Page 28 - IJPS-3-1

International Journal of Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Immigration-related stressors and

mental health problems: exploring the

role of religious involvement among

Asian-American immigrants

Sizhe Liu and Wei Zhang 2
1*
1 Department of Sociology, College of Social Sciences, University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa,
2424 Maile Way, Saunders Hall 220, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, USA
2 Department of Sociology, College of Social Sciences, University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa,
2424 Maile Way, Saunders Hall 239, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, USA
Abstract: Focusing on Asian-American immigrants in the National Latino and Asian
American Study, this work examines (1) whether immigration-related stressors are
associated with 12-month depressive disorder and suicidal ideation, and (2) how
individual religious involvement moderates the associations. Findings from regression
analyses reveal that limited English proficiency increases the risk of both 12-month
depressive disorder and suicidal ideation. No significant differences in 12-month
depressive disorder and suicidal ideation are found by age at immigration. Most
importantly, religious coping — frequently seeking comfort from religion — buffers
the negative effects of limited English proficiency on suicidal ideation. Our findings
suggest the importance of individual religious involvement in helping Asian-American
ARTICLE INFO immigrants cope with stress associated with immigration. Mental health professionals
Received: January 31, 2017 may need to integrate religious coping mechanisms into the clinical setting to offer
Accepted: April 20, 2017
Published Online: August 30, 2017 more effective treatments that are sensitive to individuals’ religious and spiritual needs.
Keywords: immigration-related stressors; religious involvement; suicidal ideation;
*Correspondence Author
Sizhe Liu, Department of Sociology, depressive disorder; Asian American immigrants
College of Social Sciences,
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa,
2424 Maile Way, Saunders Hall 1 Introduction
220, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96822,
USA
liusizhe@hawaii.edu As the fastest growing minority group, the Asian-American population is expected to
reach 33.4 million by 2050 (United States Census Bureau, 2014). Asian Americans
Citation are often perceived as a “model minority” in the United States due to their educational
Liu S and Zhang W (2017). and financial success (Yoo, Burrola, and Steger, 2010). This stereotype misleadingly
Immigration-related stressors
and mental health problems: suggests that Asian Americans, as a whole, have also achieved success on other aspects
Exploring the role of religious such as physical health and mental health (Chao, Chiu, and Lee, 2010). This notion
involvement among Asian
American immigrants. Inter­ largely contributes to the long-lasting neglect of Asian Americans’ health in both
national Journal of Popul ation academic world and policy discourse. Although, in recent years, an increasing number
Studies, 3(1): 22-41 .
doi: 10.18063/IJPS.2017.01.002. of studies have started to examine physical health of Asian-American immigrant
population in the U.S. (Salant and Lauderdale, 2003; Yoo, Gee, and Takeuchi, 2009),
Copyright: © 2017 Sizhe Liu their mental health, especially those severe mental health outcomes and their important
and Wei Zhang. This is an Open
Access article distributed under correlates, are generally understudied in the literature. Some of the studies have
the terms of the Creative Com - focused on different mental health indicators among subgroups of Asian-American
mons Attribution-Non Commercial
4.0 Inter national License (http:// immigrants (Hurh and Kim, 1990; Mossakowski, 2007; Noh, Kaspar, and Wickrama,
creativecommons.org/licenses/ 2007; Tabora and Flaskerud, 1997; Won and Kwang, 1990; Yeh, 2003; Yeh, Arora,
by-nc/4.0/), permit ting all non-
commercial use, distribution, Inose, et al., 2003). However, these studies are limited by their generalizability and
and reproduction in any medium, are unable to capture the panorama of mental health issues among Asian-American
provided the original work is
properly cited. immigrants. This study aims to fill in the literature gap by examining how immigration-
22 International Journal of Population Studies 2017, Volume 3, Issue 1