Factors Related to Depressive Symptoms Among Multicultural Adolescents in Korea

Abstract

This study aimed to compare related factors of depressive symptoms among multicultural adolescents in South Korea. Cross-sectional data were collected from 1,325 students studying in ninth grade (mean age: 14.97 ± 0.36 years) who had one Korean parent and one foreign-born parent. The score of depressive symptoms among girls (1.777 ± 0.550) was higher than boys (1.647 ± 0.512). The regression model—including demographic, psychological, and social factors—explained 38.3% of depressive symptoms among boys and 27.9% among girls. Body image satisfaction was the most powerful factor related to depressive symptoms in both boys and girls. Gender-differentiated factors identified in this study such as demographic, psychological, and social factors need to be studied while planning gender-tailored intervention programs to help relieve depressive symptoms among multicultural adolescents.

Effectiveness of Health Promotion Interventions in Primary Schools—A Mixed Methods Literature Review

“…However, at the same time, unhealthy behaviors, such as a sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy nutrition, obesity, use of substances, and lack of hygiene, are fairly common. School-aged children also frequently report suffering from psychosomatic symptoms, poor mental health, and growing health inequality within and between countries [ 1 , 2 , 3 ].…”

Social determinants of health of racial and ethnic minority adolescents: An integrative literature review

“…Adolescents in such families may be regarded as having a bicultural or multicultural background and differ from the majority of adolescents in terms of race and ethnicity and culture. The integration of adolescents with diverse cultural backgrounds into the society and country of residence has been noted to be associated with some form of rejection and discrimination, predisposing them to undesirable health outcomes [ 5 , 6 , 11 , 12 ]. The challenges that influence adolescents’ health are further worsened by social inequality that affects their access to healthcare services and prudent health information [ 13 , 14 ].…”

“…The challenges that influence adolescents’ health are further worsened by social inequality that affects their access to healthcare services and prudent health information [ 13 , 14 ]. These social and health determinants of REM adolescents have been of concern in France [ 11 ], Canada [ 5 ], South Korea [ 12 ], and the United States [ 6 ]. In the case of multicultural families, the challenge has been related to integration and avoiding segregation.…”

“…In the case of multicultural families, the challenge has been related to integration and avoiding segregation. The adolescent is therefore left with emotional aloofness and depression compared to adolescents from monocultural majority race groups [ 12 ]. The discrepancies associated with the unequal distribution of health damaging experiences is not because of a natural phenomenon but a combination of poor social policies and programs, an unfair economic arrangement, and natural or man-made disasters or migration [ 3 ].…”

Target Congruence as a Means of Understanding the Risk of Bullying Victimization among Multicultural Family Youth in South Korea

“…Recently, researchers have begun to explore the victimization experiences of multicultural persons living in more ethnically homogenous countries (Choi et al, 2020), such as South Korea, where the number of multicultural adolescents-defined as adolescents between the age of 9 and 24 from multiethnic marriage between a native-born South Korean and a person of other lineage or those who are born to foreign ethnic migrants who have obtained Korean nationality following the Nationality Act-represent about 1.9% of the entire adolesecent population in South Korea (Joung & Chung, 2020). 1 Of particular importance to this study is the work of Choi et al (2020), who applied Target Congruence Theory (TCT) to serious violent victimization experiences of youth living in South Korea.…”