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HOME > J Korean Acad Community Health Nurs > Volume 26(2); 2015 > Article
Original Article
Life Stress, Social Support, and Antepartum Depression among Married Immigrant Women from Southeast Asia
Hyeon Hee Shin, Yeong Hee Shin
Journal of Korean Academy of Community Health Nursing 2015;26(2):108-118.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12799/jkachn.2015.26.2.108
Published online: June 30, 2015

1Graduate School, Department of Nursing, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea.

2College of Nursing, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea.

• Received: January 19, 2015   • Revised: April 16, 2015   • Accepted: June 15, 2015

© 2015 Korean Academy of Community Health Nursing

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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  • Purpose
    The purpose of this study was to investigate life stress, social support, and antepartum depression among Southeast Asian immigrant women married to Korean men.
  • Methods
    Ninety-three subjects were recruited from local women's clinics and multicultural family support centers in D City. The instruments used were the life stress scale, social support scale, and K-EPDS. All the instruments were translated into their corresponding mother languages (Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Philippine) and notarized.
  • Results
    The item mean scores of life stress and social support were 2.65 and 3.17, respectively, on a 5-point Likert scale. The mean score of antepartum depression was 10.16, indicating that they were generally in a depressive state. A positive correlation was observed between life stress and antepartum depression (r=.59, p<.001). Social support was negatively correlated with life stress (r=-.42, p<.001) and antepartum depression (r=-.39, p<.001). The best predictors for antepartum depression were life stress, marital satisfaction, and emotional support, and they explained 43% of the variance.
  • Conclusion
    Antepartum depression in Southeast Asian immigrant brides was significantly associated with life stress as well as lack of emotional support. Emotional support may reduce their life stress and antepartum depression.
  • Key Words: Pregnant women; Immigrants; Life stress; Social support; Depression
Table 1

Demographic and Pregnancy related Characteristics of Subjects (N=93)

Variables Characteristics Categories n (%) or M±SD Range
Demographics Country of birth Vietnam 65 (69.9)
Cambodia 19 (20.4)
Philippines 9 (9.7)
Length of stay (month) 31.0±33.14 3~147
0~12 44 (47.3)
13~24 11 (11.8)
25~36 10 (10.8)
≥37 28 (30.1)
Age (year) 25.6±4.2 19~39
Education <Middle school 31 (33.3)
High school 50 (53.8)
Community college 8 (8.6)
≥College 4 (4.3)
Marital status Married 86 (92.4)
Divorce, separation, & cohabiting 7 (7.6)
Family monthly income (10,000 won) ≥100 17 (18.3)
101~200 44 (47.3)
201~300 24 (25.8)
≥301 8 (8.6)
Employment Not employed 85 (91.4)
Employed 8 (8.6)
Religious affiliation Buddhism 58 (62.4)
Catholic 11 (11.8)
None 23 (24.7)
Others 1 (1.1)
Marital satisfaction Always satisfied 21 (22.6)
Satisfied 45 (48.4)
Occasionally satisfied 27 (29.0)
Not satisfied 0 (0.0)
Co-habitants Husband 34 (36.6)
Husband & child 23 (24.7)
Husband & in-laws 21 (22.6)
Husband, child, & in-laws 5 (5.3)
Husband, child, in-laws, & relatives 10 (10.8)
Pregnancy-related Gestational age (week) 1st trimester (1~13) 29 (31.2) 5~40
2nd trimester (14~26) 32 (34.4)
3rd trimester (27~40) 32 (34.4)
No of pregnancy 1st 58 (62.4)
2nd 28 (30.1)
3rd 7 (7.5)
Planned pregnancy Yes 74 (79.6)
No 19 (20.4)
High risk pregnancy† Yes 4 (4.3)
No 89 (95.7)

†Hypertension, gestational DM, twins, irregular uterine contraction, medical problems.

Table 2

Levels of Life Stress, Social Supports, and Antepartum Depression of the Subjects (N=93)

Variables Categories n (%)/ Item-M±SD
Life stress Pregnancy & Child rearing (8 items) 3.0±0.43
Language & Cultural barriers (7 items) 2.8±0.49
Financial problems (4 items) 2.6±0.46
Pastime (3 items) 2.4±0.16
Relationships (6 items) 2.2±0.27
Health (2 items) 2.7±0.72
Grand total item mean 2.7±0.50
Social supports Instrumental supports (7 items) 3.1±0.34
Emotional supports (4 items) 3.3±0.31
Grand total item mean 3.2±0.34
Antepartum depression (scores) Normal (0~9) 46 (49.5)
Borderline (10~12) 16 (17.2)
Severe (>13) 31 (33.3)
Grand total mean 10.2±5.22
Table 3

Life Stress, Social Supports, and Antepartum Depression in relation to Demographic and Pregnancy related Characteristics of the Subjects (N=93)

