{"title":"Societal and community factors facilitating cultural adaptation and mental health of North Korean refugee women in South Korea.","authors":"Boyoung Nam, Sangyoon Han, Ijun Hong","doi":"10.1002/ajcp.12757","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>North Korean (NK) refugee women face unique challenges in their acculturation process in South Korea (SK), often leading to higher rates of depression among them. This study uses the Multidimensional Individual Difference Acculturation (MIDA) model to examine the role of societal and local community factors in facilitating cultural adaptation and influencing mental health issues, such as depression, among NK refugee women. The study focuses on three predictors from the MIDA model: out-group social support, attachment to NK culture, and daily life experience of discrimination. Data from a sample of 212 NK refugee women in SK were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings highlight the crucial role of the social and community environment in attaining a balance between embracing a new culture and preserving one's connection to one's heritage culture. This balance is essential for promoting stable cultural adaptation, sound mental health, and overall well-being, so as to reduce the incidence of depression among NK refugee women. Based on the results, specific intervention strategies are proposed to support the acculturation journey of NK refugee women in SK.</p>","PeriodicalId":7576,"journal":{"name":"American journal of community psychology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"American journal of community psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12757","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
North Korean (NK) refugee women face unique challenges in their acculturation process in South Korea (SK), often leading to higher rates of depression among them. This study uses the Multidimensional Individual Difference Acculturation (MIDA) model to examine the role of societal and local community factors in facilitating cultural adaptation and influencing mental health issues, such as depression, among NK refugee women. The study focuses on three predictors from the MIDA model: out-group social support, attachment to NK culture, and daily life experience of discrimination. Data from a sample of 212 NK refugee women in SK were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings highlight the crucial role of the social and community environment in attaining a balance between embracing a new culture and preserving one's connection to one's heritage culture. This balance is essential for promoting stable cultural adaptation, sound mental health, and overall well-being, so as to reduce the incidence of depression among NK refugee women. Based on the results, specific intervention strategies are proposed to support the acculturation journey of NK refugee women in SK.
北朝鲜(NK)难民妇女在韩国(SK)的文化适应过程中面临着独特的挑战,这往往导致她们患抑郁症的比例较高。本研究采用多维个体差异文化适应(MIDA)模型来研究社会和当地社区因素在促进文化适应和影响北朝鲜难民妇女抑郁等心理健康问题方面的作用。研究重点关注 MIDA 模型中的三个预测因素:外群体社会支持、对纳戈尔诺-卡拉巴赫文化的依恋以及日常生活中遭受歧视的经历。研究使用结构方程模型分析了来自 212 名韩国 NK 难民妇女的样本数据。研究结果凸显了社会和社区环境在接受新文化和保持与传统文化的联系之间取得平衡的关键作用。这种平衡对于促进稳定的文化适应、良好的心理健康和整体幸福感,从而降低 NK 难民妇女的抑郁症发病率至关重要。根据研究结果,我们提出了具体的干预策略,以支持韩国境内的朝鲜族难民妇女的文化适应之旅。
期刊介绍:
The American Journal of Community Psychology publishes original quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research; theoretical papers; empirical reviews; reports of innovative community programs or policies; and first person accounts of stakeholders involved in research, programs, or policy. The journal encourages submissions of innovative multi-level research and interventions, and encourages international submissions. The journal also encourages the submission of manuscripts concerned with underrepresented populations and issues of human diversity. The American Journal of Community Psychology publishes research, theory, and descriptions of innovative interventions on a wide range of topics, including, but not limited to: individual, family, peer, and community mental health, physical health, and substance use; risk and protective factors for health and well being; educational, legal, and work environment processes, policies, and opportunities; social ecological approaches, including the interplay of individual family, peer, institutional, neighborhood, and community processes; social welfare, social justice, and human rights; social problems and social change; program, system, and policy evaluations; and, understanding people within their social, cultural, economic, geographic, and historical contexts.