Examining the relationship between bicultural stress and psychological well being among korean adolescents in singapore a mixed methods study

1.1 Background and significance of the study 1.1.1 Korean adolescents in Singapore 1.1.2 Mixed methods approach 1.3.1 Migration policies in Singapore 9 1.3.2 Korean adolescents’ educa

EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BICULTURAL STRESS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AMONG KOREAN ADOLESCENTS

IN SINGAPORE : A MIXED METHODS STUDY

CHUNG, YOU-JIN

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF

SINGAPORE

2014

EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BICULTURAL STRESS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AMONG KOREAN ADOLESCENTS

IN SINGAPORE : A MIXED METHODS STUDY

CHUNG, YOU-JIN

B.A., M.A (Social Work), Ewha Womans University

A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WORK NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

2014

I also would like to express my gratitude to thesis committee members, Dr Esther Goh and Dr Kang Yoonhee, who gave me valuable comments and insightful feedbacks for this thesis

I am especially thankful to Dr Rosaleen Ow, Head of Social Work Department and many of the department’s faculty members for their encouragement and friendship I must also thank Ms Boo Chui Ngoh, Ms Suraya Bte Ahmad, Ms Lim Shan Shan, and Ms Tan Ching Lin for their administrative support

There are many others who have touched me in one way or another Here I would like to extend my gratitude and thanks to my Social Work mates, Dr Xu Jian Bin, Dr Chan Cheong Chong, Ms Joan Khang, Dr Peace Wong, Ms Teo

Poh Leng, Ms Corinne Ghoh, and Mrs Sylvia Mun My special thanks to Mr

Kim Youngwan, Seongyoon, Jaeran, and Yeongyung for their dedicated help for collecting the data My sincere thanks to Hyunju, Jaejung, and my church friends and students for their care, support, and love

I am deeply indebted to my loved parents, my understanding husband Sang Uk, and my lovely kids Jeong Eon and Han Bin Throughout this pursuing of my dream, they showed me their deepest understanding, unwavering supportiveness, and love

Last but not least, God, the Almighty, who have led and taught me at every step during this journey, to whom I give my special thanks

1.1 Background and significance of the study

1.1.1 Korean adolescents in Singapore

1.1.2 Mixed methods approach

1.3.1 Migration policies in Singapore 9

1.3.2 Korean adolescents’ educational aspiration: Early Study

2.2 Bicultural stress during acculturation 17

2.2.1 Korean youths in the US 19

2.2.2 Asian immigrant youths in Asian countries 21

2.2.3 Bicultural stress in particular contexts 23

2.3 Bicultural stress and psychological well-being 27

2.3.1 Challenges: Bicultural stress and psychological well-being in

2.4 Ethnic identity of immigrant adolescents 30

2.4.1 Social identity theory: intergroup relations 30

2.5 Ethnic identity and psychological well-being 33

2.5.1 Protective role of ethnic identity 35

2.6 Research objectives and hypotheses 38

3 Methodology 41

3.1 Pragmatism: Mixed methods assumption 41

3.1.1 Justification for using mixed methods 42

3.2 Research procedure: Exploratory sequential mixed methods 44

3.3 Mixed methods data analytic strategy 46

4.2 Focus group discussion 51

4.3 Sampling strategy and number of groups 52

4.6.1 Ambivalence: Feeling superior but separate 59

4.6.2 Pressure to keep being a Korean from both sides 63

4.6.3 More traditional but less supportive 67

4.6.4 Less stress in speaking English, but more stress in learning Chinese and keeping Korean: pressure to become a trilingual 69

4.6.5 Pride that “I am a Korean”: Confidence in ethnic identity 73

4.6.6 Being global: Confidence in both cultures 75

4.7 Discussion and implications of the quantitative study 77

4.7.1 “You are my special Korean friend”: Peer pressure 77

4.7.2 “Am I trilingual?”: Language stressor 80

4.7.3 Implications for selecting the measurement for the next

5.1 Sampling strategy and data collection 85

5.3.2 Bivariate correlation for testing variables 102

5.3.2 Testing of moderating model 105

6.1 Experiences of bicultural stress 117

6.2 Ethnic identity of Korean adolescents in Singapore 120

6.3 Moderation effect of ethnic identity 117

6.4 Implications to theory 125

6.5 Implications for practice 127

6.6 Implications for policies in Singapore 129

6.7 Limitations and future research 133

SUMMARY

Adjusting to a new environment is particularly challenging for immigrant adolescents, who are trying to adapt to two cultures while dealing with the normal developmental process of identity formation Hence, they generally encounter stress during settlement The stress perceived by immigrant adolescents has aroused much interest in academic and practical areas because

