Browsing by Subject "acculturative stress"

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    DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE ACCULTURATIVE STRESS SCALE FOR CHINESE COLLEGE STUDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES (ASSCS)
    (2012-12-21) Bai, Jieru; Adamek, Margaret E.; Pike, Cathy K.; Daley, James G.; Rand, Kevin L.; Chan, Cecilia L. W.
    Chinese students are the biggest ethnic group of international students in the United States. Previous studies have identified many unique problems of Chinese students during their acculturation process and a higher level of acculturative stress than international students from other countries. A systematic review of instruments that assess acculturative stress revealed that none of the existing scales apply to Chinese students in the United States, either because of language issues or validity problems. Thus, this study aims to develop a reliable and valid scale to accurately measure the acculturative stress of Chinese students in the United States. A 72-item pool was generated by interviewing eight Chinese students and borrowing items from existing literature and scales. The item pool was sent online to 607 Chinese students and 267 of them completed the survey. Exploratory Factor Analysis was conducted to empirically derive the factor structure of the Acculturative Stress Scale for Chinese Students (ASSCS). The results produced a 32-item scale in five dimensions, which were Language Insufficiency, Social Isolation, Perceived Discrimination, Academic Pressure, and Guilt toward Family. The ASSCS demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.939) and initial validity by predicting depression (Beta = 0.490, p<.001) and life satisfaction (Beta = -0.505, p<.001). It was the first Chinese scale of acculturative stress developed and validated among a Chinese student sample in the United States. Further studies need to be conducted to provide empirical support and confirm the validity for the scale. In the future, the scale can be used as diagnosing tool and self-assessment tool.
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    A Mixed-Methods, Community-Based Study To Identify Predictors Of Depression In Latino Adolescents By Gender
    (2019) Bigatti, Silvia M.; Diaz, Virna; Conrad, Katrina K.; Ramirez, Michelle; Weathers, Tess D.; Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health
    Latino adolescent depressive symptoms are a growing problem, of interest to both the community and academic partner who are reporting the present study. In this mixed-method, community-based participatory research study we quantitatively examined predictors of depression known to impact adolescent mental health that are amenable to interventions. Concurrently, we qualitatively assessed parents’ perceptions of mental health problems in children, their causes and potential solutions. The data from parents (n = 108) was obtained in focus groups led in Spanish, and the data from adolescents (n = 86) was obtained in English language surveys. Among the adolescents there was an even representation of males (47.7%) and females (52.3%), Mage = 15.24 (SD = 1.97). Nearly half (47.7%) of the adolescents were experiencing minor depression and one in ten (10.5%) were experiencing major depression according to their scores on the PHQ-9. Adolescent participants reported low acculturative stress, average social support, and high mastery, as well as highly functional families. Males reported higher self-mastery than females and lower acculturative stress. Predictors of depression differed by gender. For males, self-mastery predicted depressive symptoms; for females acculturative stress predicted depressive symptoms. The focus groups with parents supported and expanded quantitative findings. The parents demonstrated a keen awareness of depression in teens and their own contributions to the problem, including their efforts to maintain their culture of origin which prevents integration of their children into the majority culture. Parents also reported difficulties knowing what steps to take and finding resources. The additional dimension of parental voice is often missing from studies of adolescents, and here it clarified many of the issues identified in the teens. These findings suggest the need to focus on mental health in this population, potentially developing differential interventions by gender and taking a family systems approach.