Age, acculturation, cultural adjustment, and mental health symptoms of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese immigrant youths (original) (raw)
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The Journal of Primary Prevention, 2009
Immigrant mental health issues, especially depression in relation to discrimination and acculturation, are reported to be serious problems in the United States. The current study examines the prevalence of depressive symptoms among Korean immigrants in New York City (NYC) and its relation to self-reported discrimination and acculturation. A sample of 304 Korean immigrants residing in NYC completed a survey utilizing the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-Korean version, Discrimination Scale, and Acculturation Stress Scale. Results indicated that 13.2% of the sample population demonstrated some symptoms of depression and that variable such as living alone, marital status, education, years in US and income impact high depression scores. Results also indicate that higher self-reported exposure to discrimination and lower selfreported language proficiency were related to higher depressive symptoms. In a regression analysis, discrimination and English language proficiency were significant predictors of depression, but acculturation stress was not significantly related to depression.
BMJ Open, 2019
Objectives The aim of this study was to examine the pathway and associations among acculturation (ie, language, social interaction and lifestyle), psychological adjustment and mental health of internal migrant adolescents in China. Design Cross-sectional questionnaire study. setting Six private migrant junior high schools located in Tianhe and Baiyun districts in Guangzhou were chosen as the study sites. Participants A total of 1122 migrant adolescents aged 11-17 years old completed the study. Main outcome measures Mental health was measured by using the Social Anxiety Scale for Children (SASC) and major depression disorder (MDD) in a Brief Child and Family Phone Interview. Acculturation and psychological adjustment were measured by a self-designed and verified questionnaire. Multiple regression models and structural equation models were performed to analyse the association among acculturation, psychological adjustment and mental health while controlling for participant demographic characteristics. results The average MDD score for boys was 8.78 (SD=2.17) and for girls was 8.56 (SD=2.22), while the average SASC score for boys was 14.67 (SD=3.72) and for girls was 13.41 (SD=4.01). Psychological adjustment had a direct positive effect on MDD (p<0.001, β=0.30) and SASC (p<0.001, β=0.28), and it was the key variable fully mediating the impact of acculturation components on MDD and partly mediating the impact of acculturation on SASC, whereas lifestyle showed a direct negative effect (p=0.003, β=−0.17) on SASC. Of the three acculturation components, lifestyle had the strongest influence on psychological adjustment (p<0.001, β=0.37 and 0.51), followed by social interaction (p<0.001, β=0.24 and 0.13) and language (p<0.001, β=0.17 and 0.11). Conclusions The association between acculturation and the mental health of internal migrant adolescents was complex and could be mediated by psychological adjustment. Interventions such as promoting local language and social interaction are needed to enhance psychological adjustment and further improve the mental health of migrant adolescents. ► This is the first known study to investigate the applicability of acculturation theory in understanding mental health problems among migrant adolescents in China. Our findings provide new ways to improve the mental health of migrant adolescents in China. ► The underlying mechanism of the effects of acculturation on the mental health of migrant adolescents was not comprehensively analysed in previous studies, and we used structural equation modelling to clearly quantify the integrated effect of various acculturation dimensions on mental health, which will provide evidence for improving the psychological intervention strategy for migrant adolescents. ► The reliability and validity of the scale for measuring the acculturation of migrant adolescents need to be further improved. ► The results of this cross-sectional study cannot be used to make causal inferences regarding acculturation and mental health because it did not control for all possible confounding variables.
Difficulties and coping strategies of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean immigrant students
An exploratory study was conducted to investigate mental health concerns and coping strategies in a sample of 274 Chinese, Japanese, and Korean immigrant junior high and high school students. Participants responded to two open-ended questions relating to difficulties associated with coming to the United States and attendant coping strategies. Data were coded into several categories, and chi-square and logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results indicated that the most common problem across all three Asian immigrant groups was communication difficulties. The most frequently reported coping strategy was the use of social support networks. In addition, Japanese students were more likely to experience interpersonal problems than were their Chinese and Korean counterparts. Korean students tended to utilize religious practices as a coping strategy more than did Chinese and Japanese students. The implications for research and counseling are discussed.
Immigrant-origin adolescents represent the fastest growing segment of youth population in the United States, and in many urban schools they represent the majority of students. In this 3-wave longitudinal study, we explored trajectories of internalizing mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms). The participants included 332 urban-residing first-and second-generation immigrant adolescents (44% male). Participants were recruited in 10th grade (M age 16.20 years, SD 1.19), and 2 additional waves of data were gathered in 12-month intervals. Both generational and racial/ethnic background of the participants reflected the general demographics of urban centers in the United States. With individual growth curve modeling, the results show significant decline in internalizing mental health problems during the high school years. At the same time, greater exposure to acculturative stress predicted significantly more withdrawn, somatic, and anxious/depressed symptoms. Gender and generation status differences in internalizing mental health problems were also identified.
