Exploring the acculturation profiles and adaptation of children in multiethnic families in South Korea

Abstract

Using a latent class analysis approach, this paper examined the acculturation profiles of children in multiethnic families in South Korea and explored whether youth's psychological and educational adaptation varied across these profiles. The study utilized a nationally representative face-to-face survey of 2,811 native-born multiethnic youth (ages 9-15) and identified four styles of acculturation: assimilated; linguistically assimilated but psychologically diffused; integrated; and marginalized. Accounting for socio-demographic background and factors associated with acculturative stress, logistic regressions revealed that, compared to assimilated youth, marginalized youth exhibited significantly higher odds of self-reported depressive symptoms, difficulty in school work and low educational aspirations; linguistically assimilated but psychologically diffused youth were more likely to express difficulty in school work; while integrated youth did not manifest higher odds of adaptive problems. The importance of considering the context of acculturation and its implications for youth adaptation is highlighted. Limitations as well as policy implications are further discussed.

Understanding Workplace Adaptation as an Acculturation Process: A Qualitative Examination of South Korean Highly Skilled Workers in Japan

“…Not only existing as the current problems, such issues can also remain a psychological burden because it is directed to a fundamental question about where the new family should settle down with regard to the issues of nationality, children's education, etc. (Cho, 2016). For instance, Participants C and G responded that they wanted their children to learn and form national identity as a Korean rather than participating in acculturation actively.…”

The Mental Health of Ethnic Minority Youths in South Korea and Its Related Environmental Factors: A Literature Review

“…Socioeconomic positions, such as low family income [19,[27][28][29], non-desirable occupation of the father [30], and low parental education level [29,31] have been linked to increased mental health risks, including depressive symptoms, suicide attempts, and problematic alcohol use, among MY. Moreover, one's living arrangement was noted as a significant factor; MY who were not currently living with their parents were at a high risk of attempting suicide [19].…”

“…Family relationship quality, which is assessed as family cohesion, support, communication, and subjective satisfaction, also plays an important role in the overall psychological adaptation of MY. It decreases mental health risks such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation [28,31,[33][34][35][36] and improves self-esteem [37]. In contrast, the risk for depression was high among MY who spent less time conversing with their fathers and those whose parents showed a low degree of interest in them [29].…”

“…The influences of other social relationships have been reported. Discrimination from friends, teachers, relatives, and even strangers, has been associated with heightened internalizing and externalizing problems [31,35,50,52,53], withdrawal behaviors [54], and decreased self-esteem among MY [55]. One mediation study suggested that experiencing social discrimination may adversely affect the self-image of MY since it leads to the internalization of stigma [56].…”

“…Another study reported that dual identity partially mediates the effect of social rejection on withdrawal behaviors [54]. Problematic relationships with peers have deleterious psychosocial impacts such as a high risk for depressive moods, suicide ideation or attempts, and delinquent behaviors [12,23,29,31,53,57]. Moreover, stress resulting from conflicts with teachers has a significant impact on suicide attempts by MY when compared to other stressors [19].…”