation women from the Community of Portuguese Language Countries) in an understudied post-colonial context of reception (i.e., Portugal). Study 1 involved a scoping review (k = 143) to identify concepts, measures, and evidence linking perceived discrimination with psychological acculturation. Findings emphasized the detrimental effect of perceived discrimination; yet they also revealed a fragmented state-of-theart, where subtle discrimination is under-researched and inconsistently conceptualized and operationalized. In Study 2, ten focus groups (N = 52) explored immigrant women’s experiences of subtle discrimination. Thematic analysis, guided by the frameworks of microaggressions and post-colonial discourse, illustrated its manifestations and systemic nature. Study 3 provided cross-sectional (N = 690) and, in part, longitudinal (N = 135) evidence for the adverse effect of subtle discrimination on psychological, sociocultural, or cognitive adaptation outcomes, over and above blatant discrimination. By addressing crucial research gaps, this thesis highlights the necessity of acknowledging subtle discrimination and its harmful consequences for psychological acculturation in research, policy, and intervention.

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Perceived discrimination,Microaggressions,Psychological acculturation,Immigrant women