Multicultural and Social Sciencies: Psychology

Abstract

In recent years Spain has seen a substantial increase in immigrant population being an exceptional case in European history to receive five million people less than 10 years. Currently the immigrant population accounts for about 10% of the population. This process involves a joint responsibility to adapt to change and challenge for the provision of education, health and care services. Contact with a new culture involves a series of economic, social difficulties of an information or communication that impact on the individual and can be the origin, evolution and prognosis of many mental health disorders, educational performance and social and labor adaptation. Specific factors such as the migration process, ruptures of affective and social ties, poor working conditions or the perception of discrimination, can be a source of stress and discomfort, certainly are factors more vulnerable to an immigrant population. Training and training in multicultural competition has proven to be the most effective attention to cultural diversity tool. In Spain the interest in training in multicultural competence in the field of psychology is scarce, even when it appears as one of the transversal competences in the White Paper of the Degree of Psychology of the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA). The literature shows that multicultural competence is most suitable both for professional and institutional quality care tool. The purpose of this theorical paper, is to show the multicultural reality in Spain, reflect on the importance given in university education in the career of Psychology, and raise the need to promote learning in multicultural competence to respond effectively to existing needs and new challenges such as the refugee crisis way.