it can negatively impact the psychological well-being of these adolescents However, the current understanding of how Asian immigrant adolescents adapt to life in new Asian countries is limited despite the dramatic increase in migration within Asia in recent years The primary purpose of the present study is to investigate the acculturation experiences of Korean immigrant adolescents (age 13-18) in Singapore by exploring the stress they experience and how they identify themselves during their settlement as well as the moderation effect of ethnic identity on the relationship between bicultural stress and psychological well-being (high self-esteem and fewer depressive symptoms)

This study used an exploratory sequential mixed method The qualitative study found six themes related to stress and the identity formation

of these Korean adolescents in terms of peer, family, and the linguistic

contexts of Singapore: ‘ambivalence’, ‘pressure to keep being a Korean’,

‘more traditional but less supportive’, ‘pressure to become trilingual’,

‘confidence in ethnic identity’, and ‘confidence in both cultures’ Based on

these findings, measures were selected and modified where necessary for the quantitative portion of the study to examine the moderating effect of ethnic identity on the relationship between the bicultural stress and psychological

well-being of Korean adolescent immigrants The primary model testing in the quantitative study showed that (a) bicultural stress negatively impacted psychological well-being (i.e., it resulted in lower self-esteem and more depressive symptoms) and (b) ethnic identity positively influenced psychological well-being (higher self-esteem and fewer depressive symptoms) However, contrary to the hypothesis, ethnic identity did not buffer the impact

of bicultural stress on psychological well-being Rather, ethnic identity enhanced the impact of stress on depression for Korean adolescents who reported having a stronger ethnic identity

The discussion focuses on integrating the qualitative and quantitative study results There are some challenges to understanding the role of ethnic identity among Korean adolescents in Singapore: ethnic identity may not be a salient issue for Korean adolescents with respect to protecting themselves from ethic prejudice and discrimination in the Korean-favourable environment

in Singapore Furthermore, developing ethnic identity may be a source of stress for Korean adolescents, making them feel separated from their Singaporean peers In addition, not all minority youths experience negative discrimination related to their ethnic background in a host society Instead, some immigrant youths experience positive discrimination by the majority group in the receiving country However this positive discrimination (or positive stereotype) toward a particular ethnic group can be another source of stress that immigrant youths need to handle during their settlement

The present study helps identify further studies on the adjustment of Asian immigrant youths in Asia

(481 words)

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Conceptual definition of study variables 40

Table 2 Profile of participant of FGD 55

Table 3 Theme and axial codes 58

Table 4 Theme, axial codes and new items of stress 90

Table 5 Exploratory factor analysis 94

Table 6 Sample characteristics 100

Table 7 Bivariate Correlation of testing variables 104

Table 8 Moderating effects on self-esteem using hierarchical multiple

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Hypothesis moderation effect of ethnic identity on the relationship

between bicultural stress and psychological well-being 39

Figure 2 Flowchart of the procedure of exploratory sequential research 45

Figure 3 Mixed methods data analytic procedures 48

Figure 4 Moderating effect of ethnic identity on depression 112

Figure 5 Moderating effect of ethnic identity on depression 114

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Adjusting to a new environment can be particularly challenging to immigrant adolescents who are trying to adapt to two cultures, their heritage culture and a host culture, while navigating the developmental process of identity formation Hence, some immigrant adolescents may experience stress during settlement (Berry, 1997; 2003) Studies have found that this stress negatively impacts immigrant adolescents’ psychological well-being, resulting in low self-esteem, depressive symptoms, low self-satisfaction, and other psychological symptoms, such as anxiety and suicidal ideation (Altiynelken, 2009; Berry, Phinney, Sam

& Vedder, 2006; Cho & Haslam, 2010; Hovey & King, 1996; Juang, 2009; Lee, Koeske & Sales, 2004; Suarez-Morales & Lopez Babara, 2009) Furthermore, some research has suggested that Asian immigrant adolescents are more vulnerable to psychological maladjustment in a bicultural context due to limited social interaction, communication barriers, discrimination experiences, and less social support compared with European or Latino adolescents (Lin & Yi, 1997; Lorenzo, Pakiz, Reinherz, & Frost, 1995; Yeh, 2003; Yeh & Inose, 2003) Most studies have focused on stress experienced by

