Resilience and Depressive Symptoms in Mainland Chinese Immigrants to Hong Kong

Overview

Journal Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

Specialties Psychiatry
Public Health
Social Sciences

Date 2013 Jul 3

PMID 23818045

Citations 8

Authors

Xiaonan Yu

Sunita M Stewart

Iris K F Liu

Tai Hing Lam

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Purpose: Immigrants are highly vulnerable to the development of psychological problems such as depressive symptoms, which calls for further study of immigration in the Eastern context. Identification of factors that protect against depressive symptoms would inform interventions to enhance immigrant adaptation.

Methods: This survey recruited 1,205 individuals who are adult immigrants from mainland China to Hong Kong. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to screen them for depressive symptoms. Participants also completed assessments for acculturative stress, discrimination and rejection, and personal and family resilience.

Results: The results showed that participants reported considerable depressive symptoms. After controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, acculturative stress, and discrimination and rejection, personal resilience was associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Family resilience added significant explanation of variance to predict depressive symptoms over and above the individual variables, including personal resilience.

Conclusions: Our findings draw attention to the role of resilience as a protective factor against mental distress when facing adversities, while highlighting the central importance of family as an emotional resource for immigrant adjustment in the Chinese context. As personal resilience can increase with interventions, our results can inform trials to enhance adaptation among mainland Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong.

Citing Articles

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Promotion of Resilience in Migrants: A Systematic Review of Study and Psychosocial Intervention.

Ciaramella M, Monacelli N, Cocimano L J Immigr Minor Health. 2021; 24(5):1328-1344.

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A Moderated Mediation Analysis on the Association Between Perceived Discrimination and Physical Symptoms Among Immigrant Women from Mainland China into Hong Kong: Evidence from the FAMILY Cohort.

Yu N, Ni M, Stewart S J Immigr Minor Health. 2020; 23(3):597-605.

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Resilience, Acculturative Stress, and Family Norms Against Disclosure of Mental Health Problems Among Foreign-Born Filipino American Women.

Reyes A, Serafica R, Cross C, Constantino R, Arenas R Asian Pac Isl Nurs J. 2019; 3(3):80-92.

PMID: 31037258 PMC: 6482521. DOI: 10.31372/20180303.1002.

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