Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms among Multicultural Adolescents in Korea: Longitudinal Analysis Using Latent Class Growth Model.

Min Kyung Song,Eunjoo Kim,Ju Young Yoon

doi:10.3390/ijerph17218217

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the trajectory of depressive symptoms in multicultural adolescents using longitudinal data, and to identify predictive factors related to depressive symptoms of multicultural adolescents using latent class analysis. We used six time-point data derived from the 2012 to 2017 Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (MAPS). Latent growth curve modeling was used to assess the overall features of depressive symptom trajectories in multicultural adolescents, and latent class growth modeling was used to determine the number and shape of trajectories. We applied multinomial logistic regression analysis to each class to explore predictive factors. We found that the overall slope of depressive symptoms in multicultural adolescents increased. Latent class analysis demonstrated three classes: (1) high-increasing class (i.e., high intercept, significantly increasing slope), (2) moderate-increasing class (i.e., moderate intercept, significantly increasing slope), and (3) low-stable class (i.e., low intercept, no significant slope). In particular, we found that the difference in the initial intercept of depressive symptoms determined the subsequent trajectory. There is a need for early screening for depressive symptoms in multicultural adolescents and preparing individual mental health care plans.

Highlights

Increasing international mobility and globalization has led to increasingly diverse communities worldwide [1]
The current study used a latent class growth model to investigate the trajectory of changes in depressive symptoms according to the growth of multicultural adolescents, with the secondary aim of identifying risk and protective factors for this group
This study examined changes in depressive symptoms of multicultural adolescents for 6 years using data from the 2012–2017 Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (MAPS) to classify latent classes with different trajectories of depressive symptoms, and to classify factors that predict latent class membership

Summary

Introduction

Increasing international mobility and globalization has led to increasingly diverse communities worldwide [1]. The number of international migrations has steadily increased, reaching approximately. Immigrants in Korea at the end of 2019 comprised 4.86% of the total population, equating to 2,524,656 people [4]. This increase is primarily due to an increase in the number of migrant workers and international marriages [3]. The Korean government defines immigrants (including immigrants by marriage, immigrants by work, North Korean refugees, and ethnic Koreans) and their families as “multicultural families”, and provides supportive services, such as Korean language education, counseling, social and occupational training, and family education

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