PLoS ONE
Volume 11, Issue 1, 2016

The relationship between neuroticism, hopelessness, and depression in older Korean immigrants (Article) (Open Access)

Kim B.J. , Linton K. , Cho S. , Ha J.-H.
  • a Myron B Thompson School of Social Work, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
  • b Myron B Thompson School of Social Work, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
  • c Health Sciences Program, California State University at Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, United States
  • d Department of Social Welfare, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea

Abstract

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the relationship between neuroticism, hopelessness, and depression among older Korean immigrants. To extend this line of research, this study aimed to examine the effects of neuroticism and hopelessness in predicting depression among older Korean immigrants. Methods Data for this study came from a survey of 220 first generation Korean immigrants aged 65 years or older in Los Angeles County in 2012. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews with trained social workers using a structured questionnaire translated into Korean. All interviews were conducted in Korean. The neuroticism sub-scale of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire was used to assess neuroticism (EPQN). Hopelessness was measured by the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS). Depression was measured by the 20-item Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Results The study found that age ( = .26, p .01), gender ( =-.13, p .01), income ( =-.13, p .01), neuroticism ( = .51, p .01), and hopelessness ( = .15, p .01) were significant predictors of depression. Conclusion The study provides preventive strategies that would help in the development of depressionreduction services or programs for the population, especially for those living with neuroticism and hopelessness. © 2016 Kim et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

South Korea depression educational status immigrant Republic of Korea Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale Korean (people) predictive value human controlled study Aged hope ethnology interview income cross-sectional study migrant psychology Humans California male Emigrants and Immigrants female Aged, 80 and over very elderly Beck Hopelessness Scale cultural factor Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Article major clinical study gender age distribution disease severity hopelessness structured questionnaire Los Angeles neurosis Neurotic Disorders face to face interview

Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84953716418&doi=10.1371%2fjournal.pone.0145520&partnerID=40&md5=a524b9c44c40c30b1f2db6ec224b814d

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145520
ISSN: 19326203
Cited by: 3
Original Language: English