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Migrants often experience mental health challenges associated with acculturative stress. Dispositional traits, such as optimism and pessimism, may shape how individuals appraise and cope with these challenges, influencing their psychological distress.

This study aimed to analyse the role of three dimensions of acculturative stress: integration difficulties, nostalgia, and structural barriers, in the relationship between optimism, pessimism and mental health symptoms among Venezuelan migrants living in Chile.

A two-wave longitudinal study was conducted with 223 Venezuelan migrants residing in Chile. Participants completed validated measures of optimism, pessimism, acculturative stress, and psychological distress. A structural equation model was conducted to analyze the data.

Optimism (T1) was negatively associated with integration difficulties (T2) and structural barriers (T2). Pessimism (T1) was positively associated with three dimensions of acculturative stress (T2). Integration difficulties was positively associated with psychological distress (T2). Optimism and Pessimism at Time 1 were not associated with psychological distress (T2). The model explained 43.2% of the variance in psychological distress.

These results highlight the importance of both individual dispositions and contextual stressors in understanding the psychological adjustment of migrants. Interventions targeting acculturative stress and fostering adaptive cognitive dispositions may be effective in promoting migrant mental health.