• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.144-154
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of problem behaviors, cultural identity and acculturation of North Korean (NK) refugee youth and to suggest an appropriate approach for helping them to adjust to our society based on these findings. Methods: The subjects were 117 NK adolescent refugees in Hanawon. Data were collected by a demographic questionnaire, Youth Self Report (YSR), the South-North Korean cultural identity. Results: Problem behaviors of NK refugee youth were the highest in anxiety/depression and withdrawal behavior and were followed by internalized behavior, aggressiveness, overall problem behavior, externalized behavior, delinquency and positive behavior in that order. Acculturation was the highest in 'separation' followed by 'integration', 'assimilation' and 'marginalization' in that order. No significant relationship was found between acculturation types and problem behaviors except positive behavior. Conclusion: This study provides some important information that we have to develop specific strategies and interventions primarily focused on withdrawal, anxiety/depression, and internalization for the adjustment and mental health of NK refugee youth. It is necessary to explore further research related to cultural identity, acculturation processes, and the correlation between acculturation types and problem behaviors.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.47-64
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• 2014

This study was conducted with the aim of examining the acculturation process of children and parents from multicultural families, which can affect the self-esteem of the children concerned. The participants from each family consisted of the fathers, mothers, and school-age children of 179 households. The results of this study reveal the following: (1) First, the multicultural children scored higher than the average in self-esteem in most areas except school life. Furthermore, the children and parents had a comparatively positive attitude toward acculturation (2) Second, the children's level of self-esteem had significant correlations only with the acculturation of mothers as opposed to fathers. (3) Third, the impacts of acculturation of the children and their parents on the children's self-esteem followed different patterns according to the sub-areas of self-esteem. Specifically, the self-esteem for overall self-value and family relations rose when the multicultural acceptance attitude of mothers was high. However, area of peer relations was affected only by the acculturation of children. The area concerning school life was high when the mother-culture propagation attitude of mothers was low.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.195-218
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to offer suggestions to help immigrated youths of multicultural families become successful members of Korean society while preparing to enter schools or becoming involved in social activities. The study examined the following three issues using grounded theory: (1) the characteristics of cultural adaptation for immigrated youths of multi-cultural families; (2) their acculturation processes; and (3) their different patterns of acculturation experience. The process of acculturation involves (1) feeling timid, (2) feeling regretful and angry, (3) looking around and making an attempt, (4) feeling difficulty and feeling left out, (5) accepting reality and seeing Korea in a positive light. The core of acculturation among the immigrated youths of multicultural families is a limited living in an unfamiliar culture. Five acculturation patterns were found in the current study: (1) Someone who is actively striving for future dreams; (2) someone who adjusts himself/herself to circumstances without plans; (3) someone who passively makes an effort; (4) someone who accepts reality to continue education; and (5) someone who temporarily stays for financial reasons.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.269-274
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• 2008

Consuming regular meals has been studied in relation to better health, while higher regularity of eating-out has been linked to obesity. This study examined whether acculturation was associated with regularity of meals, eating-out, and overweight in Korean Americans. Pre-tested questionnaires were mailed to a U.S. national sample with Korean American surnames, and 55% of the deliverable sample responded, producing 356 usable questionnaires. Acculturation was measured using a two-culture matrix model and Gordon's theoretical work, and showed there were three distinct groups (acculturated, bicultural, and traditional). Only 36% reported that they regularly ate three meals a day. Breakfast was the least frequent meal of the day with 43% reporting eating breakfast everyday. More than half (58%) reported that they usually eat out or get take-out food at least once a week. After controlling for age, sex, income, education, and working status, higher acculturation was related to greater regularity of eating-out, but not meal regularity. A total of 28% of men and 6% of women were overweight (BMI>25), and there were significant and positive relationships between body weight status and acculturation in men but not women. However, no significant relationships between frequency of meals and eating-out and overweight status were present. This study did not find significant relationships of meal regularity and eating-out with body weight, however, given the positive relationship between acculturation and eating-out among the subjects and the well-established relationship between eating-out and obesity, nutrition education about skipping meals and eating-for Korean Americans may be useful to prevent such relationships from developing.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.653-662
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• 2010

Purpose: This study was to identify the health status and reported resilience according to acculturation type among Chinese students in Korea. Methods: The subjects were 386 Chinese students studying in three universities in Chungnam province. The data were collected by standardized questionnaires and SPSS/WIN 15.0 program was used to analyze the data with descriptive statistics, Chi-square, t-test, and ANOVA. Results: Subjects reported the following Acculturation type: integration (26.7%), assimilation (28.5%), separation (32.4%), and marginalization (12.4%). The reported resilience was significantly different according to economic status. The health status was significantly different according to religion and economic status. Acculturation type was significantly different according to age, educational level, length of stay, type of residency and economic status working style. The health status and resilience were significantly different according to acculturation type. Conclusion: The findings suggest that integration of acculturation type is most useful to health status and resilience among Chinese students in Korea. Future studies need to examine acculturation type as coping strategy for foreign students' adaptation.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.879-888
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• 2012

