Family Cohesion Moderates the Relationship between Acculturative Stress and Depression in Japanese Adolescent Temporary Residents

Abstract

Acculturative stress is a risk factor for depression, and may be important in the risk for depression among acculturating Japanese adolescents. However, little to no research has been published on the mental health of acculturating Japanese adolescents. Further, although family cohesion has been shown to be protective against depression across ethnic groups, no prior research has examined family cohesion as a protective factor for Japanese adolescents. To examine these relationships, 26 Japanese temporary resident adolescents and 76 parents in the Midwest were recruited to participate. Moderate to strong correlations between acculturative stress, depression, likelihood for and seriousness of family conflict were found. A regression analysis found that likelihood for family conflict moderated the relationship between acculturative stress and depression. Findings broaden our understanding of the role of acculturative stress and family conflict on depression risk for Japanese adolescent immigrants.

Influencing Factors of Depression among Adolescent Asians in North America: A Systematic Review

“…Thirty-seven (45%, 37/81) studies were original, independent studies, while forty-four (54%, 44/81) consisted of secondary analyses of national surveys. Only considering Asian American adolescents and not comparisons or parent groups, the sample size among independent studies ranged from 26 [ 38 ] to 451 [ 39 ] adolescents. Among studies conducting secondary analysis of national surveys, the sample size ranged from 84 [ 40 ] to 1664 [ 41 ] adolescents.…”

“…Acculturative stress refers to the negative psychological impact of this process [ 57 ]. A total of thirteen (16%, 13/81) studies addressed the influence of acculturative stress, or related factors such as length of stay and acculturative coping mechanisms, on depressive symptoms [ 33 , 38 , 43 , 47 , 49 , 51 , 57 , 61 , 62 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 ]. Of these, six (7.4%, 6/81) studies consistently found that acculturative stress was related to greater reporting of depressive symptoms, particularly low self-esteem and somatic symptoms [ 33 , 38 , 43 , 49 , 57 , 62 ].…”

“…Parent–child relations are defined by the nature of parent–child interactions, which include the experience of conflict, affection, and parenting styles. A total of forty-four (53.1%, 43/81) studies examined the effects of the parent–child relationship on adolescent depressive symptoms [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 38 , 39 , 43 , 45 , 50 , 52 , 59 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 67 , 68 , 70 , 72 , 73 , 75 , 77 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 ]. Of these, twenty-two (27.2%, 22/81) studies found that parent–child conflict, involving one or both parents, is associated with increased depressive symptoms [ 35 , 38 , 50 , 63 ,…”

Family cohesion and school belongingness: Protective factors for immigrant youth against bias‐based bullying

“…Also, Roley et al. (2014) found that Japanese immigrant youth in the United States who felt supported by and connected to their families were less at risk for developing depression even when experiencing higher levels of acculturative stress.…”

Self-Rated Health Among Older Chinese Americans: The Roles of Acculturation and Family Cohesion

“…Like many Asian cultures, Chinese culture prioritizes the value of family and, therefore, members seek family support when facing stressful life events like migration (Salant & Lauderdale, 2003). While it is among the most important protective factors of health for Chinese Americans (Park et al, 2014), family cohesion, defined as “the emotional bonding that family members have toward one another” (Olson et al, 1979), has received inadequate attention in the context of understanding the relationship between acculturation and self-rated health (Roley et al, 2014). According to Hobfoll et al’s (1990) conservation of resources theory, losing resources in one area, for example, migrating or acculturating to a different culture, may trigger individuals’ investment in other resource areas, for example, family support, to maintain their well-being.…”