A longitudinal study of immigrant mothers' destination-language proficiency and their children's psychological well-being: Evidence and mechanisms from a study in South Korea.

RATIONALE: Despite the well-established link between an immigrant's destination-language proficiency and psychological well-being, little is known about the relationship between an immigrant's destination-language proficiency and well-being of their children. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether and how immigrant mothers' Korean proficiency is associated with life satisfaction and depressive symptoms among their children in South Korea. A comprehensive set of potential underlying mechanisms was also examined. METHODS: Using four waves of data from the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (MAPS), this study estimated fixed effects regression models to reduce the possibility of bias due to individual-level heterogeneity. To test for mediation formally, Sobel mediation tests were conducted. RESULTS: Fixed effects estimates suggested that immigrant mothers' Korean proficiency is positively associated with their children's psychological well-being. Specifically, a one-standard-deviation increase in Korean proficiency was associated with an increase in life satisfaction by 13% of a standard deviation and a decrease in depressive symptoms by 9% of a standard deviation. Mediation tests revealed that this association is explained by a combination of social-psychological factors. Friend support was the most salient mediator, followed by lower acculturation stress, positive perceptions of local community, and teacher support. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that efforts to improve immigrant mothers' destination-language proficiency would also benefit their children's psychological well-being. Furthermore, promoting children's relationships with peers at school may mitigate the negative psychological consequences of immigrant mothers' limited language proficiency.

The effects of multicultural family support services on the longitudinal changes of acculturative stress, peer relations, and school adjustment.

This study investigated the long-term trends of acculturative stress, peer relationship, and school adjustment among adolescents from multicultural families in South Korea, and examined the concurrent and lagged effects of multicultural family support services (MFSS) on the longitudinal changes in the variables of interest. Concurrent and lagged models as well as developmental trajectories via latent growth modeling (LGM) were employed on a sample of 1,443 middle school students (706 boys, 737 girls) from the Multicultural Youth Panel Survey (MAPS). The results revealed that peer relationships and school adjustment perceived by adolescents demonstrated consistent, gradual declines across 3-year time points while there was a lack of significant change in acculturative stress during the same period. The absence of significant change in acculturative stress could be attributed to floor effects, stemming from its initial low mean level. Nevertheless, the LGM modeling also exhibited significant concurrent and lagged effects of MFSS at the first and third time points of investigation. The intermittent significant effects of MFSS and the direction of its improvement were discussed. More educational interventions guiding students from multicultural families would be needed as they navigate the complexities of adolescence.

Predicting multicultural adolescents' depression in South Korea: Roles of ego-resilience and social support.

PURPOSE: Depressive symptoms among adolescents are a major concern for increased risk of adverse health condition outcomes later in life. Specifically, previous studies have reported that multicultural adolescents experience more depressive symptoms than non-multicultural ones. Using the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey, this study examined the relationships between ego-resilience, social support, and depression among multicultural adolescents in South Korea, as well as the moderating effect of social support on the association between ego-resilience and depression. DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 1500 multicultural adolescents were included in the analyses, where generalized estimating equation models were employed. RESULTS: Depression scores increased slightly from 2012 to 2015. Higher levels of ego-resilience, family support, and friend support were associated with lower levels of depression, while teacher support was not a significant predictor. The moderating effect of friends and family support on the association between ego-resilience and depression was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: To reduce the level of depression among multicultural adolescents, future research should develop interventions that enhance ego-resilience ability, as well as necessary social systems that strengthen family and friend support. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Supportive interventions, such as enhancing ego-resilience to reduce depression should be provided to multicultural adolescents. It is recommended to include family and friends to develop effective intervention programs for multicultural adolescents who are suffering from depression.

Profiles of Social Capital and the Association With Depressive Symptoms Among Multicultural Adolescents in Korea: A Latent Profile Analysis.

Low social capital has been reported to be associated with depression in adolescents. In general, adolescents with immigrant backgrounds lack social capital. By employing a latent profile analysis (LPA) for the specification of social capital among multicultural adolescents, depression interventions can be explored through the framework of social capital. The purpose of this study was to identify distinct latent profiles of social capital and explore the depressive symptoms of multicultural adolescents in those profiles. Data of 1,244 adolescents from the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Survey (MAPS) were used, which was conducted for 3rd-year middle school students in 2016. An LPA was used to identify profiles by different social capital classes and Quade's non-parametric ANCOVA was used to confirm the differences in depressive symptoms between profiles. Latent profile analysis indicated four classes. Analysis revealed that there were differences in the level of depressive symptoms according to the social capital sub-profiles (F = 44.42, p < 0.001). Class 1 had the lowest level of depressive symptoms (13.91 ± 4.43) and Class 4 had the highest level (18.07 ± 5.25). The depressive symptoms scores of Classes 2 and 3 were 16.49 ± 5.27 and 16.74 ± 4.95, respectively. These findings provide insight into the interplay between social capital and depressive symptoms among multicultural adolescents. Support in consideration of differences in social capital is needed to reduce depression among multicultural adolescents.

Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms among Multicultural Adolescents in Korea: Longitudinal Analysis Using Latent Class Growth Model.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the trajectory of depressive symptoms in multicultural adolescents using longitudinal data, and to identify predictive factors related to depressive symptoms of multicultural adolescents using latent class analysis. We used six time-point data derived from the 2012 to 2017 Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (MAPS). Latent growth curve modeling was used to assess the overall features of depressive symptom trajectories in multicultural adolescents, and latent class growth modeling was used to determine the number and shape of trajectories. We applied multinomial logistic regression analysis to each class to explore predictive factors. We found that the overall slope of depressive symptoms in multicultural adolescents increased. Latent class analysis demonstrated three classes: (1) high-increasing class (i.e., high intercept, significantly increasing slope), (2) moderate-increasing class (i.e., moderate intercept, significantly increasing slope), and (3) low-stable class (i.e., low intercept, no significant slope). In particular, we found that the difference in the initial intercept of depressive symptoms determined the subsequent trajectory. There is a need for early screening for depressive symptoms in multicultural adolescents and preparing individual mental health care plans.

A Inclusão escolar de alunos multiculturais a partir da percepção dos pais / The school inclusion of multicultural students from parental perception / La inclusión escolar de alumnos multiculturales a partir de la percepción de los padres

Neste estudo exploratório foi investigada a experiência escolar de crianças e adolescentes multiculturais. Participaram pais e mães de 39 estudantes de ensino fundamental que já haviam vivido em outros países e residiam no Brasil. Por meio de um questionário com 27 questões foi analisado o processo de inclusão escolar dos estudantes multiculturais considerando tempo de estudo, tipo de escola, desempenho escolar, relação com professores e colegas, transição, aceleração e reprovação. O idioma de ensino foi destacado pelos pais como vantagem, quando se mantém desde a escola anterior, e como desafio, quando é diferente. Programas de formação em segunda língua, oferecidos complementarmente ao currículo regular, facilitam a inclusão desses alunos. A adequação entre ano letivo, currículo, idade e série é um imbróglio enfrentado no processo de transição de diferentes países que demanda acompanhamento da família e dos docentes e que se sujeita à flexilibilidade da instuição escolar. Observou-se a importância do clima escolar, que envolve o compartilhamento de expectativas, políticas e medidas práticas, e impacta o acolhimento, a formação de laços sociais e o desempenho acadêmico dos alunos multiculturais. Salienta-se a necessidade de políticas pedagógicas governamentais para a inclusão de alunos de origem estrangeira para garantir os princípios básicos de uma educação de qualidade.

This exploratory study investigated the school experience of multicultural children and adolescents. The participants were parents of 39 primary school students who had lived in other countries and were then living in Brazil. Through a questionnaire with 27 questions the process of school inclusion of the multicultural students was analyzed considering lenght of study, type of school, school performance, relationship with teachers and peers, transition, acceleration and school failure. The school's language was highlighted by parents as an advantage, when it was the same from the previous school, and as a challenge, when it was different. Second-language training programs, offered in addition to the regular curriculum, facilitate the inclusion of these students. The process of matching school year, curriculum, age and grade is a problem faced in the process of transition between different countries that demands follow-up of family and teachers alike and which depends on the flexibility of the school. It was observed the importance of the school climate, which involves the sharing of expectations, policies and practical measures, and impacts the reception, the formation of social bonds and the academic performance of multicultural students. It is highlighted the need for governmental pedagogical policies for the inclusion of foreign students to guarantee the basic principles of a quality education.

