The Factors Associated with Health Promotion Behavior of In-ternational Students in South Korea

Background: We aimed to explore the factors associated with health promotion behavior of international students in South Korea. Methods: The convenience sample of 263 participants was recruited from two universities in Gangwon-do and Jeollanam-do, South Korea. The data were collected by using structured questionnaires from Apr to Jun 2019. Demographic characteristics, health conception, acculturative stress, self-efficacy, interpersonal support, and health promotion behavior were assessed. T-test, ANOVA, and multiple regression analyses were used for statistical analyses. Results: Participants from Vietnam (P=.040), with more health conception (P<.001), more acculturative stress (P<.001), more self-efficacy (P<.001), and greater interpersonal support (P<.001) were more likely to engage in more health promotion behaviors. Conclusion: This study is meaningful as it collected the data on which to design health promotion programs for international students. Future studies are needed to investigate further factors relating to international students’ health promotion behavior, including internal and external environments.

Relationship between Marriage Immigrant Mothers’ Acculturative Stress and Their Adolescent Children’s Career Decidedness in South Korea: Mediating Roles of Parenting and School Adjustment

International marriages between Korean men and foreign women from other Asian countries have been increasing since the late 1990s in Korea. This study examines the mediating effects of parenting self-efficacy, career-specific parenting behaviors, and school adjustment on the relationship between immigrant mothers’ acculturative stress and their adolescent children’s career decidedness. Data were collected from 1181 third grade students (583 boys, 598 girls) in Korean middle schools and their foreign mothers who participated in the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study. A structural equation modeling analysis revealed the following multiple mediation process: immigrant mothers’ acculturative stress is indirectly related to their adolescent children’s career decidedness through (1) the dual mediation of parenting self-efficacy and career-specific parenting behaviors; (2) the serial mediation of parenting self-efficacy, career-specific parenting behaviors, and adolescents’ school adjustment; (3) the dual mediation of parenting self-efficacy and adolescents’ school adjustment; and (4) the mediation of adolescents’ school adjustment. This study provides directions for parent education and career counseling to enhance immigrant mothers’ parenting competence and support the positive career development of adolescents from multicultural families. The study, therefore, helps them grow into well-adjusted adults in Korean society, which, in turn, contributes to the well-being of immigrant mothers and their adolescent children.

Theorizing to Improve Mental Health in Multicultural Construction Industries: An Intercultural Coping Model

Construction workers are exposed to a range of stressors that lead to mental ill-health. In a multicultural construction workplace, the interactions between workers with different cultural backgrounds may aggravate mental health issues. Existing studies on coping typically focus on a reactive approach to managing stressors in the absence of cultural-related factors. This approach is inadequate in addressing mental health issues in a culturally diverse construction workplace. This paper presents a critical review that synthesizes and analyses theories and models of stress and coping, proactive coping, occupational stress, acculturative stress, and intercultural competence to develop a conceptual model for managing mental health in a multicultural construction workforce. The proposed model relies upon a positive coping mechanism, i.e., intercultural coping, to manage stressful events during the entire coping process in a multicultural workplace, towards achieving sustained good mental health. The proposed conceptual model contributes to the development of coping theories and positive psychology approaches and provides effective coping strategies to enhance psychological well-being in a multicultural context.

The Association of Acculturative Stress with Self-reported Sleep Disturbance and Sleep Duration among Asian Americans

Study Objectives This study aims to examine associations between acculturative stress– defined as the psychological impact, or stress reaction, of adapting to a new cultural context –and self-reported sleep outcomes among Chinese and Korean immigrants in the United States. Methods In this cross-sectional study, acculturative stress was assessed using a 9-item scale, and sleep disturbance was measured using the 8-item scale. Sleep duration was self-reported. Poisson and linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between acculturative stress, sleep disturbance, and sleep duration. Results Our sample consists of 400 participants (females: 52%, Chinese: 50%, Koreans: 50%, the mean of age=58.4). 81.8% of them were classified as having no sleep disturbance, while 18.2% were classified as having sleep disturbance. Poisson models revealed that greater acculturative stress was associated with a higher prevalence of sleep disturbance (Prevalence Ratio (PR): 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06-1.31). In linear models, a one-unit increase in acculturative stress was associated with 0.08 hours less sleep (p &lt;0.05). Interaction tests indicated effect modification for sleep disturbance by sex and ethnic identity: only women had a significant association between acculturative stress and sleep disturbance (PR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.13-1.49), while the association was significant for individuals identifying as “very Asian” (PR: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.08-1.35), but not for those identifying as “mostly Asian” or “bicultural/western”. Conclusions If findings are replicated, we suggest developing intervention programs for Asian immigrants to minimize acculturative stress and bolster protective factors that decrease the risk for poor sleep outcomes.

