• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.1-15
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• 2014

This study aimed to identify predictors of acculturation types among marriage migrant women at the individual and dominant society levels. To accomplish this goal, we recruited marriage migrant women from China and Vietnam, classified their acculturation types according to their scores on acculturation attitudes, and performed multinomial logistic regression on acculturation types by entering marriage migrant women's individual and dominant society level factors as covariates based on previous research. The results showed that most of the participants were classified under integration(N=376), followed by assimilation(N=66), separation(N=60) and marginalization(N=48). Lower household income, lower sense of mastery, weaker ethnic identity and lower social support predicted assimilation as compared to integration. Less education, higher household income, weaker ethnic identity, lower family satisfaction and lower social support predicted separation as compared to integration. Finally, as compared to integration, marginalization was predicted by lower sense of mastery, lower ethnic identity and lower social support. This study expands the current scholarship on acculturation by examining acculturation as an indicator of the psychosocial adaptation of immigrants and by identifying factors that predict specific acculturation types among marriage migrant women.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.153-172
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to find out cultural differences and types of adjustments made in response to the differences between married female immigrants and Korean men of multicultural families. The data were collected by in-depth interviews with 15 female immigrants and 5 Korean men. The major findings of this study were as follows : The female participants experienced cultural differences between Korea and their country in the areas of living culture, stereotyped gender role, and family's cultural traits. The male participants reported cultural differences in terms of the economic supports provided to the wife's family. The types and strategies of acculturation were as follows : adjusting themselves to the spouse's cultural type, the couple's mutual acceptance of the other's cultural type, and female participants resignation to accept help from their husband. The types of acculturation to the cultural differences based on couples' personal efforts and hard work invested into acculturation and the support from their family and society. The results of the study supported that multicultural families' perception of cultural differences and types of adjustment originited from their own experiences and cultural background.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.144-154
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of problem behaviors, cultural identity and acculturation of North Korean (NK) refugee youth and to suggest an appropriate approach for helping them to adjust to our society based on these findings. Methods: The subjects were 117 NK adolescent refugees in Hanawon. Data were collected by a demographic questionnaire, Youth Self Report (YSR), the South-North Korean cultural identity. Results: Problem behaviors of NK refugee youth were the highest in anxiety/depression and withdrawal behavior and were followed by internalized behavior, aggressiveness, overall problem behavior, externalized behavior, delinquency and positive behavior in that order. Acculturation was the highest in 'separation' followed by 'integration', 'assimilation' and 'marginalization' in that order. No significant relationship was found between acculturation types and problem behaviors except positive behavior. Conclusion: This study provides some important information that we have to develop specific strategies and interventions primarily focused on withdrawal, anxiety/depression, and internalization for the adjustment and mental health of NK refugee youth. It is necessary to explore further research related to cultural identity, acculturation processes, and the correlation between acculturation types and problem behaviors.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.113-122
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• 2004

This study examined. the acculturation type and adjustment of 914 Korean-Chinese adolescents living in Shenyang and Harbin, China. Adolescents completed a questionnaire consisted of items regarding acculturation, school adjustment, expectation of education, and internal locus of control: The results are summarized as follows: 1) Adolescents in Shenyang spoke more chinese and showed lower internal locus of control than adolescents in Harbin. 2) Adolescents in Shenyang showed more integration and assimilation types, while adoelscents in Harbin showed more separation type. 3) Adolescents in Shenyang showed difference in their adjustment across acculturation types, while adolescents in Harbin did not. In Shenyang, adolescents of integration and assimilation showed higher expectation of education, and adolescents of separation revealed higher internal locus of control.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.653-662
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• 2010

Purpose: This study was to identify the health status and reported resilience according to acculturation type among Chinese students in Korea. Methods: The subjects were 386 Chinese students studying in three universities in Chungnam province. The data were collected by standardized questionnaires and SPSS/WIN 15.0 program was used to analyze the data with descriptive statistics, Chi-square, t-test, and ANOVA. Results: Subjects reported the following Acculturation type: integration (26.7%), assimilation (28.5%), separation (32.4%), and marginalization (12.4%). The reported resilience was significantly different according to economic status. The health status was significantly different according to religion and economic status. Acculturation type was significantly different according to age, educational level, length of stay, type of residency and economic status working style. The health status and resilience were significantly different according to acculturation type. Conclusion: The findings suggest that integration of acculturation type is most useful to health status and resilience among Chinese students in Korea. Future studies need to examine acculturation type as coping strategy for foreign students' adaptation.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.310-316
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• 2006

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of acculturation stage on dietary intake of Korean American women (0=124) living in California and to compare the dietary intake with that of Korean women (0=191) in Seoul, Korea. The dietary intake of the subjects was collected by 24-hour recall method at cross-sectional surveys. Ouster analysis performed on immigration variables (e.g., length of residency, age at immigration, etc.) classified Korean American women into less (0=73) or more (n=51) acculturated group. Acculturation stage did not have a significant effect on macro nutrient intake. However, vitamin C intake was higher in the more acculturated group, while intakes of folate, calcium, iron, and zinc were higher in the less acculturated group. In comparison of three groups (the more and the less acculturated Korean American, and the Korean group), the more acculturated the women were, the less frequently they consumed rice and kimchi (p<0.05). Korean American women ate bread/noodle, meat/meat products, fruit juice, and soda more often and consumed vegetables less frequently, compared with Korean women (p<0.05). For breakfast, Western dishes were preferred in both more and less acculturated groups. Korean dishes were favored for dinner by both groups, even though the less acculturated group ate more Korean dishes than did the more acculturated group. The acculturation measured by immigration variables influenced nutrient intakes, food consumptions, and types of dishes eaten in Korean Americans. Cultural and health implications of dietary acculturation need to be studied in the future.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.53-64
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• 2016

