• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.61 no.2
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• pp.5-32
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• 2009

This study investigates the effect of self-esteem and Korean ability on acculturative stress of marriage-based immigrant Asian women in Korea. It also attempts to find out whether self-esteem has any mediating effect between Korean ability and acculturative stress. By using purposive sampling method, 280 samples were collected among Vietnamese, Filipino, and Chinese women in Daegu from Oct. 12th to Nov. 3rd, 2008. The results are as follows: The higher the score of self-esteem and that of Korean ability is, the lower the score of acculturative stress is respectively. It is proved that self-esteem has mediating effect between Korean ability and acculturative stress. Therefore it is emphasized that programs which can improve self-esteem should be provided to marriage-based immigrant women, especially to those who do not have sufficient Korean ability. Sending money to home country shows both direct and indirect effects and subjective economic evaluation shows direct effects on acculturative stress score. For the purpose of the study acculturative stress scale has been modified based on Sandhu and Asrabadi(1994), which turns out to be useful to measure acculturative stress of marriage-based immigrant Asian women in Korea because it reflects their life circumstances quite well. Some practical implications of social work are suggested through discussion.

• Korean Parent-Child Health Journal
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.28-38
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• 2017

Purpose: This study was aimed to identify pregnancy and childbirth experience of Vietnamese marriage migrant women who have pregnancy and childbirth experience during adaptation to Korea. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted, using focus group interview. Data were collected from October 2011 to March 2012 from 10 Vietnamese women of 2 focus groups who have experienced pregnancy or childbirth in Korea. Data were analyzed using content analysis in order to identify significant themes. Results: This study was analyzed into five major themes: 'difficulty of adaptation to other cultures', 'difficulty and joy of pregnancy', 'effort to live as a Korean', 'not-so-difficult childbirth', and 'unbearable postpartum conditions.' Conclusion: It is meaningful of this study to reveal this: for Vietnamese marriage migrant women, the support for adaptation to Korean culture and postpartum care is a priority rather than the necessity of development of the program about pregnancy and childbirth.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.144-150
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• 2013

Objectives The number of marriage immigrant women has been increasing in the past several years in Korea and their adaptations to the new environment have been an important social issue. The aims of this study were to evaluate the psychosocial and mental health statuses of Vietnamese marriage immigrant women (VMIW). We intended to compare the mental health of VMIW with married Vietnamese women living in Vietnam and reveal the demographic or psychosocial factors affecting their mental health. Method Subjects comprised one-hundred-forty-three VMIW who enrolled in multiculture family support centers in Chungbuk Province and forty-eight women from Vinh Phuc province in Vietnam. Marital satisfaction, domestic violence and social support were evaluated as psychosocial factors, and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) were used to evaluate mental health. Results VMIW had a larger age gap with their husbands but better psychosocial statuses. BDI (p = 0.20), BAI (p = 0.08), GHQ (p = 0.13) scores of VMIW were not significantly different compared to Vietnamese residents. Marriage duration of VMIW affects significantly their marital satisfaction, social support and depressive levels (p < 0.01). The level of domestic violence showed a significant difference according to the educational levels of their husbands, composition of family members and marriage process (p < 0.05). VMIW with older husbands and jobless VMIW had low levels of anxiety (p < 0.01). Conclusion The results suggest that VMIW have no difference in mental health compared to Vietnamese women living in Vietnam which is contrary to general expectations. However, various environmental factors, such as marriage duration, have an effect on the mental health of VMIW. As marriage duration is proven to be important factor on mental health of VMIW, more extended duration of care and interventions are needed to maintain good mental health. Networking system connecting mental health screenings by the multiculture family support center to the local mental healthcare center is needed to care those with poor screening outcomes.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.303-309
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• 2019

This study was attempted to identify the marital intimacy, spousal support, sexual autonomy and empowerment of married immigrant Vietnamese women. This study was conducted to 119 Vietnamese women who migrated for marriage, and it took place from May to September, 2018. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA and Pearson's correlation coefficients. Marital intimacy $3.17{\pm}0.69$, spousal support $3.45{\pm}0.94$, sexual autonomy $3.70{\pm}0.83$ and varied according to educational level(p=.011), and empowerment varied according to economic level(p<.001). There was a difference in intimacy and support depending on the marriage period. There is a very strong correlation between variables(p<.005). Married immigrant women showed moderate marital intimacy, spousal support, high correlation with sexual autonomy and two variables, and empowerment correlated with sexual autonomy. Based on these findings, it seems to be necessary to find a way to increase the empowerment of Vietnamese women and to develop an intervention programs.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.355-366
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• 2018

Purpose: To understand the meaning and essence of Vietnamese migrant women's maternal experience after childbirth. Methods: A phenomenological methodology was used for this study. Study participants were six Vietnamese marriage migrant women who had experience of childbirth in Korea. Data collection period was from February 1 through November 4, 2016. Data were collected through in-depth interview and analyzed with the Giorgi method. Results: As a result of study, six main meanings and 12 themes were produced. The six main meanings produced in this study were 'childbirth realized in the double difficulty', 'concerned health between the ở cữ and the sanhujori', 'tired body with hard parenting', 'crowding regret for international marriage after childbirth', 'Grateful partner becoming the prop', and 'Growing maternal instinct by moving the mind and body in a foreign country'. Conclusion: Consideration for postnatal care is necessary from Vietnamese marriage migrant women's viewpoint. Systematic education programs that can improve nursing capability of medical personnel for multicultured clinical practice with development of a postnatal care program suited to multiculture are also necessary.

