Resilience in Multicultural Families of Children With Disabilities in Korea: A Path Analysis Using National Data

Abstract

Purpose The number of multicultural families has increased globally, and Korea has also witnessed a surge. Along with the various challenges experienced by these families, a child with a disability can pose additional challenges. In‐depth knowledge about resilience factors among multicultural families of children with disabilities is important. The aim of this study was to examine relationships between family demands, family appraisals, family problem solving and coping, family resources, and family adaptation in multicultural families of children with disabilities in Korea as perceived by married immigrants. Design This study was based on a secondary analysis of national survey data in 2015 and 2018 in Korea. Methods A total of 256 multicultural families who have children with disabilities participated. Family demands were identified by examining marital conflict, cultural differences, marital status, and public assistance recipient households. Family appraisal was assessed by how the family perceived the married immigrant’s culture. Family problem solving and coping were examined by how actively a married immigrant participated in social activities. Family resources were assessed by examining Korean language competency and the health status of immigrants. Family adaptation was identified by how immigrants perceived their life satisfaction. Path analysis was used to assess the factors. Findings Family demands had a direct impact on family resources and family adaptation. Family appraisal had a direct impact on family adaptation. Family resources mediated the effect of family demands on family adaptation. Conclusions This study demonstrated that although a multicultural family of a child with a disability struggles with family demands, if the family receives positive resources from family members, they can adapt well. Current findings can be used to develop interventions that can foster greater resilience among families. Clinical Relevance This study provides evidence that nurses can target modifiable family aspects, including immigrants’ health and family perceptions of immigrants’ cultures identified in this study to enhance the immigrant and family adaptation.

Evaluation of Psychosocial Pathways to Family Adaptation of Chinese Patients With Liver Cancer Using the McCubbin's Family Resilience Model

“…This may be because higher levels of family problem-solving and coping abilities lead to greater ease for families of patients with liver cancer to perceive outside support, and thus, can actively use support resources to cope with pressure, thereby promoting family adaptation. In this study, the direct effects of “family problem-solving and coping” on inner family support, family function, and family adaptation were not significant, consistent with some previous studies' results ( 16 , 38 ). Using the same scale with the families of older adults with dementia, Wang et al ( 38 ) also reported a loss of direct effect of “family problem-solving and coping” on family resources and family adaptation, retaining only a direct effect on the outer family support system.…”

“…An investigation on families of patients with stroke ( 12 ) revealed that family resilience is an essential factor that can positively and independently predict family adaptation. This conclusion has been verified in a study on families of patients with cancer ( 13 ), dementia ( 14 ), and children with illnesses ( 15 , 16 ). Li et al ( 17 ) studied the relationship among family resilience, individual resilience, and caregiver burden in breast cancer patients and found that family resilience and individual resilience can effectively alleviate the burden on caregivers and improve their quality of life.…”

Mother-Child Social Cognition Among Multicultural Families in South Korea

“…Despite the government's primary focus on immigration and welfare policies to support the settlement of multicultural families in response to the noted phenomenon of migrant feminization, married immigrant women in Korea still face a range of issues, including acculturation, language barriers, social exclusion, financial difficulty, racial discrimination, loneliness, demands of child education, parenting responsibilities, and domestic conflict ( 7 – 9 ). The different sources of stress and the acculturation process simultaneously lower their quality of life and life satisfaction as well as engender psychological difficulties, such as anxiety and depression ( 6 , 10 ).…”

“…Indeed, according to Kim ( 24 ), multicultural children showed significantly poorer performance in recognizing and expressing their own emotions compared to mono-cultural children. Although the notion that multicultural family environment is in part tied with mastery of social cognition may be appealing, past research of multicultural families have focused mainly on the various difficulties faced by multicultural families residing in Korea ( 3 , 9 , 25 , 26 ) or addressed the relationship between mothers and children in terms of emotion regulation, emotion expressiveness, and emotion knowledge ( 27 – 30 ). To date, no study has specifically explored social-cognitive development among multicultural families.…”