Attachment, sense of coherence, and mental health among Chinese American college students: Variation by migration status

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Abstract

Informed by Antonovksy's salutogenic model, the current study examined sense of coherence as a mediator in the relationship of parent and peer attachment and college challenges with depressive symptom level in three groups of Chinese American college students. Due to differential acculturation, we hypothesized that peer relationship would be more salient for the most acculturated American-born Chinese, parent relationship would be more salient for the least acculturated, late arriving immigrants, and both parent and peer attachment would contribute to the well-being of early arriving immigrants who have been significantly exposed to both cultures. A sample of 112 American-born Chinese, 121 early immigrants, and 110 late immigrants completed paper–pencil surveys. Sense of coherence mediated the effect of attachment and college challenges on depressive symptoms in all three groups. Furthermore, our hypotheses regarding American-born Chinese and early immigrants were supported. For late immigrants, both parent and peer attachment predicted sense of coherence, but only parent attachment contributed to depressive symptom level. Implications for mental health interventions are discussed.

Introduction

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the American population is highly diverse with regard to ethnicity and migration status. Today, one out of three Americans is non-white (US Census Bureau, 2000) and one out of nine Americans is an immigrant (US Bureau of Census, 2003). Although Asians comprise only 4% of the American population, they are the fastest growing group, having increased in size by 72% between 1990 and 2000 (US Census Bureau, 2002). A major contributor to their growth is migration, as more than one-quarter of immigrants coming to the United States originate from Asia (US Bureau of Census, 2003), and two-thirds of Asian Americans are immigrants (US Bureau of Census, 2002). Consequently, an astounding 88% of Asian American youth are growing up in immigrant-headed households today (Zhou & Bankston, 1998). More research is needed to understand predictors of mental health in this diverse group. The current study contributes to the literature by assessing intra-group variation among Chinese Americans who comprise the largest Asian group. In particular, due to variation in migration status, Chinese Americans differ in acculturation level which may impact how they utilize social relationships to bolster their well-being. Specifically, the study assesses whether parent and/or peer attachment differentially contributes to the depressive symptom level in early immigrants (those who arrived by age 12), late immigrants (those who arrived after age 12), and American-born Chinese.

The study is significant for several reasons. First, as parent and peer attachment varies in importance in Chinese and American cultures (to be discussed below), it is important to empirically examine whether Chinese American college students with varying degrees of acculturation utilize these relationships differentially to sustain their well-being. Second, assessing variation in the predictors of depressive symptom level across three groups of Chinese Americans allows for the development of subgroup-specific, culturally competent interventions. Finally, this study also makes a contribution to the literature on sense of coherence (to be discussed below) which has been shown to mediate the effect of parent and peer attachment on depressive symptom level in Chinese American college students (Ying, Lee, & Tsai, in press). However, no research has examined whether the relative role of parent and peer attachment on sense of coherence and depressive symptoms varies among early immigrant, late immigrant, and American-born Chinese.

The study is informed by Antonovsky's salutogenic model (1979, 1987) which proposes that physical and mental health are primarily determined by sense of coherence, defined as “a global orientation that expresses the extent to which one has a pervasive, enduring though dynamic feeling of confidence that 1. stimuli deriving from one's internal and external environments in the course of living are structured, predictable and explicable (comprehensibility); 2. the resources are available to one to meet the demands posed by these stimuli (manageability); and 3. these demands are challenges worthy of investment and engagement (meaningfulness)” (Antonovsky, 1987, p. 19). As such, sense of coherence is an internal resource that bolsters physical and mental health. Antonovsky (1987) also suggested that loving parents and supportive friends play a significant role in rendering the world comprehensible, meaningful, and manageable. Thus, sense of coherence may be viewed as a mediator in the relationship of parent and peer attachment with well-being. Indeed, in an earlier study, we found that parent and peer attachment enhanced sense of coherence, which, in turn, mediated their protective effect against depressive symptoms among Chinese American college students (Ying et al., in press). The current study builds upon this research by examining the impact of migration status on the relationship of parent and peer attachment with sense of coherence and depressive symptom level.

Antonovsky (1979), Antonovksy (1987) also postulated that significant life stressors diminish the belief that the world is comprehensible, meaningful, and manageable, and may result in psychological distress. Thus, sense of coherence is also a mediator of the effect of life stressors on mental health. Empirical research has supported this postulation in early adolescents (Tram & Cole, 2000), and Southeast Asian American refugee adults (Ying & Akutsu, 1997; Ying, Akutsu, Zhang, & Huang, 1997). Furthermore, among Chinese American college students, sense of coherence has been found to mediate the effect of college challenges on depressive symptom level (Ying et al., in press). Thus, the variable college challenges is also included in the current study.

Migration status has been associated with acculturation level, such that Chinese American college students who immigrated by age of 12 (early immigrants) embraced American culture significantly more than those who arrived after age of 12 (late immigrants), and both were less acculturated than American-born Chinese (Tsai, Ying, & Lee, 2000). Similarly, the function of parent and peer attachment is likely to approximate American and Chinese cultural norms to different degrees, depending on migration status. Below we further discuss these relationships in American and Chinese cultural contexts.

