The effects of Ethnic Identity, Acculturation, and Acculturative Stress on Chinese Students’ Adaptation to University Life in South Korea

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 745-770
Author(s):  
Soonhyeon Nam
Author(s):  
Jaeyong Choi ◽  
Tay Hack ◽  
Julak Lee

Although some studies have focused on immigrants’ fear of crime in the United States, it is important to point out that the number of North Korean defectors to South Korea has rapidly increased since the 1990s. Therefore, understanding factors associated with fear of crime for North Korean immigrants, especially female defectors, is important for ensuring their successful transitions into South Korean culture. The present study used existing survey data from a sample of female North Korean defectors to explore factors related to fear of crime. Results indicate that the number of North Korean friends, language proficiency, and patriarchal attitudes toward gender were significant predictors of fear of crime for the North Korean female defectors. Findings are described and discussed as a potential source for policymaking to reduce North Korean immigrants’ acculturative stress and fear of crime and to encourage smooth transitions into new cultures.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Wonjung Ryu ◽  
Hyerin Yang

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influencing factors of parental child abuse by North Korean refugees who are living in South Korea. In-depth interviews were conducted with five parents who escaped from North Korea. The study identified three categories of factors impacting child abuse: the weakening of family functions from past experiences before and after defection, the stress of adapting to the culture of an unfamiliar society, and low parenting self-efficacy. North Korean parents suffered from emotional and functional crises from past traumatic events and, at the same time, experienced additional acculturative stress as a “minority” after entering South Korea, even as they continued to deal with Maternal Parenting Stress. These complex factors have been shown to lead to child abuse in migrant societies. This study contemplated the context of child abuse through specific examples. The results could provide thoughtful insights into child abuse among migrants and refugee parents, and provide evidence-based intervention plans for its prevention.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hwajin Shin ◽  
In-Jin Yoon

South Korea is an emerging immigration destination where over half of the country’s immigrant population are ethnic return migrants. Thus far, little attention has been given to the effect of acculturation on the mental health of coethnic migrants in non-traditional immigration states such as South Korea. Using 2010 survey data on 1,200 North Korean refugees, this study examines the effect of preserving cultural norms and practices from the home country on the mental health of North Koreans in the South. Based on an acculturation typology, we categorize respondents into four groups based on their attitudes toward home and host cultures. Given South Korea’s homogenous context, our cluster analyses extracted two acculturation types—the integrated and the assimilated groups. The finding that integrated or bicultural individuals had better mental health status than assimilated individuals underscores the crucial role of the culture of origin in attenuating acculturative distress for coethnic migrants in South Korea.


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