141st APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
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Online Program

276219
Acculturative stress and psychological distress among Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants: The moderating effects of family cohesion


Monday, November 4, 2013

Hyeeun Chung, MA, Department of Family Science, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD
Sandra Hofferth, PhD, Department of Family Science, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD
Acculturative stress, which is measured by social discrimination, concern about legal status, and isolation from a home country, has been found to be associated with poor mental health among Asian Americans. At the same time, a high level of family cohesion has been reported as a protective factor against such stressors. However, Asian Americans are not a homogeneous group; Asian groups have unique characteristics and immigration history and may have different types of responses to the stresses of acculturation. The present study examines group differences in the relationship between acculturative stress and psychological distress among Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants and the moderating effect of family cohesion. The study uses data from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), a nationally representative survey. The present study specifically focuses on foreign-born Vietnamese immigrants (N = 369) and Chinese immigrants (N = 356). As the relationship between acculturative stress and psychological distress differed across these two groups, separate hierarchical regressions were developed to estimate the overall relationship and the moderating effect of family cohesion. Social discrimination, concern about legal status, and isolation from a home country were linked to higher psychological distress among the Vietnamese. However, only social discrimination was related to higher psychological distress among the Chinese. Family cohesion played an important role as a buffer against the negative effects of acculturative stress on psychological distress among the Vietnamese, but not among the Chinese. The results indicate that different forms of acculturative stress influence Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants. Moreover, family cohesion is protective against psychological distress for Vietnamese but not Chinese immigrants. These differences are likely the result of their differing acculturation experiences in different immigration contexts.

Learning Areas:

Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Demonstrate differing acculturation experiences between Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants

Keyword(s): Asian Americans, Immigrants

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have conducted quantitative research focusing on family composition and family relationships. I also expanded my research to include Asian immigrants’ mental health problems associated with family relationships.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3400.0: Social-ecological context of Asian and/or Pacific Islander health