Page 39 - IJPS-3-1

Sizhe Liu and Wei Zhang

and religious involvement indicators were included in model 3. The odds ratios for
both limited English proficiency and weekly religious services attendance on 12-month
depressive disorder remain significant and substantial.
Finally, we introduced the interaction terms between religious involvement and
immigration-related stressors to examine whether religious involvement provides any
stress-buffering effect for Asian-American immigrants. Results show that none of the
odds ratios for the interaction terms are significant (results not shown).
3.2.2 Suicidal Ideation

Table 3 presents the odds ratios of immigration-related stressors and indicators of
individual religious involvement on suicidal ideation. Limited English proficiency also
increases the risk of having suicidal ideation for Asian-American immigrants. The odds
of having suicidal ideation for those with limited English proficiency are 2.17 times
greater than those who rated their English proficiency as excellent/good. No significant
differences in the suicidal ideation were found by age at immigration.
Model 2 examines the direct effects of individual religious involvement. Results
indicate that none of the measured religious involvement variables show significant
direct effect on suicidal ideation. Model 3 includes both immigration-related stressors
and indicators of religious involvement. Adjusting for religious involvement, the odds
ratios of limited English proficiency remain significant and substantial. Finally, the
interaction terms between religious involvement and immigration-related stressors
were included in Model 4. The significant odds ratio of the interaction term between
“seeking comfort from religion” and “English proficiency” suggests that Asian-
American immigrants with limited English proficiency but frequently seeking comfort
from religion presented a significant lower risk of having suicidal ideation by 81.85%
({1-[.05 × 3.63]} × 100%) compared to those with limited English proficiency but
never/sometimes seeking comfort from religion. Interactions between religious
attendance/religious affiliation and immigration-related stressors were not statistically
significant.

4 Discussion
In summary, our results reveal several interesting patterns. First, as expected, limited
English proficiency was associated with increased risk of having 12-month depressive
disorder and suicidal ideation among Asian-American immigrants. However, no
significant differences in the 12-month depressive disorder and suicidal ideation
were found by age at immigration. Second, we found that weekly religious service
attendance was associated with a reduced risk of 12-month depressive disorder.
Finally, we identified the stress-buffering effect of religious coping for the association
between limited English proficiency and suicidal ideation. Those with limited English
proficiency but frequently seeking comfort from religion were at a lower risk of having
suicidal ideation compared to those with limited English proficiency but rarely or just
sometimes seeking comfort from religion.
Our findings suggest that limited English proficiency is a risk factor for Asian-
American immigrants and it could result in severe depressive disorder, which is
consistent with findings from the previous studies (Kim, Worley, Allen et al., 2011;
Zhang, Hong, Takeuchi et al., 2012). Unlike Hispanics and other minority groups who
share a common language regardless of their country of origin, a variety of languages
have been used by Asian-American immigrants in the U.S. The most commonly used
Asian language is Chinese with approximately only 2.8 million speakers in the U.S.
(United States Census Bureau, 2014). Asian-American immigrants often view high
levels of English proficiency essential for them to navigate through daily contexts
and integrate with the host communities. On average, they also have higher levels
of education compared to other minority immigrants. These well-educated Asian-
American immigrants have a high expectation regarding their achievement in the U.S.
In this sense, being proficient in English is vital to meet their social and economic
expectations (Zhang, Hong, Takeuchi et al., 2012) and lack of it tends to greatly reduce

International Journal of Population Studies 2017, Volume 3, Issue 1 33