Relationships of Acculturative Stress, Depression, and Social Support to Health-Related Quality of Life in Vietnamese Immigrant Women in South Korea

Abstract

Purpose: Promoting the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important aim of nursing care for immigrant women. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of HRQOL and its relationships with social support, acculturative stress, and depression among Vietnamese immigrant women. Method: A total of 216 Vietnamese immigrant women residing in South Korea participated in the study. Participants completed a series of questionnaires, including measures of social support, acculturative stress, depression, and HRQOL. For statistical analyses, a path analysis was applied. Results: Social support, acculturative stress, depression, and HRQOL were interrelated. Acculturative stress and depression directly influenced the mental health component of HRQOL, whereas social support indirectly influenced HRQOL through acculturative stress and depression. Only depression directly influenced the physical health component of HRQOL. Conclusion: Results suggest that social support and acculturative stress are related factors in preventing depression and promoting HRQOL, especially mental health, among Vietnamese immigrant women.

Relationships between Acculturative Stress, Depression, and Quality of Life on in North Korean Refugees Living in South Korea

“…The prevalence of depressive symptoms found in this study was higher than that found in Korean immigrants in the Eastern United States (30.0% of the participants) [23]. Living in a foreign country, leaving without family, and being away from home alone, can cause nervousness and depression [24]. These data show that North Korean refugees are more troubled than Korean immigrants.…”

Longitudinal study of stress, social support, and depression in married Arab immigrant women

“…We could locate only one study that differentiated social support by source and it pertained to the special case of foreign brides in transnational-brokered marriages (Chae, Park, & Kang, 2014). This study reported mean social support scores for each of the sources under study, but used the total social support score to investigate the relationshi p between social support and depression.…”

Acculturative stress is associated with trajectory of anxiety symptoms during pregnancy in Mexican-American women

“…As acculturation is associated with adaptation to stress (Caplan, 2007), current research has shifted focus to acculturative stress as a risk factor contributing to mental health disorders (Chae, Park, & Kang, 2014; Fortuna et al, 2016; Sirin, Ryce, Gupta, & Rogers-Sirin, 2013). According to the minority stress theory, experiencing stress due to marginalized status is associated with psychological distress (Meyer, 2013).…”