Asian immigrants in Western countries, such as the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), Canada, and Australia; little is known about their experiences in Asia, specifically, in Singapore, one of the main migrant-receiving countries in Asia

In understanding the negative impact of stress on Asian immigrant adolescents’ well-being, some studies have examined the protective role of ethnic identity in ameliorating the impact of this stress (Chan & Owens, 2006; Lee, 2005; Shelton, Yip, Eccles, Chatman, Fuligni & Wong, 2003) Phinney (1990) and Tajfel (1982) state that for ethnic minorities, developing a positive sense of ethnic identity not only provides a sense of pride, belongingness, and security but also enables them to better cope with racial-/ethnic-related stress and conflicts derived from a bicultural context For example, Lee (2005) found that Korean college students with high ethnic pride showed relatively fewer depressive symptoms than Korean students with low ethnic pride when they perceived ethnic discrimination in the US Similarly, Yip and Fuligni (2002) found that Chinese adolescents with a strong ethnic identity reported less anxiety compared with those with a weak ethnic identity when they experienced bicultural stress during settlement in the US

The stress that immigrant adolescents experience may differ in different cultural contexts due to similarities or differences between the immigrants’ heritage culture and the dominant culture of the host society (Berry, 2006; Hsiao & Wittig, 2008; Romero, Carvajal, Valle & Orduna, 2007) A few studies have shown that the findings of studies conducted in Western countries may not adequately represent the experiences of Asians who settle in Asian countries where the host countries and their originating

countries are closely connected, both geographically and culturally (Chung & Mohanty, 2014; Wong et al, 2004) For example, adolescents from mainland China who settled in Hong Kong faced some difficulties mainly due to the different attitudes of their peers in the local school context; this stress negatively impacted their mental health (Wong et al, 2004) Although Asian culture is known to be similar across countries in terms of collectivism compared to individualism in Western culture, it is important to acknowledge that there exists a multitude of significant differences in cultural values, cultural practices, customs, languages, and religions among different regions

of Asia (Hugo, 2006); hence, the need for this study Studies that have been conducted in Singapore have mainly focused on adult migrants (e.g migrant workers’ rights) or immigration policy (e.g social cohesion/integration issues) (Liu, 2014; Lyons & Yee, 2009; Reid, 2010; Rubby & MacKay, 2013), but less is known about Asian immigrant adolescents’ experiences and how that relates to their psychosocial development

During the last decade, the number of immigrants within Asia has increased by 20 percent (United Nations, 2011) Around the same time, the proportion of foreigners in Singapore has risen to almost 25 percent of the total population (Department of Statistics Singapore, 2011) In particular, the number of Koreans in Singapore has rapidly increased There are an increasing number of pre-college students who come due to their academic aspirations, and Singapore’s policy attracts foreign students from across Asia (Huang & Yeoh, 2005) As a result, the number of Korean students attending public/local schools has grown by 30 percent between 2004 and 2008 (Lee, 2008) Therefore, this study focuses on Korean immigrant adolescents in Singapore

1.1.1 Korean adolescents in Singapore

In addition to the fact that Korean youth is one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in Singapore, this study intentionally selected Korean adolescents from among other Asian immigrant youths for several other reasons First, previous studies, mostly conducted in the US, have reported that Korean adolescents experience a higher level of mental health symptoms such as depression and anxiety during settlement compared with other Asian ethnic groups, such as the Chinese and Japanese (Jang, 2013; Yeh 2003) This is mainly due to cultural conflicts with parents, feelings of alienation and exclusion from the mainstream cultural group, and racial discrimination by their white peers (Cho

& Bae, 2005; Kim, Huh & Kim, 1993; Lee & Cynn, 1991) Second, little attention has been directed toward Korean youths in the Singapore context, and the overall size of studies focused on this population is still quite small For example, only a few existing studies have described the transnational schooling experiences of Korean families by conducting interviews with the mothers (Kim, 2010; Niedermeyer, 2008) Therefore, Korean adolescents’ stress and adjustment have not been properly explored

Furthermore, Korean adolescents’ interactions in the Singapore context may differ from that reported by existing studies in Western countries Although Singapore is well-known as a multicultural society this country mainly comprises different Asian ethnic groups1, unlike other traditional

1

According to the Singapore Department of Statistics (2014), the Chinese remained

as the majority at 74 percent of the resident population, followed by Malays with 13 percent, Indians with 9.1 percent, and other ethnic groups with 3.3 percent.

