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Immigration-related stressors and mental health problems among Asian-American Immigrants

enhancing social support and coping efforts (Ellison, Boardman, Williams et al., 2001;
Nooney and Woodrum, 2002; Nooney, 2005) as the possible stress-buffering resources.
So the second aim of this study is to examine the stress-buffering role of religious
involvement in the associations between immigration-related stressors and mental
health problems.
1.1 The Stress Process Paradigm

According to Pearlin (1981), the basic idea of the stress process model lies in the
interplay of stressors, stress mediators, and stress outcomes. Stressors include life
events that represent the occurrence of discrete negative events and chronic strains that
represent problems that last long. In some situations, life events and chronic strains
may join forces that create new strain or intensify existing strain that often result in a
“diminish of self,” which includes lower levels of self-mastery and self-esteem (Pearlin,
Menaghan, Lieberman et al., 1981: 340). Many studies have linked these types of
stressors to undesirable mental health outcomes (Ellison and Henderson, 2011).
As active agents, individuals usually respond to stressors with a set of behaviors,
including cognition, perception, and defense depending on the resources they possess.
Pearlin (1985) distinguished these resources into two major categories: social support
and coping ability. Social support, largely determined by the size and strength of
one’s social network, is the resource that one could use to cope with difficulties and
problems. Coping is defined as “the actions that people take in their own behalf as
they attempt to avoid or lessen the impact of life problems” (Pearlin, 1989: 250).
Coping is a complex behavior that varies across individuals and problems that one
encounters, but in general, it is shaped by one’s self-esteem, sense of personal control,
and coping styles (Pearlin, 1989; Pearlin, Menaghan, Lieberman et al., 1981; Ellison
and Henderson, 2011). Guided by the stress process model, the current study attempts
to link Asian-American immigrants’ minority status (as the stressor) and their religious
involvement (as coping resources) to their mental health outcomes indicated by
12-month depressive disorder and suicidal ideation.

1.2 Immigration-Related Stressors
This study focuses on two immigration-related stressors, namely, age at immigration
and English proficiency. These two stressors are found to be associated with anxiety,
depression and suicidal behaviors (Kposowa, McElvain, and Breault, 2008). Specific
to age at immigration, acculturative stress model suggests that older age at immigration
is more stressful compared to younger age because immigrants of older age have
stronger cultural identity from their home countries, thus are more likely to experience
cultural conflict with the host country (Berry, Kim, Minde et al., 1987). Takeuchi and
colleagues’ (1998) study supports this perspective, showing that Chinese immigrants
who immigrated after age 20 are more likely to experience major depression than those
immigrated before age 20.
On the other hand, the life course perspective views younger age, especially
childhood as a vulnerable life stage to cope with “life-altering” events such as
immigration. The early stressful experience may have a long reaching effect on their
psychological well-being in the adulthood. So the life course perspective predicts
that a younger age at immigration is more stressful and at a higher risk of developing
mental health problems compare to an older age of immigration. Consistent with this
perspective, Zhang and colleagues (2013) revealed that Chinese who immigrated to the
U.S. younger than 18 years of age are at a higher risk of developing lifetime depressive
disorder, anxiety disorder, and suicidal ideation than those who immigrated to the U.S
older than 18 years of age. Focusing on Filipinos, Mossakowski (2007) also found
harmful effects of an earlier age of immigration on mental health.
In addition to age at immigration, English proficiency is another important correlate
of mental health for Asian-American immigrants. Limited English proficiency is
often viewed as a major barrier that hinders the integration of immigrants into the

24 International Journal of Population Studies 2017, Volume 3, Issue 1