Abstract
Background Korean American immigrants have become one of the largest Asian American ethnic group in the United States, and Christianity have been preserving their ethnic identities. However, little is known if church commitment is associated with developing emotional well-being and work capacity. The study aims to understand the attachment to church and its effect on level of emotional well-being and work (or school) performance among South Korean young adult immigrants who have a strong faith in Christianity. Methods A sequential, mixed-methods study examined two dimensions of church attachment, level of religious belief and involvement in church activities. A total of 23 participants was initially recruited through purposive and snowball sampling, and then 22 of them were divided into two high-belief groups—high-active church members and low-active church members – for further analysis. A screening questionnaire, a quantitative component, was used to exclude a low-level believer. Consecutively, an in-depth interview, a qualitative component, was conducted to further investigate the emotional well-being and work (or school) performance. Results Although a small sample was collected, it generated initial insights into the effects of time commitment for church among immigrants. Regardless of leadership roles and level of activity at church, strong beliefs appeared to improve emotional well-being and support motivation to improve the performance of major activity of daily living. Conclusions The major significance was to support further research on religious belief and practice and its potential association with emotional well-being and social adjustment for Koreans, as well as other immigrants. The study applied a culturally specific lens to focus on a particular minority immigrant population.
Highlights
Korean American immigrants have become one of the largest Asian American ethnic group in the United States, and Christianity have been preserving their ethnic identities
The study applied a culturally specific lens to focus on a particular minority immigrant population
Since the passage of the Immigration Reform Act in 1965, Korean American immigrants have become the fifth-largest Asian American ethnic group in the U.S, totaling 1,706,822 in 2012.1–3 Among international students in the U.S, the South Korean student group is the third largest, with over 63,000 students, or 6.5 percent of total foreign student enrollment in 2016.4 Reports show that these immigrants often suffer from acculturative stress due to cultural gaps between South Korea and the U.S.5
Summary
The purpose of this research was to conduct a sequential, mixed methods study that included a screening questionnaire for assessing level of religious belief and involvement in church activities followed by in-depth qualitative interviews about the relationship between church attachment and emotional well-being as well as work performance, in order to obtain preliminary findings and generate insights regarding future research
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