destinations such as the US and Canada In addition, it is difficult to identify a single mainstream culture in Singapore that immigrants are expected to acculturate into This might be because Singapore’s multiculturalism is based

on the CMIO (Chinese-Malay-Indian-Others) model, which maintains the differences and boundaries among ethnic groups (Amwer, 2014) Consistent with this stance, immigrants are expected to maintain their own cultural practices, traditions, and mother language without the pressure to acculturate

to a dominant culture

Additionally, there are a certain cultural differences between Singapore and Korea to be considered despite the fact that both countries have been classified as collectivistic and Confucian Asian countries in most of the migration research Compared with multicultural and multilingual Singapore society, Korea is one of the few countries in which ethnicity and nationality coincide It has its own language (known as ‘Hangeul’) and traditional cuisine (‘Hansik’), dress (‘Hanbok’), and etiquette, separate and distinct from its neighbouring countries, such as China and Japan Moreover, Koreans value their homogeneous cultural tradition (known as ‘Han Minjeok’), which most Korean people throughout the country share (Korea Tourist Organization, 2014) Another significantly different aspect is the percentage of foreign residents: although an increasing number of foreigners have immigrated to Korea during the last decade, foreign residents only make up 3 percent of the Korean population, which is much lower than the 25 percent found in Singapore (Korean Statistical Information Service, 2014; Department of Statistics Singapore, 2011) In particular, in Korea, immigrant adolescents who attend the local schools are reported to be less than 1 percent of the total

number of school students Hence, there are few opportunities for adolescents

to experience other cultures when living in Korean society

Given that the Singapore context is culturally and socially different from both other Western countries and Korean society, this raises the question

of what types of stress Korean youths face in their settlement experiences In order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of Korean adolescents’ stress

in Singapore and its impact on their psychological well-being, it is necessary

to adopt the mixed method of qualitative and quantitative approaches

1.1.2 Mixed methods approach

In the field of immigration, most researchers have taken either a qualitative or

a quantitative approach in understanding the acculturative experiences of immigrant adolescents While each approach has its strengths, using a single method may have some limitations when investigating Korean adolescents’ stress and its impact on their psychological well-being in the context of this study

A purely quantitative approach using standardised measurements developed in Western culture may inadequately assess the cultural aspects of the particular context of this study due to the lack of cross-cultural validity between Asian and Western cultures (Plano Clark, Huddleston-Cases, Churchill, Green & Grrett, 2008) In other words, Korean adolescents in Singapore may experience stress dissimilar to that experienced by Korean adolescents in Western countries because stress caused by acculturation is culturally specific (Van Oudenhoven, Prins & Buunk, 1998) Hence,

integrating a qualitative approach is essential when exploring the stress Korean adolescents experience in their interaction with Singapore society, a topic that has not been sufficiently researched On the other hand, a single qualitative approach may be limited to examining the relationship between stress and ethnic identity and how that relates to the well-being of Korean adolescents in Singapore

In light of this, the mixed methods approach is the most suitable methodology for this study To my knowledge, this is the first empirical study

to explore Korean immigrant adolescents’ stress and examine the role of ethnic identity on their psychological well-being in Singapore using a mixed methods approach

The primary purpose of the present study is to investigate the experiences of Korean immigrant adolescents in Singapore using exploratory sequential mixed methods: exploring their stress and identity formation, and then examining the protective role of ethnic identity on their psychological well-being This exploratory as well as explanatory study is expected to contribute

to a better understanding of how stress and ethnic identity influence and interact with immigrant adolescents during their acculturation process in Asia

To achieve the purpose of this study, the following research questions were thoroughly investigated

1 What stress do Korean adolescents experience during acculturation

4 What can we learn from Korean immigrant adolescents’ reflections

on stress and identity by exploring their perception of experiences?

5 What is the relationship between bicultural stress, ethnic identity, and psychological well-being among Korean adolescents in Singapore?

