Acculturative Stress And Mental Health Among Immigrant Chinese Americans

The dissertation is one of the achievements for State-Sponsored Scholarship Program for "985 Project". Among the various results conduced by the acculturation, acculturative stress has been proved as the most important factors which affected the individual mental health during the acculturation. However, few empirical studies have examined acculturative stress and mental health problems in immigrant Chinese Americans. At the individual level, this study pays attention to the relational model of acculturative stress, mental health and the correlates. According to the cross-cultural psychologist, J. Bery's cultural orientation and psychology adaptation theory, and acculturation model related to mind and body, behavior change degree, combining the updated development of the individual difference research, this study analyses the theory of Chinese American Immigrants' acculturative stress and mental health problems. After that, we construct the relational model of individual acculturative stress and mental health during the acculturation under the situation of Chinese and American culture. In the end, we test the relationship of various parts of the model through the empirical researches.This study uses both methods of quantitative and qualitative research. According to the domestic and overseas' literatures, Research One examines the interactional relations of acculturative stress and mental health, constructs the mediational model and equation model in a national sample of Chinese American Immigrants, parts of the data from the present updated, the first survey data to the Asian-American family all over the United States--- NLAAS, the National Latino and Asian American Study. It particularly focuses on ethnic differences, gender difference and the interactional factors of acculturative stress and mental health. Research Two uses the qualitative research method to investigate 13 Chinese American Immigrants' deep acculturative stress experiences during the acculturation. It also investigates their behaviors in daily life which enbody the relaional model of acculturative stress and mental health exmined in Part One. At last, it discusses the Chinese American Immigrants' acculturative stress source and coping strategy. Reaserch 3 is based on Research 1 and 2 and we discussed the psyccho-intervention techinique and preventive countermeasure of the acculturative stress syndrome. Finally, it tests the rationality of relational model of acculturative stress and mental health.The results indicats: Chinese American Immigrants' acculturative stress level was the highest among the Asian-American ethnic immigrants, adversely, their mental health level was the lowest. Acculturative stress was the most importmant effect factors in the mental health, It can predict Chinese American Immigrants' mental health and it also has a causal relationship with the immigrants. The acculturative stress was the mediate variable, which effected other relevant factors and mental health. English proficiency, marital status and social position factor etc, which acted as the mediate effect in the relations of acculturative stress and mental health. The predict acculturative stress risk factors are different for both genders. Social position, as a international coping variable which servered as a mediate variable, it may provide a buffer against acculturative stress effectively. Among the various predictive variable of mental health, the age when migrated has emboied the complexity and particularity in the process of predict Chinese American Immigrants' mental health. This study also elicited Chinese American Immigrants' six crucial acculturative stress sources. Generally, we adopt the coping style of questions focused, which may cope or provide a buffer against acculturative stress effectively so as to maintenance mental health. Furthermore,the relevant theory model of acculturative stress and mental health may have a certain enlighten effect to the practice of cross-culture counseling.This study reflected the inherent traits and rules of Chinese American Immigrants' acculturative stress and mental health interacted under the situation of Chinese and American culture. It filled up the blank of Chinese immigrants' mental health research in the acculturation field in China. It also established the groundwork for the future research. This study may have a certain and practical significance for the Chinese and American government to the relevant research or constitute the migrate policy, maintenance the mental health of Chinese immigrants and those who are about to rush to United States to study, work and live.