Analyzing Factors Influencing the Quality of Life in Vietnamese Married Immigrant Women in Korea

Hung Sa Lee; Chunmi Kim; Myung Sook Park

doi:10.12799/jkachn.2015.26.3.268

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Original Article
Analyzing Factors Influencing the Quality of Life in Vietnamese Married Immigrant Women in Korea: Hung Sa Lee, Chunmi Kim, Myung Sook Park; Journal of Korean Academy of Community Health Nursing 2015;26(3):268-277.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12799/jkachn.2015.26.3.268
Published online: September 30, 2015

¹Department of Nursing, Sunmoon University, Asan, Korea.

²Department of Nursing, Konkuk University, Chungju, Korea.

• Received: August 5, 2015 • Revised: September 21, 2015 • Accepted: September 22, 2015

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Abstract

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this study was to analyze factors influencing the quality of life in Vietnamese married immigrant women in Korea. The factors included socio-demographic characteristics, spouse's support, and social support of Vietnamese married immigrant women.
Methods
A descriptive survey was conducted to collect data from 190 subjects during the period between May and June, 2015. The randomly sampled subjects answered a self-report questionnaire translated into Vietnamese. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 21.
Results
The subjects' quality of life was found to be influenced by economic level, subjective perception of their own and spouse's health, Korean communication ability, spouse's support, and social support. The most influential factor for the quality of life was spouse's support, and next, subjective perception of their own health, Korean communication ability, and economic level in order of influence.
Conclusion
The results of this study suggest that social support programs should be customized to the subjects' characteristics in order for married immigrant women to adjust themselves to new Korean environments and to lead a high-qualitylife through the promotion of marital relationship, Korean communication ability, health status, and economic capability.
Key Words: Quality of life; Social support; Vietnam; Immigrants; Women

Table 1

Differences of QOL according to the Sociodemographic Characteristics (N=190)

Characteristics	Categories	n (%) or M±SD	QOL	t or F	p
Characteristics	Categories	n (%) or M±SD	M±SD	t or F	p
			6.3±1.54
Age (year)	Subjects	29.6±5.66
	≤29	98 (51.6)	6.3±1.57	1.20	.309
	30~39	82 (43.2)	6.5±1.48
	≥40	10 (5.2)	6.4±1.53
	Husband	45.6±5.93
	30~39	15 (7.8)	6.1±2.09	0.35	.699
	40~49	140 (73.9)	6.3±1.48
	≥50	15 (7.8)	6.5±1.56
	No response	20 (10.5)
Marital status	Married	170 (89.5)	6.3±1.55	-1.63	.104
	Divorced	18 (9.5)	5.7±1.41
	Bereaved	2 (1.1)
Marriage period (year)	<1	8 (4.2)	6.5±1.75	2.44	.066
	1~<3	22 (11.5)	6.2±1.87
	3~<5	59 (31.0)	5.8±1.30
	≥5	102 (53.3)	6.5±1.54
Education level	No education	27 (14.2)	6.4±1.57	0.99	.414
	Elementary school	48 (25.3)	6.4±1.67
	Junior high school	43 (22.6)	5.9±1.55
	High school	64 (33.7)	6.2±1.43
	College	8 (4.2)	7.0±1.53
Economic status	Low	44 (3.2)	5.5±1.40^a	10.70	<.001 (a<b<c)
	Middle	99 (52.1)	6.2±1.27^b
	High	47 (24.7)	7.0±1.86^c
Religion	Have no	142 (74.7)	6.2±1.57	0.22	.819
Religion	Have	48 (25.3)	6.3±1.49	0.22	.819
Children	No	31 (16.3)	5.9±1.65	-1.41	.158
Children	Yes	159 (83.7)	6.3±1.51	-1.41	.158
Living with family	No	132 (69.5)	6.3±1.56	1.10	.270
	Yes	58 (30.5)	6.1±1.51
	Parents in law	30 (15.8)
	Mother in law	25 (13.2)
	Father in law	2 (1.1)
	Others	2 (1.1)
The perception of subjects's health	Healthy	162 (85.3)	6.5±1.48	5.70	<.001
The perception of subjects's health	Unhealthy	28 (14.7)	4.8±1.11	5.70	<.001
The perception of husband's health	Healthy	150 (79.0)	6.5±1.49	3.55	<.001
	Unhealthy	20 (10.5)	5.4±1.52
	No response	20 (10.5)
Job	No	102 (53.7)	6.3±1.53	0.04	.967
	Yes	88 (46.3)	6.3±1.57
	Agriculture	13 (6.8)
	Worker	50 (26.3)
	Others	25 (13.2)
Korean communication ability	Poor	11 (5.8)	5.7±1.02^a	10.98	<.001 (a<b)
	Fair	140 (73.7)	6.0±1.52^a
	Excellent	39 (20.5)	7.2±1.34^b

QOL=quality of life.