In the following sections, the context of this study is explained, including the new trend of migration within Asia, the immigration policies and

practices of Singapore, and the background of Korean immigrant adolescents

1.3 CONTEXT OF STUDY

Migration in Asia has increased dramatically in recent years, rising from approximately 50.9 million people migrating within Asia in 2000 to approximately 61.3 million in 2010 (United Nations, 2011) The majority of foreign immigrants in Asia come from other Asian countries (Martin, 2009; United Nations, 2012) In Southeast Asia, for example, intra-migration within the region increased by 37 percent between 2000 and 2005, from 4.1 million to

5.6 million (Castles, 2009) In particular, fast-growing newly industrialized countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan have become more attractive places for Asian migrants One of the reasons for this relatively new social phenomenon is the fast economic growth in these countries Since the mid-1980s, rapid economic growth and declining fertility rates have led to a large demand for labour, drawing immigrants to these countries (Yeoh, 2004) Another possible explanation is the new trend of mobility of highly qualified migrants and international students within Asia (Castles & Miller, 2009)

1.3.1 Migration policies in Singapore

Singapore is a multicultural and multilingual society that includes Chinese, Malay, Indian, and other minority ethnic groups One of the contributors to population growth in this country has been a migration surplus (Yeo, 2004) Within this historical context, the size of the foreign population has rapidly grown during the last two decades The data from Singapore’s Department of Statistics (2011) reveal that the foreign population increased from 10.2 percent

to 25.7 percent of the total population between 1990 and 2010, a 9.3 percent expansion per year This figure shows a more rapid growth rate as compared with a rate of 1.8 percent per year in the number of Singapore citizens and permanent residents (PRs) There are three main groups of foreigners attracted

to Singapore: ‘low-skilled contract workers’, ‘skilled professional and managerial workers in high-end positions’, and international students; these

migrants mostly come from other Asian countries, such as Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and some countries in South Asia (Yeoh & Lin, 2012)

The most rapid increase in the foreign population occurred in the labour force of Singapore Foreign-born manpower, including high- and low- skilled workers, has increased from 28.1 percent in 2000 to 34.7 percent in

2010 Overall, this population has grown 76.8 percent, from 615,700 in 2000

to approximately 1.09 million in 2010 (Department of Statistics, 2011) The demand for low-skilled foreign workers, in particular, seems to be increasing because the education and socio-economic levels of Singaporeans have been raised over time Singaporeans are reluctant to take on low-skilled or low-paid jobs in construction, manufacturing industries, or domestic service (Yeoh & Lin, 2012) The other burgeoning sector of foreign manpower is mainly from the US, the UK, and Australia, as well as Japan and South Korea In the early 2000s, the foreign population was bolstered by policy changes, encouraging immigration from more ‘source countries’, such as China and India This social phenomenon could be partly attributed to the Singapore migration policy, ‘Talent Capital’, which attempts to attract more talented or high-skilled personnel to build Singapore’s image as a multicultural ‘Renaissance City’ (Yeoh, 2004)

The third immigration group is that of international students In particular, due to the policy of branding Singapore as an ‘Asian Education Hub’ and ‘Global Schoolhouse’, the number of foreign students in Singapore has increased more than two-fold, from about 66,000 in 2005 to 150,000 in

2012 (Huang & Yeoh, 2005; Yeoh & Lin, 2012) Since 1997, the Singapore government has recruited foreign students from other areas of Asia, such as

China, India, and South Asia, and has continually made an effort to designate

an ‘art and learning hub’ and emphasize Singapore’s strength in having the

‘best combination of Asian and Western education systems’ (Yeoh & Lin, 2012)

From the reports and statistics presented above, immigration seems to have become a more crucial feature in the dynamics of the Singapore population Recently, the Singapore government set up prominent programs to manage the immigration policy, such as the ‘National Integration Council and Integration Fund’ in 2009 and the ‘Integration and Naturalisation Champion’ (INC) program in 2011 (Kang, 2012) These migration policies and programs aim to encourage both immigrants and Singapore citizens to integrate harmoniously into the society and make up one nation comprised of multiple ethnic/cultural groups

1.3.2 Korean adolescents’ educational aspirations: Early Study Abroad

6,500 in 20082 This phenomenon is not only related to Singapore’s immigration policies but also reflects a new social trend of academic aspirations in Korea Many young Korean adolescents, also known as ‘Early Study Abroad’ (ESA) students, relocate to English-speaking countries for their pre-college education in response to the wave of globalization (Kang, 2010) Since 1990, a growing number of Korean students have moved to the US, the

UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand The number of Korean students going abroad has increased almost 17-fold from 1,562 in 1998 to 27,349 in

2007 (Kang & Abelmann, 2011) Over the last decade, Korean adolescent immigrants have been present in English-speaking countries within Asia Singapore has become one of the most attractive and popular countries for students who desire to learn two significant world languages, English and Mandarin (Kang, 2010)

Having discussed the context of this study in relation to the acculturation experiences of Korean adolescents, the next section defines bicultural stress and ethnic identity using the bi-dimensional acculturation model (Berry, 2003) and Tajfel’s social identity theory Special emphasis will

be placed on how ethnic identity moderate the impact of bicultural stress on the psychological well-being of immigrant adolescents

2

Statistics for the number of Korean students living in Singapore were not provided

by the Singapore government These estimates were extracted from the Korean Herald (16 April, 2008) and Channel News Asia (10 February, 2008).

