IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/socpsy/v63y2017i8p708-716.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Acculturation and severity of depression among first-generation Vietnamese outpatients in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Main Huong Nguyen
  • Eric Hahn
  • Katja Wingenfeld
  • Iris T Graef-Calliess
  • Anita von Poser
  • Malte Stopsack
  • Hannah Burian
  • Annegret Dreher
  • Simon Wolf
  • Michael Dettling
  • Ronald Burian
  • Albert Diefenbacher
  • Thi Minh Tam Ta

Abstract

Background: Challenges of migration, particularly concerning the process of acculturation are associated with an increased risk of mental illness. Vietnamese migrants constitute the largest Southeast Asian migrant group in Germany, yet there is no data on the relationship between the mental health status and acculturation among this population. Aims: Therefore, the present study examines the relationship between two well-established dimensions of acculturation, that is, dominant society immersion (DSI) and ethnic society immersion (ESI), the four resulting acculturation strategies (integration, assimilation, separation and marginalization), and severity of depression. Methods: A sample of N  = 113 first-generation Vietnamese outpatients from a psychiatric outpatient clinic for Vietnamese migrants in Germany was studied regarding their self-reported depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II)) and acculturation (Stephenson Multigroup Acculturation Scale (SMAS)). Results: Consistent with the hypotheses, patients reported less severe depressive symptoms, when they reported higher orientation toward the German and the Vietnamese society. Moreover, the results showed that integrated patients reported a lower severity of depression compared to marginalized patients, who reported the highest severity of depression. Conclusions: The findings indicate that among a sample of first-generation Vietnamese patients with depression, an orientation to both, the mainstream society and one’s heritage society might serve as a potential resource. The rejection of any orientation to any society is associated with an increased risk for depression.

Suggested Citation

  • Main Huong Nguyen & Eric Hahn & Katja Wingenfeld & Iris T Graef-Calliess & Anita von Poser & Malte Stopsack & Hannah Burian & Annegret Dreher & Simon Wolf & Michael Dettling & Ronald Burian & Albert D, 2017. "Acculturation and severity of depression among first-generation Vietnamese outpatients in Germany," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 63(8), pages 708-716, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:63:y:2017:i:8:p:708-716
    DOI: 10.1177/0020764017735140
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0020764017735140
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0020764017735140?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kirmayer, Laurence J., 1989. "Cultural variations in the response to psychiatric disorders and emotional distress," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 327-339, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Suleyman Basak & Dmitry Makarov, 2014. "Strategic Asset Allocation in Money Management," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(1), pages 179-217, February.
    2. Basak, Suleyman & Makarov, Dmitry, 2012. "Difference in interim performance and risk taking with short-sale constraints," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(2), pages 377-392.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ferrazzi, Priscilla & Krupa, Terry, 2016. "“Symptoms of something all around us”: Mental health, Inuit culture, and criminal justice in Arctic communities in Nunavut, Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 159-167.
    2. Keys, Hunter M. & Kaiser, Bonnie N. & Kohrt, Brandon A. & Khoury, Nayla M. & Brewster, Aimée-Rika T., 2012. "Idioms of distress, ethnopsychology, and the clinical encounter in Haiti's Central Plateau," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(3), pages 555-564.
    3. A. Furnham & R. Malik, 1994. "Cross-Cultural Beliefs About "Depression"," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 40(2), pages 106-123, June.
    4. L. Stone & W.M.L. Finlay, 2008. "A Comparison of African-Caribbean and White European Young Adults' Conceptions of Schizophrenia Symptoms and the Diagnostic Label," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 54(3), pages 242-261, May.
    5. Hanlon, Charlotte & Whitley, Rob & Wondimagegn, Dawit & Alem, Atalay & Prince, Martin, 2009. "Postnatal mental distress in relation to the sociocultural practices of childbirth: An exploratory qualitative study from Ethiopia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 1211-1219, October.
    6. Kienzler, Hanna, 2008. "Debating war-trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in an interdisciplinary arena," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 218-227, July.
    7. Antonello Barbati & Alessandro Geraci & Fabiana Niro & Letizia Pezzi & Marco Sarchiapone, 2022. "Do Migration and Acculturation Impact Somatization? A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-11, November.
    8. Bridget Dolan & Kevin Polley & Ruth Allen & Kingsley Norton, 1991. "Addressing Racism in Psychiatry: Is the Therapeutic Community Model Applicable?," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 37(2), pages 71-79, June.
    9. Chrysi K Kaparounaki & Chrysoula A Koraka & Eleni S Kotsi & Anna-Maria P Ntziovara & Gerasimos C Kyriakidis & Konstantinos N Fountoulakis, 2019. "Greek university student’s attitudes and beliefs concerning mental illness and its treatment," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 65(6), pages 515-526, September.
    10. Hagaman, Ashley K. & Wagenaar, Bradley H. & McLean, Kristen E. & Kaiser, Bonnie N. & Winskell, Kate & Kohrt, Brandon A., 2013. "Suicide in rural Haiti: Clinical and community perceptions of prevalence, etiology, and prevention," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 61-69.
    11. Snell-Rood, Claire & Carpenter-Song, Elizabeth, 2018. "Depression in a depressed area: Deservingness, mental illness, and treatment in the contemporary rural U.S," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 219(C), pages 78-86.
    12. Ruma Bose, 1997. "Psychiatry and the Popular Conception of Possession Among the Bangladeshis in London," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 43(1), pages 1-15, March.
    13. Coker, Elizabeth M., 2005. "Selfhood and social distance: Toward a cultural understanding of psychiatric stigma in Egypt," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 920-930, September.
    14. Sylvia F. Kaaya & Bandy Lee & Jessie K. Mbwambo & Mary C. Smith-Fawzi & Melkizedek T. Leshabari, 2008. "Detecting Depressive Disorder With a 19-Item Local Instrument in Tanzania," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 54(1), pages 21-33, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:63:y:2017:i:8:p:708-716. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.