Most immigrants have to adjust their lives to living in a new country, especially when moving from an Eastern to a Western society. Chinese immigrants may face multiple difficulties, including cultural differences and the English language barrier, which are a particularly problem for older immigrants. To overcome these difficulties, many Chinese immigrants either form new community groups or join those currently operating. Normally, Chinese community groups provide a wide range of activities for members. The literature (e.g., Diener, 1984; Cantor & Sanderson, 1999; Csikszentmihalyi, 1975) provides some understanding of the value for new immigrants in attending these group activities. Participating members report improved life satisfaction within new society and have a more positive outcome as a result of their involvement. However, the magnitude of the influence life satisfaction and well-being is not as clear. This research aimed to better understand the relationships between participation in community group activities and the life satisfaction and well-being of participating members. A quantitative research method was adopted for this study to investigate the relationships between the variables. The study utilised a questionnaire that focused on specific demographic characteristics of participants, a 5-item life satisfaction measure (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985), a short 18-item measure (Ryff, 1989a) of the six dimensions of psychological well-being, and on other factors likely to impinge on life satisfaction and well-being. The 7-point agreement scale asked participants the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with the statements. The questionnaire was offered to participants in both English and Chinese. Questionnaires were completed by 600 Chinese-speaking immigrants from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore who were participants in educational activities and/or other activities offered through 21 different Chinese community groups in Brisbane. Four hundred took part in 20 different educational group activities, and 200 in 25 different non-educational group activities. Most participants were female, and approximately two thirds were over 50 years of age. Using AMOS, a number of structural equations models (SEMs) were tested to investigate the conceptually proposed links between the various variables. This study supports other literature, finding that both educational and general activities provided by the community groups positively influence the participating members' life satisfaction and feelings of well-being. The majority of participants in this study reported that they considered participating in community group educational activities (74.2% agreed), and general activities (66.6%), had the most impact on their life satisfaction and well-being. Most participants (70%) found that community group activities, both educational and general, were interesting. However, only around 53% of them claimed to have achieved their goals in these activities. The findings of this study indicate the complexity of the influences on life satisfaction and well-being levels facing this cohort of Chinese immigrants. Although results suggest that demographic variables such as year of migration and employment status have a greater influence on life satisfaction and well-being than educational activities and general activities, the outcomes of this study support the conclusion that the participating members have benefited from the variety of programs offered by Chinese community groups.

A large wave of Chinese immigrants came to the United States in the second half of the nineteenth century. Employment, mainly in the salmon-canning industry, drew thousands of them to coastal Astoria, Oregon. Taking the period between the first Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 and the Immigration Act of 1924, this thesis focuses on the Chinese merchants in Astoria and their importance for our understanding of race relations in the town during these years. Specifically, the merchants help to make sense of how the Chinese related to the local white population, as different sources suggest different trends of amiability and hostility. Newspapers testify that local Chinese gained acceptance during the period, going generally from vilified outcasts to respected members of the community. Immigration case files, however, show that officials displayed little resistance to Chinese in the early exclusion years, but worked harder to deny Chinese applications toward the end of this period. So, from one body of records it seems that white Astorians grew more tolerant of Chinese during these years, while the other document set shows a rise in conflict with the immigrants. This apparent contradiction can be reconciled by considering the demographic changes in the Chinese immigrant community during this period, along with class biases and the role of merchants in immigration and social interactions.