2.1 DETERMINATION OF ACCULTURATION

The early view of acculturation was introduced by Redfield, Linton, and Herskosits (1936; p149); “Acculturation comprehends those phenomena which groups of individuals having different cultures come into continuous first-hand contact, with subsequent changes in the original culture patterns of either or both groups” This definition provides a fundamental foundation to understand contemporary discussions of acculturation, since this concept is rooted in intercultural contact between two groups (Berry, 2003), which is inherent in possible changes in the original culture of either or both groups However, it covers only the group level of acculturation, and does not take into account the psychological mechanism of an individual’s acculturation, which is limited to understanding how individuals interact with the cultural context, that leads to changes in their affect, cognition, and behavior (Ward, 2001)

The later literature on acculturation revealed two predominant formulations: uni-dimensional and bi-dimensional perspectives In the uni-dimensional approach (Gordon, 1964), individuals might lose their heritage cultural aspects as they attain the dominant cultural characteristics of the receiving society; the more immigrants gain of the new culture, the less they retain their original culture This perspective, however, fails to describe a person who strongly retains both cultural aspects, which has been reported in several empirical studies (Bacallao & Smokowski, 2009; Lu, 2011; Mark, Patton & Gracia Coll, 2011)

Compared with the uni-dimensional model, the bi-dimensional perspective explains how one acquires the new culture without losing the

heritage culture In other words, acculturation is conceived as a process in which both heritage and host cultural aspects are free to vary independently; one dimension is to maintain or lose the heritage culture, and the other to reject or participate in the new culture (Rudmin, 2003) This bi-dimensional acculturation seems to cover all permutations and is thus broadly applicable in acculturation psychology (Hsiao & Wittig, 2008; LaFromboise et al, 1993; Rumin, 2003; Yeh, 200) In line with this perspective, numerous scholars agree that the dynamic process of acculturation involves the cultural and psychological changes that take place as a result of direct or indirect contact between two or more cultural groups and their individual members (Berry, 1995; LaFramboise, Coleman & Gerton, 1993; Sanchez & Fernandez, 1993)

2.1.1 Fourfold acculturation strategies and the context of the receiving

society

Based on the bi-dimensional model, Berry (1997) developed fourfold acculturation strategies where individuals can adhere to more than one culture independently: Individuals can adopt the host culture and discard the heritage culture (Assimilation); reject the host culture and maintain the heritage culture (Separation); adopt the host culture and maintain the heritage culture (Integration); or reject both receiving and heritage cultures (Marginalization) Although this fourfold model has been broadly adopted because of its logically exhaustive explanation that covers all individual acculturation experiences, there are a number of caveats

First, this fourfold strategy seems to excessively focus on a minority individual perspective and ignores how the host society reacts and is involved

in this acculturation process (Rudmin, 2003) From this point of view, immigrant individuals seem to freely choose how they want to relate their heritage to mainstream culture This however, is not always the case Some may be more inclined to undergo certain type of cultural changes not because

of their personal inclination but due to the social context, such as political, economic or social circumstances that may make certain types of acculturation strategy preferable (Schwarz et al, 2010) In other words, various social constraints exist that can largely determine the strategies available to immigrant individuals in the process of acculturation (Padilla & Perez, 2003) Hence, their decisions would be influenced by various contextual factors, such

as immigrants’ ethnic/cultural background, their social position, the migration policy of the receiving country, or the attitudes of the host society toward immigrants (Berry, 2006; Bourhis, Moise, Perrault & Senecal, 1997) For example, when there is some divergence between immigrants’ preference of acculturation strategy and that of the host society, immigrant youths may experience stress

The study by Piontkowski and his colleagues (2000) showed that while

47 percent of Turkish immigrants preferred ‘separation’, there was support for assimilation with respect to immigrants among the Dutch majority in Germany

