Stress and support: The dual role of the migrant community in the acculturation of Korean migrant families in Australia

Despite recent exploration of diverse acculturation experiences, there is still limited understanding of the specific acculturation features of the migrant experience. To address this gap, the current study aimed to explore subjective acculturation experiences of Korean migrant families by focusing on the contexts of home country, migrant community, and marital relationship. Twenty‐three married South Korean migrants with young children participated in four focus groups. Thematic analysis was used to identify major themes from the discussion. Participants reported that, contrary to a stressful life in Korea, they developed premigration expectations regarding a relaxed life in Australia. However, once the participants became involved in the Korean migrant community in Australia, their expectations were mismatched by recreating their previous stressful lives in the new country. The Korean migrant community was helpful in participants' adaptation but also unhelpful in handling acculturation issues of mismatched expectations and parental stress. The study also found that although some postmigration marital conflicts arose, marital communication in the relationship may have a protective role in solving migrants' difficulties. These findings highlight the need for enhancing the traditional acculturation framework with other theoretical frameworks to capture both general and specific acculturation features of the migrant experience.     

Relationship of Recalled Parenting Style to Self-Perception in Korean American College Students

The authors examined the relationship of authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive parenting styles and the number of years in the United States with self-perception (academic competence, morality, and self-reliance) as recalled by Korean American college students (N = 144). Authoritative parenting behaviors were most common in Korean American families, followed by authoritarian behaviors, with permissive behaviors a distant 3rd. Authoritative parenting styles and the number of years lived in the United States were predictive of higher academic competence. Authoritarian and permissive parenting styles were predictive of lower self-reliance, whereas number of years lived in the United States was related to higher self-reliance. Those findings provide partial support for generalizing D. Baumrind's (1971) model of parenting styles to Korean American families, and the findings demonstrate the importance of considering acculturation issues in parenting studies.     

基于伦理学视域的失能老人照护服务体系研究

研究失能老人照护服务体系问题,对于保障失能老人的生命尊严与生存权利、促进社会和谐发展等具有重要意义.基于失能老人生存需要的服务供给、人才培养、制度安排、组织监管等问题,是照护服务体系构建的基本元素.坚持人本理念以及资源配置的公平、公正与效益目标,是照护服务体系构建的伦理原则.     

Qualitative Exploration of Acculturation and Life‐Span Issues of Elderly Asian Americans

Awareness of aging issues across diverse populations begins the journey toward counselors becoming culturally competent across client life spans. Understanding the life‐span experiences of cultural groups is important for helping professionals. The purpose of this research was to gain insight into the qualitative experiences of Asian American elders. The authors conducted semistructured interviews with 8 participants between September 2010 and March 2011 and analyzed the data using the Consensual Qualitative Research method. Findings indicate unique patterns in life‐span development with this population.     

Output order reflects the cognitive accessibility of goals

Goal accessibility--the ease or speed with which a goal is activated--increases the likelihood that it will be acted on. The present studies validate output order as a measure of goal accessibility that can be applied to goal lists in both laboratory and naturalistic settings. In three studies, output order (the order in which goals are listed in a free-response format) was related to self-reported goal value but was not redundant with it. Furthermore, output order was affected by motivational priming whereas value was not, and order associated with typical student goals (e.g., achievement) compared with atypical goals (e.g., power). Output order is well suited to bring the study of accessibility to naturalistic studies of goals and goal pursuit.     

A Korean Feminist Perspective on God Representation

This article investigates the ways in which the patriarchal God image when combined with Confucianism in Korean culture can negatively affect Korean Christian women in their concept of identity and self-worth. In doing so, a few salient constructs of Confucianism that are closely related to the role of Korean women are examined. Engaging in and dialoging with the works of Sigmund Freud and Ana-Maria Rizzuto in their treatments of God representation along with some key research findings in that area, the nature and the various dynamics of God representation are discussed. Finally some practical suggestions are given in dealing with the patriarchal image of God in relation to the lived experiences of Korean Christian women in Korean context.     