• Journal of Family Relations
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.133-155
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• 2018

Objectives: This study examined the differences in the intention of having a second child and the related factors among Chinese and Vietnamese migrant women from the perspective of adaptation theory. Methods: Data were drawn from the National Survey on Multi-Cultural Families in 2009 and 2015. Among the total 7,615 married migrant women (Korean-Chinese, Chinese-Han, Vietnamese), those within the age group 20-39 within the first 5 years of marriage who had one child were selected. A frequency analysis, chi-squared test, and logit regression analysis were performed. Results: Different ethnic groups had different reasons for having a second child and the related factors also differed between 2009 and 2015. In 2009, after controlling the related variables, the intention of Korean-Chinese and Chinese-Han married immigrant women to have a second child was higher than that of Vietnamese women, but no such difference was found in 2015. Participation in their local community, first marriage, the gender of the first child, and whether they were living with their parents-in-law were associated with the intention of migrant women having a second child in the 2009 analysis model but these factors were not significant in the 2015 analysis model. In the latter model, the household income, a variable related to economic conditions, has a positive effect on the intention of having a second child. Conclusions: The significance of this study supports adaptation theory by addressing the similarity in the childbirth intention between recently married immigrant women and Korean women.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.129-145
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• 2016

This study focuses on the differences in family values, which is a cause of family dissolution and conflicts of marriage immigrant women. This study was conducted on 441 women in Vietnam. It was done to explore their family values. Specifically, the following were examined: the overall family values and martial status of Vietnamese women; differences in their family values by region (northern, central, southern). The survey questionnaire consists of the following content: 'family perception'; 'gender-role values'; 'elderly parent support value'. The characteristics of family values of Vietnamese women are as follows. First, the scope of family perceived by them was relatively narrow. In particular, most of them didn't perceive the parents of a spouse as a familymember. Second, in terms of gender-roles, they perceived men and women as equal and didn't have strong perception of traditional gender roles. Third, they felt strongly about supporting elderly parents. The perception of supporting elderly parents is based on equal gender roles, instead of the paternalistic approach. They preferred financial support to living with parents. There were also differences in family values by region. Also, their values seemed to be the opposite of the ones well-known by region. In addition, their values were changing amid economic growth and modernization. Residents in Can Tho in the south - known to have open-minded Southeast Asian values - had the most patrilineal, traditional values with strong perception towards supporting elderly parents. Residents in Hanoi in the north - known to have heavy influence of Confucian culture - had non-traditional values with positive attitude towards liberal sex culture, divorce, and remarriage. Residents in Da Nang, a central region, had a mixture of northern and southern characteristics in terms of family values.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.319-326
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• 2014

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The immigrant population has grown considerably in South Korea since the early 1990s due to international marriages. Dietary changes in immigrants are an important issue, because they are related to health and disease patterns. This study was conducted to compare changes in dietary intake between baseline and follow-up periods. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Two hundreds thirty three Vietnamese female married immigrants. Baseline data were collected during 2006-2009, and the follow-up data were collected during 2008 and 2010. Food consumption was assessed using a 1-day 24-hour recall. RESULTS: The amount of the total food consumed (P < 0.001) including that of cereals (P = 0.004), vegetables (P = 0.003), and fruits (P = 0.002) decreased at follow-up compared to that at baseline, whereas consumption of milk and dairy products increased (P = 0.004). Accordingly, the overall energy and nutrient intake decreased at follow-up, including carbohydrates (P = 0.012), protein (P = 0.021), fiber (P = 0.008), iron (P = 0.009), zinc (P = 0.006), and folate (P = 0.002). Among various anthropometric and biochemical variables, mean skeletal muscle mass decreased (P = 0.012), plasma high density lipoprotein-cholesterol increased, (P = 0.020) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein decreased at follow-up (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A long-term follow-up study is needed to investigate the association between changes in food and nutrient intake and anthropometric and biochemical variables in these Vietnamese female marriage immigrants.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.401-414
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to present the results of in-depth analysis of family disintegration experience as a qualitative study to understand the meaning and nature of the experiences of marriage and divorce of women who have divorced in Vietnam. The participants were selected as six Vietnamese women who had been divorced for less than two years after five to 12 years of marriage. The collection of data and the analysis of the data were done by six concrete steps that should be followed in the scientific phenomenology suggested by Colaizzi(1978) Through this study, 74 subjects from 203 semantic meanings were derived and identified as 23 subject groups and finally organized into 7 categories. The seven categories were presented as life in Vietnam before marriage, motive of getting married, method and process of marriage, good experience of marriage, difficult experience in marriage, cause of divorce, changed life after divorce. The results of this study suggest that sexual relationship is a major conflict factor in marriage, and that this problem can lead to divorce. It is hoped that this study will help to find a solution for the dissolution of multicultural families.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.64-77
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• 2017

This study was conducted to develop a nutritional education program based on the health belief model to improve nutritional status among Vietnamese female marriage immigrants in Korea. The education program was developed through literature review, focus group interviews, expert consultation, and pilot tests. Based on theoretical requirements and needs of beneficiaries, the education program was consisted of 16 sessions with nine topics: 'how to evaluate own dietary habits and nutritional status', 'health problems according to dietary habits and nutritional status', 'understanding six food groups', 'healthy eating plan', 'understanding food cultures of Korea and Vietnam', 'traditional and seasonal Korean foods', 'how to cook Korean food', 'nutrition management of family members', and 'practicing of healthy dietary life'. Program contents in each session consisted of activities that could induce outcome and value expectations, self-efficacy, perceived benefits, and barriers and cues to actions regarding dietary behavior. This nutritional education program based on the health belief model would be helpful to implement healthy diet behaviors in Vietnamese marriage immigrants and their families. Extension of these nutritional education programs to health centers and multicultural family support centers would improve the current poor nutrition status of Vietnamese marriage immigrant women. Further studies are needed to validate our program.