Depression and the Influencing Factors in Korean American Immigrants.

Bae,  Jeongyee; Park,  Hyunjoo

doi:2010.19.1.67

J Korean Acad Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs > Volume 19(1); 2010 > Article

Original Article

Journal of Korean Academy of psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 2010;19(1):67-75.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12934/jkpmhn.2010.19.1.67 Published online March 31, 2010.

Depression and the Influencing Factors in Korean American Immigrants.

Jeongyee Bae, Hyunjoo Park

¹Department of Nursing, Inje University, Korea. jibai@inje.ac.kr
²Center Janglim Hospital, Korea.

Abstract

PURPOSE
The objective of this study was to investigate the degree of depression in Korean American immigrants according to their characteristics. METHODS: This descriptive correlation study conducted visit-surveys with organized questionnaires and sampled 330 Korean American immigrants living in Houston, Seattle and New York areas. SCL-90 was used to measure the degree of depression. Data was analyzed by t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients and multiple regression analysis using SPSS/WIN 14.0. RESULTS: Findings revealed that; 1) the degree of depression in Korean American immigrants according to their characteristics were significantly different in age, occupation, immigration life satisfaction, and health status; 2) Pearson's correlation revealed a significant association among depression, immigrant life stress, self esteem, and quality of life; 3) multi regression analysis showed immigrant life stress, self esteem, and quality of life significantly influenced depression in Korean American immigrants. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of this study, health professionals should provide proper management of depression as well as its influencing factors, namely, immigrant life stress, self esteem, and quality of life especially for new immigrant populations.

Key Words: Depression; Immigrants; Life stress; Quality of life; Self-esteem