Objectives: Nowadays, the multicultural families make up significant portion of Korean population and communities. Successful re-settling in a new country can be difficult, particularly when there are disparities in dietary behavior compared to home country. The objective of the study was to investigate the dietary behavior of marriage migrant women according to their nationality in multicultural families. Methods: The primary research was conducted targeting 94 marriage migrant women who came from China (40.4%), Vietnam (26.6%), and other countries except for Japan (33.0%). We investigated their dietary behavior, such as eating attitude and food choice behavior for Korea acculturation. We also studied dietary behavior among 14 selected subjects who had high level of integration and assimilation acculturation patterns by administering the Focus Group Interview (FGI). Results: The multicultural families had more integration acculturation patterns, which could have been influenced by their nationality. Vietnamese origin has the highest cultural adaptation as marginalization pattern. The common types of Korea acculturation were integration ($3.03{\pm}1.08$), separation ($3.10{\pm}0.59$), marginalization ($3.10{\pm}0.58$), followed by assimilation ($2.84{\pm}0.51$). There were significant differences in the four types of acculturation by marriage immigrant women's country of origin (p<0.05). According to dietary behavior, 'eliminating hunger' was the most important value in a meal. Chinese marriage migrant women, who had higher level of food intake attitude significantly, also considered 'being healthy' an important value. Regarding food choice behavior, Vietnamese had lowest frequency of homeland food intake. Most of marriage immigrant women were satisfied with the Korean food, and need for education was very high with interest for cooking, good nutrition, and managing their children's dietary life. Conclusions: Coping with a change in dietary behavior is one of the biggest transitional difficulties, and family members may need support to find their familiar food items and to continue their cultural food choice behavior in the local areas. Further researches with quantitative and qualitative analysis are needed to understand the effect of dietary behavior for acculturation in multicultural families.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.177-196
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• 1997

This study was undertaken to explore the antecedent factors and process of the treatment-seeking behaviors of medical and alternative treatments in patients with arthritis using methodological triangulation. The data were collected from 995 arthritic patients who were registered either in a center of rheumatology for medical treatment or residents of community having no treatment to classify different treatment patterns. Sixteen patients with various types of treatment only, alternative treatment only, and no treatment were selected among the total samples to identify the antecedent factors through in-depth interview. The quantitative data were analyzed by percentile, t-test, chi-square test and discrimant analysis using SAS PC program, while the qualitative data were analyzed by means of grounded theory methodology. Treatment-seeking behaviors of patients change from the early stage to the sick-role stage. At the early stage, initial characteristics of pain and acculturation of medical professionalism affect the choice of treatment patterns. The acculturation of medical professionalism is affected by health care accessibility, level of education, duration of sickness and lay referral system. At the sick-role stage, lay referral system and acculturation of medical professionalism affect the choice of treatment patterns. The acculturation of medical professionalism is affected by characteristics of symtoms, perceived treatment effects, perceived causes of diseases and socio-economic status as well as health care accessibility, level of education and lay referral system. In conclusion, different factors as well as common factors are influencing the treatment-seeking behaviors depending on the disease and treatment stages. More detailed further studies are required to explore the value system or medical acculturation of patients which is one of the most important factors in decision-making about treatment modalities.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.343-365
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• 2010

It is a follow-up study on acculturation types and adaptation level to South Korea among North Korean defecting adolescents who participated in the study with the same purpose five years ago(2003). The study of 2003(1st year study) was done with 90 adolescents, out of whom 46 participated in this study(2nd year study). The data from 46 subjects who participated in both 1st and 2nd studies were analyzed. The results on individual acculturation type showed that 40% of the respondents who belonged to 'marginal' or 'separated' types in the 1st study were changed to 'assimilated' or 'integrated' types in the 2nd. Twenty percent changed from 'assimilated' or 'integrated' types in the 1st study to 'marginal' or 'separated' in the 2nd. Furthermore, the higher is the acceptance level of South Korean culture, the lower are their psycho-social problems and the higher is the satisfaction level of daily lives in South Korea. While the higher is the preservation level of North Korean culture, the higher is aggression. Based on the results, the study developed discussion on diverse alternative plans for helping North Korean defecting adolescents in successfully adjusting to the South Korean society.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.147-166
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between cultural identity and the psychosocial adjustment levels of children in international marriage families by focusing on the effects that different types of cultural identity have on children's overall psychosocial adjustment. The data for this study came from a survey conducted on 122 third to sixth grades children with foreign mothers living in Seoul and Gyeonggi-Do. As a result, it was found that children's identification with Korean culture was on average higher than their identification with their mother's culture. Secondly, in terms of identity type, assimilation and separation types appeared to be the most dominant, followed by the integration and marginalization types. Finally, it was found that cultural identities had significant effects on children's psychosocial adjustment in international marriage families. In particular, the level of self-esteem was the highest for children in the integrated group, while it was the lowest for those in the marginalized group. These results indicate that identification with the mother's culture is just as important as one's Korean identity when it comes to determining the degree of psychosocial adjustment of children in international marriage families.