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

Religious involvement may provide alternative social support resources that
“intervene between the stressful events and a stress reaction” (Cohen and Wills, 1985:
312) and attenuate the harmful effect of stressors on mental health. Research shows
that increased involvement in religious services is associated with an increased level
of perceived social support (Bierman, 2006; Ellison and George, 1994; Krause, 2002).
Religious gathering provides settings that bring together individuals “who share
common belief, values, and interests on a regular basis, for worship, ritual, and other
activities to which members ascribe significance” (Ellison and Henderson, 2011: 18)
and allow people to extend their social networks and increase frequency of in-person
contact with religious community members. In this sense, religious communities
are likely to provide reliable and diverse assistance such as financial support,
information services, and emotional support (Krause, 2007). Support from fellow
church members may be more beneficial compare to support from other resources as
religious communities possess high volume of symbolic power that may largely shape
individuals’ cognition and action toward stressful conditions (Bourdieu, 1979). Taken
together, social support acquired from religious involvement may be considered a
valuable coping resource.
A wealth of recent studies has tested the stress-buffering effects of different aspects
of religious involvement among those who have experienced or are experiencing high
levels of stress. Frequently attending religious-services is found to reduce the risk of
mental dysfunction resulted from chronic discrimination among African Americans
(Bierman, 2006). Religious attendance also buffers against the detrimental effect of
financial hardship on psychological distress (Bradshaw and Ellison, 2010). High degree
of religious beliefs, religious guidance, and belief in after life mitigate the deleterious
effects of stressors on emotional and physical adjustment (Kim and Seidlitz, 2002)
and psychological distress (Bradshaw and Ellison, 2010). In addition, religious coping
and spiritual help seeking are found to attenuate the detrimental effects of stressful
life events on depression (Schnittker, 2001; Bjorck and Thurman, 2007; Lee, 2007).
Findings from one longitudinal study of African American adults also support the
stress-buffering effect of religion (Ellison, Musick, and Henderson, 2008).
To our knowledge, only a handful of studies have examined the role of religious
involvement on mental health among Asian Americans who are highly heterogeneous
with regard to immigration status, ethnicity, and religious beliefs. For instance, a large
proportion of Chinese and Korean immigrants are Protestants while most Filipinos
and Vietnamese claim themselves as Catholics. Although quite a number of Asian
immigrants have converted to Christianity after immigration (Ai, Huang, Bjock, et al.
2013), many still practice religions originated in Asia, including Buddhism, Taoism,
Confucianism, Hinduism, and other folk religions. Religious teachings of Asian faiths
are often very different from those of western religions. So this raises a concern of
whether the beneficial effect of religion found in other racial/ethnic groups still exists
among Asian-American immigrants.
Despite their diverse forms, many Asian religions and traditions have shared values
and functions. Most Asian religious beliefs, for instance, take a holistic view of
mental health and emphasize the integration of mind, body and spirit (Ai, Huang,
Bjock, et al. 2013: 80). In this regard, Asia-originated religions may play a unique
role in the pathway of the stress process. In addition, Asian-American immigrants are
found to view frequent participation in religious activities as a means to enhance their
mutual support, group solidarity, and social cohesion when encountering acculturation
related challenges (Bjorck, Cutherbertson, Thurman, et al. 2001; Fischer, Ai, Aydin
et al., 2010). In this sense, despite diversity in religious beliefs and practices,
religious involvement is likely to lead to similar beneficial effects for Asian-American
immigrants.
Three recent studies have tested both direct and mediating/moderating effects of
religion on mental health among Asian Americans. Ai and colleagues (2013) found
that religious attendance predicts a low likelihood of major depression among Asian
Americans and social support mediates the association. Another study (Appel, Ai,

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