Purpose: There is evidence that parent-child cohesion is a potentially influential factor in children's self-esteem and acculturation. However, no research to date has examined cohesion with parents as a potential pathway between Korean proficiency and self-esteem or acculturation among children from multicultural families. This study was done to address these limitations by examining whether and to what extent cohesion with parents mediated the effect of Korean proficiency on self-esteem and acculturation among children from multicultural families. Methods: Data were collected from a sample of 138 mothers and their children living in Seoul, Daegu, Kyungi province, and Kyungpook province. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between the variables of interest. Mediation effects of cohesion with parents were tested by following the procedure recommended by Baron and Kenny (1986). Results: Cohesion with parents partially mediated the relationship between Korean proficiency and self-esteem. For children's acculturation, the effect of Korean proficiency was partially mediated through father-child cohesion. Mother-child cohesion completely mediated the relationship between Korean proficiency and acculturation. Conclusion: These findings suggest that to help children from multicultural families experiencing difficulties with self-esteem or acculturation, it might be useful to develop programs that are aimed at strengthen cohesion with parents.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.972-986
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• 2015

This study seeks to explore the relationship between clothing adaptation and acculturation for married Chinese immigrant women. In addition, it aims to analyze the differences in their clothing consumption behaviors according to acculturation level. To achieve these purposes, a quantitative research study was conducted on 291 wives of Korean-Chinese multicultural families in Seoul and Gyeonggi. The data was analyzed using factor analysis, cluster analysis, ANOVA, and the Duncun test. The findings were as follows. First, the women were divided into three groups based on their level of acculturation, which was defined as 'assimilated', 'marginalized' and 'segregated'. Second, the relationship between their acculturation level and their clothing adaptation was identified. The marginalized group had the lowest level of clothing adaptation. Third, the groups' differences in clothing selection criteria were analyzed. The segregated group considered the practical aspects (price, color, quality) of clothing to be more important than the other groups. The marginalized group scored the lowest in valuing the aesthetic factors (design, style, trendiness) of clothing. Finally, conformity of clothing consumption varied significantly based on acculturation level. The assimilated and marginalized groups showed higher levels conformity than did the segregated group. Clothing purchase location also varied significantly between the three groups. The assimilated and marginalized groups preferred online shopping, but members of the segregated group preferred to carry out their shopping off-line. This study showed that clothing adaptation and clothing consumption behaviors play key roles in understanding the acculturation of multicultural families.

• Perspectives in Nursing Science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.70-80
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• 2016

Purpose: This study examined the relationship between acculturation stress and health promotion behaviors in the Korean Chinese elderly immigrants living in Korea, focusing on the buffering effects of social support. Methods: We included 132 completed questionnaires in the analysis. The buffering effect was examined using a hierarchical regression analysis by adding interaction terms. Results: Health promotion scores were significantly higher in the group with a higher education level, lower depressive symptom scores, and higher levels of social support. However, no statistically significant differences were found in the health promotion behaviors by gender, age, spouse, job, financial stability, subjective health status, chronic disease, regular health checkups, or acculturation stress. The hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that social support had a buffering effect on the relationship between acculturation stress and health promotion behaviors in the Korean Chinese elderly immigrants. Specifically, the relationship between the acculturation stress stemming from the difficulties in the workplace and health promotion behaviors was attenuated by social support. Conclusion: These findings indicate that social support significantly moderates the relationship between acculturation stress and health promotion behaviors in the Korean Chinese elderly immigrants living in Korea. A variety of strategies to enhance social support should be incorporated in the health promotion programs to decrease the negative effects of acculturation stress in the Korean Chinese elderly living in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.627-634
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• 2017

This study was performed to provide fundamental data on the dietary life according to the acculturation degree. The subject was 305 Chinese students in South Korea region. The questionnaire respondents are consisted of 148 male students (48.5%) and 157 female students (51.5%). There was a statistically significant difference in age, education level, residence time, and Korean language ability according to acculturation degree (p<0.05), but there was no statistically significant difference in gender, residence pattern, purpose of coming to Korea. There was a statistically significant difference between meals frequency, outside frequency, and the intake of Chinese food according to acculturation degree (p<0.05), but there was no significant difference in snake taking frequency (p>0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in drinks and computer time according to acculturation degree (p<0.05), but there was no statistically significant difference between smoking and exercise (p>0.05). The food intake style of Chinese students was 2.47 in noodles, 2.34 in lunches and 2.15 in breads. According to the acculturation degree, the food intake patterns showed statistically significant differences in dumping kind, congee, hamburger and pizza, while meat products, smoked meat, noodle, lunch, cereal, kimbap, sandwich. And there was no significant difference. The correlation between the factors influencing the acculturation degree of Chinese students showed a statistically significant effect on dietary habits, food intake, education level, residence period, and Korean language ability.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.889-901
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• 2012

This study examined acculturation stress resulting from socio-demographic characteristics and psychological and social status of married immigrant women residing in the Jeonbuk region. Data were gathered from married immigrant women who were participating in non-profit agencies offering multi-cultural services and those who worked for business offices and stores in the Jeonbuk area. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used. A total of 280 questionnaires were distributed, and 210 were returned. Twenty three questionnaires were excluded from the study because of invalid responses, providing a final data pool of 187 responses. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that Korean language ability and levels of depression were significantly associated with acculturation stress among married immigrant women. Based on the findings of this study, interventions for reducing acculturation stress among married immigrant women and implications for future studies are discussed.