En este estudio exploratorio se investigó la experiencia escolar de niños y adolescentes multiculturales. Padres y madres de 39 estudiantes de enseñanza fundamental, que ya habían vivido en otros países y residían en Brasil participaron de la investigación. Por medio de un cuestionario con 27 preguntas se analizó el proceso de inclusión escolar de los estudiantes multiculturales considerando tiempo de estudio, tipo de escuela, desempeño escolar, relación con profesores y colegas, transición, aceleración y reprobación. El idioma de enseñanza fue destacado por los padres, como ventaja, cuando se mantiene desde la escuela anterior, y como desafío, cuando es diferente. Los programas de formación en segunda lengua, ofrecidos complementariamente al currículo regular, facilitan la inclusión de los alumnos. La adecuación entre el año escolar, el currículo, la edad y la serie es un imbróglio enfrentado en el proceso de transición de diferentes países que exigen acompañamiento de la familia y de los docentes y que depende de la flexibilidad de la enseñanza escolar. Se observó la importancia del clima escolar, que implica el compartir las expectativas, políticas y medidas prácticas; e impacta la acogida, la formación de lazos sociales y el desempeño académico de los alumnos multiculturales. Se destaca la necesidad de políticas pedagógicas gubernamentales para la inclusión de alumnos de origen extranjero, garantizando los principios básicos de una educación de calidad.

Context of biethnic acceptance, biethnic affirmation, and life satisfaction among Korean biethnic adolescents.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to identify latent profiles based on familial ethnic socialization, peer discrimination, and school multicultural climate among biethnic adolescents in South Korea and to examine how the emerged profiles were related to their life satisfaction.We also examined how biethnic affirmation interacted with the profiles in predicting life satisfaction. METHODS: Questionnaire data from the first wave of the Panel Survey of Korean Multicultural Youth Adjustment was used. The sample consisted of 358 biethnic adolescents in 5th and 6th grade in South Korea. The meanage was 11.41 years old. Approximately 60% of the participants were in 5th grade and 51.68% were girls. RESULTS: The results of LPA showed that familial ethnic socialization, peer discrimination, and school multicultural climate formed two distinct profiles in the current sample. These profiles were characterized as contexts of high and low biethnic acceptance. Biethnic adolescents in the context of high biethnic acceptance were significantly more satisfied with their lives than those in the context of low biethnic acceptance.Further, the positive association between biethnic iaffirmation and life satisfaction was more pronounced among adolescents in the context of low biethnic acceptance. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest the importance of promoting biethnic acceptance across family, peer, and school settings for adolescents' biethnic affirmation and life satisfaction.

The relationship between bicultural identity, acculturative stress, and psychological well-being in multicultural adolescents: Verification using multivariate latent growth modelling.

This study aimed to examine causal relationships between bicultural identity, acculturative stress, and subjective well-being among multicultural adolescents. Secondary longitudinal data that were obtained from 1,635 multicultural adolescents were analysed. The results showed that bicultural identity had a positive effect on psychological well-being and a negative impact on acculturative stress; in addition, greater acculturative stress was associated with lower psychological well-being. Finally, bicultural identity indirectly affected psychological well-being by mediating the effects of acculturative stress. These findings underscore the need to facilitate the adaptation of multicultural adolescents by reducing acculturative stress and promoting bicultural acceptance in educational institutions.

Effects of School Violence on Depression and Suicidal Ideation in Multicultural Adolescents.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated how experiencing school violence affects depression and suicidal ideation in multicultural adolescents. METHODS: Overall, 63444 adolescents from grades 7-12 (ages 12-18 yr) who participated in the 11th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBS-XI) were enrolled from Jun 1 to Jun 30, 2015. Adolescents with at least one parent of non-Korean nationality were classified as multicultural adolescents. A logistic regression analysis of depression and suicidal ideation on the experience of violence was conducted with age, gender, city size, academic achievement, economic status, and level of stress as control variables. RESULTS: Multicultural adolescents were found to have low grades, low economic status, come from smaller cities, and experience more school violence and stress compared to non-multicultural adolescents. Multicultural adolescents who experienced school violence were 5.41 times (95% CI 3.22, 9.11) more likely to be depressed than those who did not experience violence, whereas, non-multicultural adolescents were 3.75 times (95% CI 3.34, 4.20) more likely to be depressed. The effect of school violence on suicidal ideation was also stronger for multicultural adolescents. Multicultural adolescents who experienced school violence were 7.78 times (95% CI 4.34, 13.96) more likely to have suicidal ideation than those who did not experience violence, while non-multicultural adolescents were 4.17 times (95% CI 3.64, 4.78) more likely to have suicidal ideation. CONCLUSION: Adolescents who experience school violence more frequently showed a higher risk for depression and suicidal ideation, and the effect of school violence on depression and suicidal ideation was relatively stronger in multicultural adolescents.