In the same study, while around 90 percent of Hungarians preferred

‘integration’, there was remarkable support for separation and marginalization among the Swiss dominant group In another study, researchers noted that the Turkish immigrants endorsed ‘integration’ but they perceived that the host society wanted them to be assimilated (Rohmann, Florack & Piontkowski, 2006) These inconsistencies of acculturation preferences might be a source of

stress for acculturating individuals Especially if the dominant group of the receiving society enforces particular kinds of acculturation strategies, immigrants might experience more stress due to their restricted choice

Another caveat of the fourfold strategy is that it seems to neglect differences or similarities between immigrants’ heritage culture and the host culture Regardless of which acculturation strategies they adopt, immigrants experience difficulties in negotiating dual cultural characteristics, which challenge their cultural understandings about how to live in the new environment In other words, living in an environment with more than one culture might cause some stress due to the negotiation of a different set of values, norms and identities (Berry, 2006; Laformboise, Coleman & Gerton, 1993) If the discrepancy between two cultures is great, the issues negotiated might be more serious in various life events (Rudmin, 2009) Several empirical studies conducted in the US have reported that European immigrants experience less stress and resistance in adjusting to the new environment compared to immigrants from Latino or Asian countries (Romero et al, 2007; Schwartz et al, 2010; Stodolska, 2008; Yeh, 2002) In light of the above, the following section particularly focuses on the stress derived from the discrepancy between immigrants’ origins and the host culture

Based on the bi-dimensional acculturation model, Romero, Carvajal, Valle, and Orduna (2007) used the term ‘bicultural stress’ to define stressful events,

which require adolescents to negotiate conflicting cultural demands and expectations from both their ethnic group and the host society In fact, most existing studies have heavily focused on the stress derived from these cultural gaps; for example, immigrants who are from regions where collectivism is emphasized, such as Asia and Latin America, settling in Western countries where individualism is emphasized over collectivism Numerous existing studies have consistently reported that the greater the cultural differences, the more negative the adaptation due to this bicultural stress (Juang & Cookston, 2009; Ko & Perreira, 2010; Koneru, Mamani, Flynn & Betancourt, 2007; Park, 2009; Romero & Robert, 2003; Romero et al, 2007; Thomas & Choi, 2006; Samuel, 2005; Suarez-Morales & Lopez, 2009)

The study by Romero, Martinez and Carvajal (2007) illustrated the different levels of bicultural stress among immigrant adolescents in the US Five hundred and nineteen middle school students from Latino and European countries completed the self-reported questionnaires on bicultural stress, risk behaviour, and mental health Researchers revealed that Latino students reported significantly higher stress than non-Latino European Americans As hypothesized in this research, higher cultural stress was consistently related to more risky behaviour engagement and higher depressive symptoms This meant that Latino immigrant adolescents are more vulnerable to acculturation experiences due to the preponderance of the cultural discrepancy, as compared

to European youths, in the US context Similar findings were echoed in the study by Romero and his colleagues (2007) They investigated the subjective perception of stress and its relation to mental well-being among 650 immigrant adolescents living in the US The findings revealed that Asian and Latino

youth, as compared to European adolescents, were more likely to report bicultural stressors in daily living – i.e peer group pressure, negative stereotypes, a pressure to speak more than one language, intergenerational gaps, and discrimination Similar findings were described in other several studies: immigrant adolescents who experience bicultural stress reported more mental health problems mainly due to cultural differences between two cultures (Hovey, 1998; Romero & Robert, 2003; Vega et al, 1995)

The results of these studies show that if the discrepancy between two cultures is great, immigrant youths would more frequently experience stressful events in the peer, school, and family contexts However, even though existing studies clearly demonstrate how cultural gaps influence the acculturation experiences of immigrant youths, most studies overlooked the ethnic-specific comparison Collapsing ethnic categories may be limited to elaborate on the cultural diversity and related acculturation experiences of adolescents of different ethnic backgrounds This simplification seems to ignore the importance of various specific features across ethnic groups in Asia Therefore, the next section presents a few studies conducted in the US context that specifically focus on Korean adolescents