2015
The present study examined the impact of adultification on the mental health of Chinese immigrant young adults. Given the emphasis of Chinese cultural norms on interdependence and filial piety, I also explored whether family obligation attitudes influence how Chinese immigrant young adults perceive adultification experiences. Findings indicated that family obligation attitudes have a moderating effect on adultification when adultification plays a mediating role between acculturative stress and psychological distress, and on the well-being of Chinese immigrant young adults. The findings suggested that Chinese immigrant offspring who hold very traditional familial attitudes and are highly committed to family obligations tend to reinforce the effect of acculturative stress on adultification, although acculturative stress did not significantly predict adultification experiences. In addition, the findings also indicated that when adultification experiences were at the highest level, they...
Asian American Journal of Psychology, 2016
This qualitative study explored Chinese American mental health professionals' perspectives on intercultural stressors in Chinese immigrant students' environments and culturally sensitive interventions. Fourteen female mental health professionals, namely school psychologists, counselors, and clinical psychologists, ages 25 to 55, with first-hand experience working with Chinese immigrant school-age children, were interviewed. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Verbatim transcripts were coded and analyzed by the coding-and theme-generating methods developed by Nastasi and Borja (2015). Results yielded 12 general and 6 culture-specific themes of stressors. Nine of the 18 themes generated from the interviews align with the stressors identified in the current literature on stress for Chinese immigrant children, including language barriers, cultural conflicts between home and school, parent-child conflicts attributable to differential pace of acculturation, conflicts between collectively oriented parents and individualistically oriented children, racial discrimination, cultural stereotype, misunderstanding, marginalization, and difficulties fitting into the Euro American culture. Most of the identified themes include intercultural stressors. Nine themes emerged in the participants' recommendations for building culturally appropriate home and school environments to address the stated stressors. The findings provide multicultural knowledge to inform interventions for Chinese and other immigrant students.
Developmental Contexts and Mental Disorders Among Asian Americans
Research in Human Development, 2007
In this article, we use age of immigration as a proxy for the developmental context for understanding the association between immigration experiences and mental health. Generation defines the context under which immigrants arrive in the United States. We drew data from the National Latino and Asian American Study (N = 2,095), the first ever study conducted on the mental health of a national sample of Asian Americans. Our findings reveal that age of immigration is linked to lifetime and 12month rates of psychiatric disorder: Immigrants who arrive earlier in life are more likely to have both lifetime and 12-month disorders. U.S. born and immigrants who arrive as children are much more likely to have a mental disorder in their lifetimes than other immigrant generations. Cumulative disadvantage and acculturation or cultural assimilation hypotheses are often invoked when considering the association between immigration and mental health. Time, which plays a central part in both hypotheses, gauges the change and adjustment of immigrants in their new communities. The acculturation hypothesis posits that the longer one resides in a location, the more familiar and integrated the person becomes with the language, lifestyle, and culture of the new place (Chun, Organista, & Marin, 2002; Salent & Lauderdale, 2003). Any social or health disadvantages immigrants may experience on arrival will be substantially reduced or eliminated over time. Immigrants become integrated into the mainstream of society and can take advantage of social and community resources to reduce the impact of stressors and to seek care before serious emotional and psychological problems arise. The cumulative disadvantage hypothesis suggests the opposite: Over time, the social or health disadvantages will actually increase the longer immigrants reside in a new location (Rumbaut, 1999; Rumbaut & Weeks, 1996; Shuval, 1982). Because of discrimination and other social factors, immigrants do not become fully integrated in American society. They also learn, over time, the unhealthy habits and lifestyles that are associated with poor health in American society. Whereas this time variable assumes that people change or learn about a new culture at the same pace, time of residence is commonly used to assess the association between adaptation and mental health outcomes. The available evidence has not supported a uniform pattern across various
Cultural Identity and Mental Health: Differing Trajectories Among Asian and Latino Youth
Asians and Latinos are the 2 fastest growing immigrant populations in the United States. In this 3-year longitudinal study, we explored trajectories of mental health symptoms (withdrawn/depressed and somatic symptoms) among 163 first-and second-generation Asian (n 76) and Latino (n 97) adolescents. The focus of the study was to examine how ethnic identity and U.S. identity, as 2 separate processes of identity development, affect mental health symptoms, and whether these relationships are moderated by ethnic group, Asian or Latino. Participants were recruited when they entered 10th grade, and 2 additional waves of data were gathered at 12-month intervals. Results revealed that somatic and depressed symptoms decreased over time for both groups. Similarly, for both groups, U.S. identity and ethnic identity increased over time. Ethnic identity was associated with lower levels of withdrawn/ depressed symptoms for both Latino and Asian youth. Ethnic identity was associated with lower levels of somatic symptoms for Asian youth, but not for Latino youth. U.S. identity was not associated with reduced levels of somatic or withdrawn/depressed symptoms for either group. Implications for clinicians are discussed.