Factors Influencing Academic Self-Efficacy Among Nursing Students During COVID-19: A Path Analysis

Introduction: The shift to online learning owing to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is posing an additional challenge to academic success, particularly for students who speak English as a Second Language (ESL). This study aimed to examine the factors that contribute to academic self-efficacy among ESL nursing students. Method: This was a cross-sectional study using path analysis with 113 undergraduate ESL nursing students in New York City. Data were collected online using self-report measures of the study variables: academic self-efficacy, perfectionistic concerns, acculturative stress, and e-learning stress. A hypothetical path model was tested using AMOS 26.0. Results: Perfectionistic concerns and acculturative stress directly affected academic self-efficacy. Furthermore, perfectionistic concerns and e-learning stress indirectly affected academic self-efficacy via the acculturative stress path. Discussion: Results indicate the importance of developing a multifaceted intervention that considers diverse cultural and psychological factors to help ESL nursing students enhance their academic self-efficacy in e-learning environments.

Acculturative stress, religious coping and wellbeing amongst New Zealand Muslims

<p>Situated within a wider context of Islamophobia, this study explored the role of religious coping in influencing the relationship between acculturative stress and wellbeing amongst 167 New Zealand Muslims. A Muslim Religious Coping (MRC) scale was adapted for the purposes of this study, measuring religious coping across three domains of Cognitive, Behavioural, and Social MRC. Two specific hypotheses were posited to explore the research question. Firstly, both Acculturative Stress and Religious Coping were predicted to significantly influence wellbeing (as measured by Life Satisfaction and Psychological Symptoms). Secondly, Religious Coping was expected to moderate the relationship between Acculturative Stress and wellbeing. Consistent with hypotheses, it was found that Acculturative Stress predicted poorer Life Satisfaction and greater Psychological Symptoms. Additionally, Cognitive, Behavioural and Social facets of Muslim Religious Coping (MRC) predicted greater Life Satisfaction, and Behavioural MRC buffered the negative effects of Acculturative Stress on Life Satisfaction. Contrary to hypotheses, however, no direct or moderational relationships were found between MRC and Psychological Symptoms of distress. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the importance of promoting religious maintenance for minority Muslims, and the place of an Indigenous Islamic psychology within cross-cultural research.</p>

Acculturative stress, religious coping and wellbeing amongst New Zealand Muslims

<p>Situated within a wider context of Islamophobia, this study explored the role of religious coping in influencing the relationship between acculturative stress and wellbeing amongst 167 New Zealand Muslims. A Muslim Religious Coping (MRC) scale was adapted for the purposes of this study, measuring religious coping across three domains of Cognitive, Behavioural, and Social MRC. Two specific hypotheses were posited to explore the research question. Firstly, both Acculturative Stress and Religious Coping were predicted to significantly influence wellbeing (as measured by Life Satisfaction and Psychological Symptoms). Secondly, Religious Coping was expected to moderate the relationship between Acculturative Stress and wellbeing. Consistent with hypotheses, it was found that Acculturative Stress predicted poorer Life Satisfaction and greater Psychological Symptoms. Additionally, Cognitive, Behavioural and Social facets of Muslim Religious Coping (MRC) predicted greater Life Satisfaction, and Behavioural MRC buffered the negative effects of Acculturative Stress on Life Satisfaction. Contrary to hypotheses, however, no direct or moderational relationships were found between MRC and Psychological Symptoms of distress. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the importance of promoting religious maintenance for minority Muslims, and the place of an Indigenous Islamic psychology within cross-cultural research.</p>