Abstract
Adaptation to a new culture can be highly stressful, especially during challenging developmental stages such as adolescence. The ways in which adolescents adapt to a culture and their resulting well-being may be influenced substantially by their personality traits as well as the degree to which they are aligned with the values of the new culture. Korean Americans are one of the fastest growing immigrant groups in the US, including a burgeoning population of Korean youth. The purpose of this study was to determine whether specific personality traits of Korean American adolescents or their degree of acculturation would be associated with their mental health problems, and whether specific personality traits would moderate the association between acculturation and mental health problems. 138 Korean American adolescents completed a demographic questionnaire, the revised Stephenson Multigroup Acculturation Scale, the NEO Five-Factor Inventory-3, and Achenbach & Rescorla’s Youth Self Report. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that acculturation played a minimal role in predicting mental health problems, while personality traits were strong predictors. Being more reactive to stress and less emotionally stable (greater “neuroticism”) and being less altruistic and cooperative (less “agreeableness”) predicted more mental health problems for Korean American adolescents. In addition, the trait of “openness to experience” played a moderating role. For youth who were more open to experience (curious and independent in their judgments), greater alignment with values of the American culture was a protective factor for their mental health. Findings indicate the need for further research to identify types of mental health problems that may be most affected by specific personality traits and the underlying mechanisms responsible for their effects. It will also be important to examine whether personality traits identified in this research influence mental health similarly across cultures and age groups or whether they are unique to Korean American youth.
Highlights
Adaptation to a new culture can be highly stressful, especially during challenging developmental stages such as adolescence
It will be important to examine whether personality traits identified in this research influence mental health across cultures and age groups or whether they are unique to Korean American youth
Length of residence in the US was the only demographic variable that was significantly correlated with mental health problems
Summary
Adaptation to a new culture can be highly stressful, especially during challenging developmental stages such as adolescence. In their study of acculturation and adjustment, Cho, Hudley, and Back (2003) found that second-generation Korean American adolescents who were more aligned with the values of the Western culture were more self-reliant and able to face life challenges than their Korean American peers who were less acculturated In line with these findings, Yeh (2003) reported that greater alignment with the values of Western culture was associated with fewer symptoms of mental health problems for Korean American adolescents. In a study of Korean American youth affiliated with Catholic schools, Lee et al (2012) found that greater acculturation significantly predicted higher alcohol and drug use As these studies indicate, there are conflicting findings regarding the association between acculturation and the mental health or adjustment of Korean American adolescents
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