Psychometric Evaluation of the Japanese Version of the Elder Life Adjustment Interview Schedule for Depression

The Elder Life Adjustment Interview Schedule (ELAIS) was developed as an age- and culture-sensitive assessment device for depression and 9 environmental, behavioral, and health correlates (Schlatter et al., 1993, J. MARC Res. 1: 27–42). The psychometric adequacy of the ELAIS has been demonstrated with samples of elder Americans of Asian, Caucasian, and Native Hawaiian ancestry (Dubanoski et al., 1996, J. Clin. Gerospsychol. 2: 247–262). This study reports on the reliability and construct validity of a translated Japanese version. Participants were 55 community-dwelling elders living in the areas surrounding Maebashi, Japan. The ELAIS contains 14 scales of which 9 represent theoretical predictors of depression. The 2 Environmental Condition scales measure life events and social support. The 4 Behavioral Competency scales measure recreational activity, assertiveness, self-reinforcement, and perceived control. The 3 Health Factor scales measure perceived health, functional ability, and objective health. The 5 Other scales measure demographics, depression, life satisfaction, cognitive functioning, and response style. Results yielded acceptable internal consistency and stability reliability coefficients for all but 1 of the subscales on the ELAIS (informational social support). Construct validity support was found for the Depression scale and 6 theoretical predictors, including life events, recreational activity, assertiveness, self-reinforcement, functional ability, and objective health. Treatment and prevention implications for the cross-ethnic multivariate assessment of depression among elders are discussed.     

The Perspective of Feminist Pastoral Theology,a Review of Indigenous and Cultural Psychology: Understanding People in Context

This essay review examines Indigenous and Cultural Psychology: Understanding People in Context, Edited by U. Kim, K.-S. Yang and K.-K. Hwang (New York, NY, US: Springer, 2006), from the perspective of feminist pastoral theology. In doing so, it focuses on shimjung, a critical Korean indigenous concept by Choi and Kim (Naïve psychology of Koreans’ interpersonal mind and behavior in close relationships. In U. Kim, K.-S. Yang &; K.-K. Hwang (Eds.), Indigenous and cultural Psychology: Understanding people in context (pp. 357–369). New York: Springer, 2006). There are three main sections in the essay review. First, shimjung of Korean women is discussed and compared with that of Korean men. Second, shimjung in mother–son relationship is analyzed and explored. Third, an invitation is given for further research in promoting shimjung exchange in the husband and wife relationship in Korean culture.     

Depression, Psychological Resources, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Older Adults 75 and Above

The purposes of this study were (1) to compare psychological resources and health-related quality of life between two groups of community-dwelling elders, 75 years of age and older, with similar chronic illnesses, but with varying levels of depression, and (2) to examine the relationships among depression, psychological resources, and health-related quality of life. Fifty-two elders (14 men and 38 women) were divided into mildly (n = 18) and severely (n = 34) depressed groups based on their depression scores. There were no significant differences between the two groups for demographic and illness characteristics. There were significant differences for number of medications, mastery, health perceptions, mental health functioning, and well-being. Severely depressed elders had poorer health perceptions, and decreased mastery, functioning, and well-being as compared with mildly depressed elders. An explanatory model was developed using factor analysis that fit the data well. Health perceptions and mastery had direct influences on depression, and depression directly impacted well-being.     

The Advantage of First Mention in Korean The Temporal Contributions of Syntactic,Semantic, and Pragmatic Factors

Using Korean, we investigated how syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic factors influence the representation of a sentence, in particular, the relative accessibility of different components of a sentence representation. In six experiments, participants performed a probe recognition task after reading each of a series of sentences. We manipulated the rate at which each word of the sentence was presented (250 ms and 500 ms) and the interval between the sentence-final word and the probe-recognition test word (immediate, 500 ms delay, and 1000 ms delay). We also manipulated the syntactic position (subject versus object), semantic role (agent versus patient), and order of mention (first-versus second-mentioned participant) of the probed item. Pragmatic factors (the order of mention) strongly influenced accessibility immediately and through the longest delay, whereas syntactic and semantic factors had little effect.