The United States has been identified as the most individualistic nation in Hofstede's (1980) study of forty countries worldwide. In accordance with this cultural norm, American parents promote autonomy and uniqueness in their children (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). During adolescence, American youth are engaged with the task of forging a separate identity that necessitates psychological individuation from their parents (Blos, 1979; Erikson, 1968). While the intergenerational relationship remains a source of support during this process, the adolescent's need to assert a distinct sense of self leads to a rise in intergenerational conflict (Lempers & Clark-Lempers, 1992). Thus, the previously asymmetrical, hierarchical relationship is transformed into a more mutual and egalitarian one (Grotevant & Coomper, 1986; Lempers & Clark-Lempers, 1992). Concurrently, peers progressively replace parents as the most important source of support as they mirror and nurture the adolescent's evolving identity (Blos, 1979; Laursen & Williams, 1997; Lempers & Clark-Lempers, 1992). Empirical research has shown that problems with peers increase depressed mood while problems with parents do not, and peer support protects against stressors more than parental support among late adolescents and college students (Gore & Aseltine, 1995; Martin & Burks, 1985). Furthermore, recent research has shown that the previously documented link between parent attachment and college adjustment is actually fully mediated by the adolescent's degree of separation and individuation (Mattanah, Hancock, & Brand, 2004).

In contrast, Chinese culture is familial and collectivistic (Hofstede, 1980; Hsu, 1985), as reflected in three essential components of Confucian philosophy: a relationship-based definition of self, the structural and hierarchical nature of relationships, and the fulfillment of social obligations as the basis for societal harmony and order (Bond & Hwang, 1986). Chinese American parents have been found to instill these values in their children, emphasizing parental respect and obedience (Chao, 1994; Gorman, 1998). Consequently, their adolescent children express a need to fulfill their parents’ desires (Ying, Coombs, & Lee, 1999), which is viewed as more important than fulfilling their own desires (Yau & Smetana, 1993). Also, Asian American college students emphasize family obligation more than their White peers (Tseng, 2004). Furthermore, Kenny and Stryker (1996) found ethnic minority students (including Chinese Americans) relied on parental support while White students relied on peer support in adjusting to college life. Variation in the intergenerational relationship by migration status has also been supported. Immigrant Asian Americans emphasize family obligation more than their American-born Asian peers (Tseng, 2004). Late arriving Chinese American immigrant college students enjoy a stronger attachment to their parents than their early immigrant peers (Ying, Lee, Tsai, Lee, & Tsang, 2001). Furthermore, more acculturated American-born Asian adolescents are significantly more likely to openly assert autonomy from their parents than their immigrant peers (Fulgini, 1998), while immigrant high school students are more intimate with their parents than American-born Chinese (Chao, 2001).

In contrast, very little research has assessed the role of peers in the lives of Chinese Americans (Okagaki & Bojczyk, 2002). While Gloria and Ho (2003) found both parent and peer support enhanced the self-esteem of Asian American college students, they did not examine the contribution of migration status. However, Hsu (1985) has argued that kinship relationships permanently inhabit the social world and define the human-hood (“jen”) of Chinese people. In contrast, non-kinship relations are temporary and less essential. Thus, transgressions against one's parents merit the perpetrator a condemnation of “pu shih jen” (not a human), while misconduct towards friends only warrants “huai jen” (bad person). Congruent with this Chinese value, for the least acculturated Chinese Americans (late immigrants), parent attachment is likely to remain most salient in promoting sense of coherence and reducing depressive symptoms. In contrast, consequent to their acculturation, American-born Chinese are more likely to rely on peer support for their well-being. For the intermediate group of early immigrants, who are significantly immersed in both Chinese and American cultures, both relationships may be salient.

Research has shown that Chinese American males enjoy a higher sense of coherence than females (Anson, Paran, Newmann, & Chernichovsky, 1993; Antonovsky & Sagy, 1986; Ying, Lee, & Tsai, 2000; Ying et al., in press). Furthermore, research has demonstrated that, compared to men, women ruminate over problems more and feel less able to control their lives, resulting in higher levels of depressive symptoms (Nolen-Hoeksema, Larson, & Grayson, 1999). This gender difference has been found in Asian American adolescents (Ying & Han, in press) and Chinese American college students (Ying et al., in press). Thus, we hypothesized that women would report higher depressive symptom levels than men.

Based on the above review, we hypothesized that sense of coherence would mediate the effect of attachment and college challenges on depressive symptom level in all three groups under study. However, they would vary with regard to which relationship would be most salient in predicting sense of coherence and depressive symptom level. We hypothesized that peer attachment would be more important for American-born Chinese, parent attachment would be more important for late immigrants, and both relationships would serve as predictors among early immigrants.

Section snippets

Sample

The sample consisted of 353 Chinese American college students at a major public university in the western United States. As Table 1 shows, 122 were born in the United States, 121 were early immigrants who arrived before or at age 12, and 110 were late immigrants who arrived after the age of 12. Variation by migration status was tested using analyses of variance with Scheffe posthoc test and chi-square tests. The three groups did not vary by gender or year in college. However, based on

Variation by migration type using bivariate tests

Before testing the hypothesized relationships using multivariate analyses, variation of study variables by migration status was examined using analyses of variance with Scheffe posthoc tests (two-tailed tests). As Table 2 shows, early immigrants were less attached to their parents than late immigrants (mean=43.65, SD=18.99 and mean=50.92, SD=17.69, p=.01). In contrast, late immigrants were less attached to their peers (mean=47.92, SD=13.14) than both American-born Chinese and early immigrants

Discussion

While parent and peer attachment differentially impacted sense of coherence and depressive symptom level by migration status (to be discussed below), sense of coherence fully mediated the effect of attachment on depressive symptom level for all three groups. Furthermore, sense of coherence also partially mediated the contribution of college challenges on depressive symptom level across all migration statuses. The amount of variance accounted for in the full depressive symptom models ranged from

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    The study was partially supported by a University of California, Berkeley faculty grant to the first author. Iris Lee assisted with the literature search.

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