Variables Categories n Life stress Social supports Antepartum depression
M±SD t or F (p) M±SD t or F (p) M±SD t or F (p)
Country of birth Vietnam 65 78.6±22.57 0.35
(.705)		 34.3±8.85 1.65
(.197)		 9.7±5.40 0.91
(.406)
Cambodia 19 80.7±16.57 34.4±8.15 11.1±4.09
Philippine 9 84.6±19.82 39.8±7.12 11.7±6.08
Length of stay (month) 0~12 44 75.4±16.33 2.13
(.103)		 36.4±8.71 1.67
(.178)		 9.4±4.72 1.89
(.137)
13~24 11 74.2±15.59 31.3±9.32 8.1±4.35
25~36 10 88.1±27.71 36.5±8.38 11.4±5.10
>37 28 85.3±25.41 33.1±8.00 11.7±6.02
Education <Middle school 31 84.4±22.85 1.08
(.361)		 32.5±9.33 2.12
(.103)		 10.0±5.83 0.35
(.793)
High school 50 77.2±20.56 35.1±8.40 10.1±5.01
Community college 8 73.0±14.69 39.9±5.77 9.8±3.99
>College 4 84.5±23.57 39.2±5.74 12.8±6.34
Marital status Married 86 78.7±21.02 2.08
(.153)		 35.3±8.35 3.38
(.609)		 9.9±5.22 3.31
(.072)
Divorce, separation, & cohabiting 7 90.6±20.44 29.1±10.71 13.6±4.24
Family monthly income (10,000 won) ≥100a 17 83.2±19.57 3.44
(.020)		 37.1±9.03 0.89
(.450)		 11.1±4.64 3.46
(.020)
b>a, c, d†
101~200b 44 84.7±23.76 33.6±8.99 11.5±5.68
201~300c 24 72.2±15.58 34.6±7.06 7.6±4.30
≥301d 8 65.6±10.35 37.2±10.25 8.6±3.58
Employed Yes 8 96.8±29.43 2.47
(.015)		 31.9±10.68 -1.02
(.312)		 12.6±8.00 1.40
(.164)
No 85 78.0±19.62 35.1±8.44 9.9±4.89
Religious affiliation Christianity & others 12 79.4±19.36 0.73
(.484)		 39.7±6.67 2.37
(.099)		 10.5±6.04 0.37
(.694)
Buddhism 58 81.4±22.11 33.8±9.08 10.4±5.22
None 23 75.1±19.47 35.0±7.75 9.4±4.94
Marital satisfaction Always satisfieda 21 73.5±17.48 5.37
(.006)
a, b<c† 		36.1±10.05 3.15
(.047)		 8.0±4.53 9.84
(<.001)
a, b<c†
Satisfiedb 45 76.0±18.14 36.3±6.90 9.2±4.54
Occasionally satisfiedc 27 90.2±24.83 31.4±9.40 13.5±5.34
Co-habitants Husband 34 74.3±16.25 2.01
(.100)		 37.0±7.44 2.58
(.043)		 8.6±3.74 2.07
(.092)
Husband & child 23 85.9±26.53 32.7±8.96 12.3±6.00
Husband & in-laws 21 75.0±14.34 36.7±6.25 9.6±5.32
Husband, child, & in-laws 5 87.0±24.57 34.6±11.80 10.8±4.92
Husband, child, in-laws, & relatives 10 88.8±27.58 28.6±11.59 11.6±6.48
Gestational age (week) 1st trimester (1~13) 29 82.7±17.58 0.80
(.454)		 34.7±8.43 0.01
(.991)		 9.9±5.00 0.11
(.898)
2nd trimester (14~26) 32 76.0±24.75 34.8±8.59 10.1±5.42
3rd trimester (27~40) 32 80.3±20.19 35.0±9.12 10.5±5.38
Nor of pregnancy 1st 58 75.8±16.83 2.52
(.086)		 35.7±8.64 0.89
(.413)		 9.2±4.58 3.00
(.055)
2nd 28 85.8±26.71 33.1±8.57 11.8±5.80
3rd 7 86.0±23.86 34.6±9.00 12.1±6.41
Planned pregnancy Yes 74 79.6±19.97 0.00
(1.000)		 34.7±9.03 -0.33
(.744)		 9.8±4.94 -1.18
(.241)
No 19 79.6±25.69 35.4±7.08 11.4±6.20
High risk pregnancy‡ Yes 4 97.8±26.18 1.78
(.078)		 32.0±13.49 -0.67
(.504)		 11.8±7.50 0.62
(.537)
No 89 78.8±20.66 35.0±8.45 10.1±5.15

†Scheffétest; ‡Hypertension, gestational DM, twins, irregular uterine contraction, medical problems.

Table 4

Relationships among Life Stress, Social Supports, and Antepartum Depression (N=93)

Variables Life stress Social supports Antepartum depression
Life stress 1 -.42 (<.001) .59 (<.001)
Social supports 1 -.39 (<.001)
Antepartum depression 1
Table 5

Best Predictors of Antepartum Depression (N=93)

Factors β t p
Life stress .45 5.03 <.001
Marital satisfaction -.22 -2.62 .010
Emotional support -.18 -2.08 .040
R2=.43, F=22.17, p<.001

This study was a partial fulfillment for the requirement of the master of science in nursing for the first author.

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    Citations

    Citations to this article as recorded by  
    • Parity and Psychosocial Risk Factors Increase the Risk of Depression During Pregnancy Among Recent Immigrant Women in Canada
      Monica Vaillancourt, Victoria Lane, Blaine Ditto, Deborah Da Costa
      Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health.2022; 24(3): 570.     CrossRef
    • Influence of Depression and Social Support on Health-related Quality of Life among Migrant Workers: The Mediating Effect of Health Promoting Behavior
      Hanna Jung, Youngsuk Kim
      Journal of Korean Academy of Community Health Nursing.2020; 31(3): 360.     CrossRef

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