Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
Volume 197, Issue 10, 2009, Pages 742-747

Sorting out the competing effects of acculturation, immigrant stress, and social support on depression: A report on Korean women in California (Article)

Ayers J.W. , Hofstetter C.R. , Usita P. , Irvin V.L. , Kang S. , Hovell M.F.
  • a Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States, Center for Behavioral Epidemiology and Community Health, San Diego State University, 9245 Sky Park, San Diego, CA 92123, United States
  • b Center for Behavioral Epidemiology and Community Health, San Diego State University, 9245 Sky Park, San Diego, CA 92123, United States, Department of Political Science, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, United States, Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, United States
  • c Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States, Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, United States
  • d Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
  • e Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
  • f Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States, Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

This research identifies stressors that correlate with depression, focusing on acculturation, among female Korean immigrants in California. Telephone interviews were conducted with female adults of Korean descent (N = 592) from a probability sample from 2006 to 2007. Sixty-five percent of attempted interviews were completed, of which over 90% were conducted in Korean. Analyses include descriptive reports, bivariate correlations, and structural equation modeling. Findings suggest that acculturation did not have a direct impact on depression and was not associated with social support. However, acculturation was associated with reduced immigrant stress which, in turn, was related to decreased levels of depression. Immigrant stress and social support were the principal direct influences on depression, mediating the effect for most other predictors. Stressful experiences associated with immigration may induce depressive feelings. Interventions should facilitate acculturation thereby reducing immigrant stress and expand peer networks to increase social support to assuage depression. Copyright © 2009 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Author Keywords

Social support Women's health Depression Korean health immigrant stress Acculturation

Index Keywords

depression educational status immigrant Asian psychological aspect human Life Change Events middle aged statistics Asian continental ancestry group life event Stress, Psychological mental stress comparative study health status Aged social support ethnology groups by age marriage United States Humans Adolescent California Emigrants and Immigrants occupation Acculturation Aged, 80 and over female risk factor Risk Factors Socioeconomic Factors socioeconomics questionnaire self concept cultural factor Psychometrics psychometry Article Questionnaires adult migration Korea
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-70350447254&doi=10.1097%2fNMD.0b013e3181b96e9e&partnerID=40&md5=b0c6847114e888cf96fc125452f0d37f
DOI: 10.1097/NMD.0b013e3181b96e9e
ISSN: 00223018
Cited by: 40
Original Language: English