Table 2

The Scores of a Social Support and Spouse's Support (N=190)

Variables	M±SD
Social support	4.0±0.84
Others thank to me.	3.9±1.07
Others respect me.	3.9±1.02
Others concerned about me.	3.9±1.12
Others help me with information and advice.	4.1±0.96
Others help me if I have many things to do.	4.1±0.94
Others listen to me when I want to get it off my chest	4.1±0.97
Spouse's support	3.3±0.92
He listen my emotion and feeling.	3.5±1.40
I freely tell my physical problem to him.	3.6±1.40
I can talk with him my family problems freely.	3.7±1.33
He helps me when I am sick.	3.6±1.41
He spends time with me if he is free.	3.3±1.53
He knows well about my relatives and friends.	3.2±1.43
He expressed to me the feeling of intimacy and love.	3.5±1.33
He respects my opinion.	3.5±1.36
He forces to follow his thinking.^†	3.7±1.34
He always asking me to obey his thought.^†	3.8±1.35
He tries to solve the problems when we have a conflict.	3.1±1.46
He gets digging my bad points.^†	4.0±1.34
He makes efforts to solve the family problems.	3.7±1.35

^†Negative item.

Table 3

Correlation among Economic Status, the Perception of Health, Korean Communication Ability, Support and Quality of Life (^†=190)

Variables	Economic status	PSH	PHH	KCA	Spouse's support	Social support
Variables	r (p)	r (p)	r (p)	r (p)	r (p)	r (p)
Economic status	1
PSH	.18 (.008)	1
PHH	.13 (.046)	.57 (<.001)	1
KCA	.18 (.007)	.07 (.372)	.06 (.431)	1
Spouse's support	.18 (.014)	.18 (.013)	.25 (.001)	.09 (.213)	1
Social support	.32 (<.001)	.41 (<.001)	.28 (<.001)	.30 (<.001)	.21 (.004)	1
Quality of life	.32 (<.001)	.40 (<.001)	.28 (<.001)	.45 (<.001)	.45 (<.001)	.27 (<.001)

PSH=the perception of subject's health; PHH=the perception of husband's health; KCA=Korean communication ability.

Table 4

Variables Influencing on the Quality of Life

Factors	B	SE	β	t	p
(Constant)	2.57	0.87		2.95	.004
Economic status	0.35	0.13	0.15	2.62	.009
The perception of subjects's health	0.70	0.20	0.25	3.43	.001
The perception of husband's health	0.05	0.18	0.02	0.31	.751
Korean communication ability	0.74	0.18	0.23	3.94	<.001
Spouse's support	0.63	0.11	0.34	5.47	<.001
Social support	0.18	0.11	0.10	1.63	.103
	R²=.394, Adjusted R²=.373, F=18.98, p<.001

Calculated by multiple regression analysis.

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Motherhood Ideology and Parenting Stress according to Parenting Behavior Patterns of Married Immigrant Women with Young Children
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Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing.2019; 49(4): 449. CrossRef
The Relationship among Family Support, Self-efficacy, Health Literacy, Perceived Health Status and Health-promoting Behavior in Married Immigrant Women
Cho-hee Kang, Young Ran Han
Journal of Korean Academy of Community Health Nursing.2016; 27(3): 202. CrossRef

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Analyzing Factors Influencing the Quality of Life in Vietnamese Married Immigrant Women in Korea

