Psychological distress and adjustment of Vietnamese refugees in the United States: Association with pre- and postmigration factors.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how pre- and postmigration factors affect the psychological distress and adjustment for a community sample of Vietnamese refugees resettled in the United States. The sample included a substantial proportion of ex-political detainees who experienced a particularly large number of traumatic events prior to migration. Additionally, the study assessed postmigration experiences using multidimensional and bidirectional measures of acculturation to the Vietnamese and American cultures and measures of satisfaction with social support from like-ethnic and host culture network members. Psychological adjustment and distress were assessed with depression, anxiety, alienation, and life satisfaction. Findings show that premigration traumatic experiences predicted only measures of anxiety. The other measures of adjustment and distress were predicted by postmigration factors, including acculturation and social support. In sum, findings suggest that different psychological outcomes are predicted by different pre- and postmigration factors, suggesting that adjustment is a complex process that involves multiple indicators and dimensions. Significant differences were also found between ex-political detainees and other Vietnamese refugees suggesting the importance of considering their unique experience.

Vietnamese Americans and Depression: A Health and Mental Health Concern

“…Vietnamese refugees resettled in the United States have suffered war-related trauma or separations from family members, torture in refugee camps, and/or immigration adjustment difficulties (Birman & Tran, 2008 family, intergenerational conflicts, immigration legal issues and acculturation (Lain, 2005;Nguyen, 2008;Nicholson, 1997;Ong & Phinney, 2002;Steel, Silove, Phan, & Bauman, 2002;Takeuchi et al, 2007;Tran, Dung, & Conway, 2003).…”

“…Immigrants are prone to depression and other mental health problems such as substance abuse, school drop out, domestic violence, suicide, and homicide (Birman & Tran, 2008;Lain, 2005). Vietnamese Americans' helpseeking practices are strongly influenced by their knowledge and traditional beliefs regarding mental illness (Hinton et al, 1998;Nguyen, 2008).…”

Parenting Styles as Perceived by Vietnamese American Adolescents

“…Based on Birman and Tran (2008), except for anxiety, most psychological distress including depression among Vietnamese immigrants started after migration to a new country. The data in this study supports that adjustment difficulties play a significant role in self development because foreign-born children may bear the burden of testifying their ability to hold the dual identity while handling challenges both internal and external to their cultural home base.…”

Refugee Resettlement in the U.S.: The Impact of Contextual Factors on Psychological Distress

“…In addition, refugees face significant contextual barriers (e.g., economic struggles, family separation, and acculturation difficulties) during the resettlement process [3,16,17,18]. While many studies have assessed the effects of mental health treatment [2,8,10,19,20] and contextual factors [21,21,23] on refugees' psychological distress, less empirical work has been concentrated on the effects of contextual factors on psychological distress over time [24], which is the purpose of this study.…”