• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.5 no.5
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• pp.471-480
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• 2011

Our previous studies have demonstrated the inadequate nutritional status of Vietnamese female marriage immigrants in Korea. Major possible reasons include food insecurity due to economic problems as well as a lack of adjustment to unfamiliar Korean foods and limited access to Vietnamese foods; however, no study has investigated food insecurity among such intermarried couples. This study was performed to investigate the prevalence of food insecurity in Korean-husband-Vietnamese-wife couples and to determine whether they exhibit an intrahousehold discrepancy regarding food insecurity. A cross-sectional analysis of the Cohort of Intermarried Women in Korea study was performed with 84 intermarried couples. Among the 84 Vietnamese immigrants, 48.8% and 41.7% had food insecurity due to economic problems and a lack of foods appealing to their appetite, respectively. There was a marked discrepancy in reporting food insecurity between Vietnamese wives (22.6-38.1%) and their Korean husbands (6.0-15.5%). Vietnamese wives were five and two times more food-insecure due to economic problems and no foods appealing to their appetite, respectively, than their Korean spouses. A follow-up study is needed to investigate the causes of this discrepancy and ways of reducing food insecurity among female marriage immigrants living in low-income, rural communities.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.109-126
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• 2013

This study seeks to determine how personality patterns on marital adjustment are influenced by interacting with conflict resolution styles. Data for this study were collected from intermarriage couples comprising 293 pairs (586 patients) who lived in Korea for at least 5years. Snowball sampling was carried out from August to October 2011. SPSS 18.0 was used to analyze the collected data. The results of this study are as follows: (a) The conscientiousness and openness of personality patterns turned out to be common personality factors that represent a positive affect on the intermarried couples' effort to adapt. (b) The extroversions, agreeableness, and neuroticism shown significantly increase and decrease the intermarried husband's marital adjustment, but the same did not have a significant influence on the intermarried wife's marital adjustment. (c) Factors that affect marital adjustment, the conflict resolution styles of intermarriage couples showed different results depending on the gender. (d) The Intermarried wife's personality patterns represented a positive affect on her marital adjustment by interacting with her husband's conflict resolution styles, while the intermarried husband's personality patterns represented a positive affect on his marital adjustment by interacting with his wife's conflict resolution styles. The implications of this study will be discussed in the conclusion.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.22-30
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• 2009

This study aimed to examine nutritional status and similarities of diets between Vietnamese female immigrants and Korean spouses and dietary changes of Vietnamese females after immigration. Subjects were 608 couples visiting 13 medical centers for the Cohort of Intermarried Women in Korea from November 2006 to November 2007. Anthropometric and biochemical measurements were obtained and dietary intakes were assessed using one-day 24-hour recall. Sixty-eight percent of wives answered there have been changes in their diets and consumptions of meats, fish, dairy products, vegetables, and fruits increased after immigration. Energy intakes of wives and spouses were 1491.7 kcal and 1788.8 kcal, respectively, showing most couples (80.1%) consumed less than the Korean estimated energy requirements. More than half of the couples were below the Korean estimated average requirements of zinc, vitamin $B_2$, and folate. The correlation coefficients between couples ranged 0.15-0.38 for unadjusted, 0.22-0.35 for per 1000 kcal, and 0.21-0.40 for energy-adjusted, respectively. The proportions of couples in the same quartiles of each nutrient intake and in the same answers of each question of Mini Dietary Assessment were about 30% across nutrients and around 50% across questions. The length of residence is related to similarities of nutrient intakes between couples: similarities decreased after 3 years of residence in Korea. In conclusion, nutritional intakes of inter-married couples were inadequate although wives reported that their dietary intakes increased after immigration. Inadequate nutrient intakes of wives were partly explained by similar diets between couples because these wives without enough adjustment to Korean culture were more likely to follow what their spouses ate. Findings from this study may be helpful to improve the nutritional status of inter-married couples and make policies and programs for them. A follow-up study should identify factors affecting inadequate nutritional status of intermarried couples and similarities of their diets.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.101-117
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• 2011

This research is intended to explore the adaptation process for immigrant women and their Korean spouses through a qualitative method. It is aimed at understanding how immigrant women and their Korean spouses have adjusted to their lives in Korea over the last 10 years and how they have dealt with difficulties in the adaptation process. The participants were 15 intermarried couples consisting of a Southeast Asian wife and a Korean husband. They got married through matchmakers and have children between the ages of 8 and 13. The study carried out in-depth interviews. To analyze the interview data, the qualitative software program Nvivo8 was used. The results showed that immigrant women and their Korean spouses experienced confusion at first. They struggled adapting to each other's lifestyles and made efforts to establish harmony. In the end, they made their own family identity as a multicultural family. The study widens the understanding of multicultural families by focusing on both wives and husbands. Also, the use of the Nvivo8 software strengthens the reliability of the data analysis. The results will contribute to providing interracial couples with the adaptive strategies.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.59-73
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• 2019

This study examined the possible causes of nutritional inadequacy in Vietnamese immigrant women married to Korean husbands. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of 34 Vietnamese marriage immigrant women and 17 Korean spouses participating in or having experienced Nutrition Plus from four Community Health Centers in Seoul, Korea. The study results showed that the nutritional staus of the Vietnamese marriage immigrant women was affected by the unfamiliar Korean food (cultural factor), low household income (economical factor), difficulty in purchasing Vietnamese food (environmental factor), and low accessibility to nutrition support systems (social factor). The Korean husbands' nutritional status was affected by the unfamiliar Vietnamese food (cultural factor), low household income (economic factor), and irregular working conditions (social factors). Nutritional interventions as a public service to the community needs to be developed and applied. Suggestions are presented regarding the future efforts to better understand and meet the nutrition needs of intermarried couples to respond to their heterogeneous needs and deliver adequate nutrition service to ever increasing intermarried families.