Characteristics	Categories	n (%) or M±SD	QOL	t or F	p
Characteristics	Categories	n (%) or M±SD	M±SD	t or F	p
			6.3±1.54
Age (year)	Subjects	29.6±5.66
	≤29	98 (51.6)	6.3±1.57	1.20	.309
	30~39	82 (43.2)	6.5±1.48
	≥40	10 (5.2)	6.4±1.53
	Husband	45.6±5.93
	30~39	15 (7.8)	6.1±2.09	0.35	.699
	40~49	140 (73.9)	6.3±1.48
	≥50	15 (7.8)	6.5±1.56
	No response	20 (10.5)
Marital status	Married	170 (89.5)	6.3±1.55	-1.63	.104
	Divorced	18 (9.5)	5.7±1.41
	Bereaved	2 (1.1)
Marriage period (year)	<1	8 (4.2)	6.5±1.75	2.44	.066
	1~<3	22 (11.5)	6.2±1.87
	3~<5	59 (31.0)	5.8±1.30
	≥5	102 (53.3)	6.5±1.54
Education level	No education	27 (14.2)	6.4±1.57	0.99	.414
	Elementary school	48 (25.3)	6.4±1.67
	Junior high school	43 (22.6)	5.9±1.55
	High school	64 (33.7)	6.2±1.43
	College	8 (4.2)	7.0±1.53
Economic status	Low	44 (3.2)	5.5±1.40^a	10.70	<.001 (a<b<c)
	Middle	99 (52.1)	6.2±1.27^b
	High	47 (24.7)	7.0±1.86^c
Religion	Have no	142 (74.7)	6.2±1.57	0.22	.819
Religion	Have	48 (25.3)	6.3±1.49	0.22	.819
Children	No	31 (16.3)	5.9±1.65	-1.41	.158
Children	Yes	159 (83.7)	6.3±1.51	-1.41	.158
Living with family	No	132 (69.5)	6.3±1.56	1.10	.270
	Yes	58 (30.5)	6.1±1.51
	Parents in law	30 (15.8)
	Mother in law	25 (13.2)
	Father in law	2 (1.1)
	Others	2 (1.1)
The perception of subjects's health	Healthy	162 (85.3)	6.5±1.48	5.70	<.001
The perception of subjects's health	Unhealthy	28 (14.7)	4.8±1.11	5.70	<.001
The perception of husband's health	Healthy	150 (79.0)	6.5±1.49	3.55	<.001
	Unhealthy	20 (10.5)	5.4±1.52
	No response	20 (10.5)
Job	No	102 (53.7)	6.3±1.53	0.04	.967
	Yes	88 (46.3)	6.3±1.57
	Agriculture	13 (6.8)
	Worker	50 (26.3)
	Others	25 (13.2)
Korean communication ability	Poor	11 (5.8)	5.7±1.02^a	10.98	<.001 (a<b)
	Fair	140 (73.7)	6.0±1.52^a
	Excellent	39 (20.5)	7.2±1.34^b

Variables	M±SD
Social support	4.0±0.84
Others thank to me.	3.9±1.07
Others respect me.	3.9±1.02
Others concerned about me.	3.9±1.12
Others help me with information and advice.	4.1±0.96
Others help me if I have many things to do.	4.1±0.94
Others listen to me when I want to get it off my chest	4.1±0.97
Spouse's support	3.3±0.92
He listen my emotion and feeling.	3.5±1.40
I freely tell my physical problem to him.	3.6±1.40
I can talk with him my family problems freely.	3.7±1.33
He helps me when I am sick.	3.6±1.41
He spends time with me if he is free.	3.3±1.53
He knows well about my relatives and friends.	3.2±1.43
He expressed to me the feeling of intimacy and love.	3.5±1.33
He respects my opinion.	3.5±1.36
He forces to follow his thinking.^†	3.7±1.34
He always asking me to obey his thought.^†	3.8±1.35
He tries to solve the problems when we have a conflict.	3.1±1.46
He gets digging my bad points.^†	4.0±1.34
He makes efforts to solve the family problems.	3.7±1.35

Variables	Economic status	PSH	PHH	KCA	Spouse's support	Social support
Variables	r (p)	r (p)	r (p)	r (p)	r (p)	r (p)
Economic status	1
PSH	.18 (.008)	1
PHH	.13 (.046)	.57 (<.001)	1
KCA	.18 (.007)	.07 (.372)	.06 (.431)	1
Spouse's support	.18 (.014)	.18 (.013)	.25 (.001)	.09 (.213)	1
Social support	.32 (<.001)	.41 (<.001)	.28 (<.001)	.30 (<.001)	.21 (.004)	1
Quality of life	.32 (<.001)	.40 (<.001)	.28 (<.001)	.45 (<.001)	.45 (<.001)	.27 (<.001)

Factors	B	SE	β	t	p
(Constant)	2.57	0.87		2.95	.004
Economic status	0.35	0.13	0.15	2.62	.009
The perception of subjects's health	0.70	0.20	0.25	3.43	.001
The perception of husband's health	0.05	0.18	0.02	0.31	.751
Korean communication ability	0.74	0.18	0.23	3.94	<.001
Spouse's support	0.63	0.11	0.34	5.47	<.001
Social support	0.18	0.11	0.10	1.63	.103
	R²=.394, Adjusted R²=.373, F=18.98, p<.001

Table 1 Differences of QOL according to the Sociodemographic Characteristics (N=190)

QOL=quality of life.

Table 2 The Scores of a Social Support and Spouse's Support (N=190)

^†Negative item.

Table 3 Correlation among Economic Status, the Perception of Health, Korean Communication Ability, Support and Quality of Life (†=190)

PSH=the perception of subject's health; PHH=the perception of husband's health; KCA=Korean communication ability.