2 research outputs found
Adaptation of Indochinese Refugee Unaccompanied Minors to the United States: Depression; Americanization; Academic Achievement
Many Indochinese unaccompanied adolescents have been
resettled in the United States without parents. Their recent
immigration and adolescent life stage-both potential
stressors--may render them vulnerable to psychosocial
distress. This study examined effects of placement mode,
time in U.S., situation/status of family of origin,
displacement, support, and political awareness on their life-satisfaction/
depression, Americanization, and academic
achievement.
Subjects were 82 Indochinese adolescents, ages 12 to 19.
Of 58 unaccompanied minors, 29 were in foster care with
Caucasian families, 10 in foster care with Indochinese
families, 19 in group homes. Twenty-four Indochinese
adolescents living with their own families were also
subjects.
A child's version of The Center for Epidemiological
Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) measured depression. The
investigator's 42-item questionnaire and checklist collected
demographics and additional data.
The overall sample was depressed: mean CES-D score,
18.25-two points above clinical depression. But, subjects in ethnic foster care or their own families had mean scores
of 11, compared to 23 for Caucasian foster homes or group
homes: F(3,78)=12.08, p.<.0001.
Significant benefits for subjects in settings with an
Indochinese adult (related or not) were: less depression,
higher grade point average, more positive academic
attributions, greater likelihood of viewing academic success
as a result of own effort and under own control, more
positive social attributions, greater frequency when sad of
turning to another person for help in feeling better.
Support had strong but differential influences on
successful adaptation: beneficial in lowering depression for
children in non-ethnic settings, unnecessary for those in
ethnic homes. Displacement taking place prior to immigration
to the U.S. ceased to have an effect on important outcomes
when all variables were taken into account.
There were significant differences in striving for
independence (a measure of Americanization) between children
in own families and unaccompanied minors, with the former
having lower scores.
Academic performance proved stable across groups: mean
GPA was 3.05.
These data suggest the importance of promoting (in the
following order): foster care with extended family, foster
care in ethnic homes, ethnic staff for service programs,
Caucasian foster families with cross-cultural experience