2.2.1 Korean youths in the US

Like other Asian immigrant adolescents, Korea youths also struggle with adapting to the unfamiliar environment in the US, mainly due to the cultural discrepancy between their own culture and the host culture Furthermore, a few studies have revealed that family-related stress in particular – especially

the relationship with parents – was the most salient issue among Korean youths (Jang & Kim, 2014; Yeh and Inose, 2002; Yu, 2013) For example, Yeh and Inose (2002) compared the acculturation experiences (bicultural stress and coping strategies) in a sample of 274 Chinese, Korean, and Japanese junior high and high school students in the US Even though they experienced common stressors, such as the lack of English proficiency, Korean adolescents

in particular reported intergenerational conflicts as the most stressful event Another study also suggested a similar finding: familial stressors among others (social, attitudinal, and environmental stressors) were the most significant factor influencing high anxiety and low life satisfaction among Korean youths (Jang & Kim, 2014) This may be found in the cultural gaps between two generations (Dennis, Basañez & Farahmand, 2010; Kwak, 2003), and particularly the academic pressure and unrealistic expectations that Korean parents place on their children to perform and excel (Yu, 2013) As reported in existing studies, Korean parents consider their children’s education as the most significant aspect in raising children (Min, 1998) Additionally, they believe education could enable their children to move up in society (Min, 1998; Yu, 2013) As a result, Korean parents would make many sacrifices for their children’s education, which creates severe stress and pressure on Korean adolescents (Min, 1998; Yu, 2013): for example, ‘Early Study Abroad’ reflects this academic aspiration among Korean parents (Kang, 2013; Park & Bae, 2009)

Based on the above literature review of cultural discrepancy and how it relates to the stress of Korean adolescents in particular, it is apparent that immigrant youths undergo difficulties due to bicultural stress However, those

studies are limited to addressing the questions of how Asian adolescents settle, and what types of stress they face in Asian countries, in which their original culture and the host culture are assumed to be similar in terms of Asian cultural backgrounds

2.2.2 Asian immigrant youths in Asian countries

There is only a small number of empirical evidences indicating that immigrant adolescents suffer from some stress in the context where both their home country and the receiving society are Asian

Wong and his colleagues (2004) documented the acculturation experiences of Chinese adolescents who immigrated to Hong Kong Researchers explored the stress Chinese youths faced in Hong Kong society during their settlement, and how this stress impacted their mental health The results showed that Chinese youths had particular difficulties stemming from handling stress in peer and school contexts compared to local youths; they felt inferior, incompetent, and worried about their future From these results, it could be interpreted that even though these two groups are supposed to share similar values, traditions, and other Asian cultural aspects in terms of Chinese background, immigrant youths from mainland China experienced some stress not due to cultural differences in Hong Kong, but due to the attitude of the Hong Kong local peers toward them This stress negatively impacted their mental health, especially among male adolescents Similar findings were reported in the study by Lam and Chan (2004): they interviewed 12 young Chinese immigrants who settled in Hong Kong society One of the central

findings of the study was that most participants experienced identity-related stress, a feeling of being trapped in marginal situations While local friends considered them as immigrants, even though they had been living in Hong Kong for several years, their relatives and friends regarded them as Hong Kong people when they visited their home town in China Therefore, they were sometimes confused with regard to where they belonged, which might lead to an identity crisis

Other studies related to identity issues were conducted on Korean youths in particular: Ahn (2008) interviewed 12 Korean junior school students

in Japan, and found three themes including pressure to assimilate and insufficient support in the school context Another research reported similar findings in Japan: Korean students and their parents felt pressure to assimilate and difficulties in maintaining their Korean ethnic identity in the educational system, which resulted in the lower academic achievement of Korean students compared to their Japanese peers (Akiba, 2000) Both studies indicate that adjustment difficulties and identity confusion may occur, depending on the immigration policy of the host society

The above research findings suggest that bicultural stress stems from not only the cultural discrepancy between Western and Asian cultures, but also the particular social context, such as the social policy of the receiving countries, and the attitudes or the perceptions of the host society toward immigrants, even when both groups originate from a similar Asian background

As such, to consider the influence of cultural similarities or differences, the contextual factors of the receiving society also needs to be taken into account, particularly the important environments for this age group: peer and family

relations The next section describes how these contexts influence immigrant adolescents’ bicultural stress

2.2.3 Bicultural stress in particular contexts

Most immigrant adolescents encounter bicultural stress mainly in peer and family relations, and also struggle with learning the host language (Romero et

al, 2007) This section focuses on these contexts

2.2.3.1 Peer context

During adolescence, peer relations are often a source of stress; positive acceptance by peers is highly important for adolescents (Clark, Anderson, Clark & Williams, 1999; Niemann, Romero, Arredondo & Rodriguez, 1999; Spears-Brown & Bigler, 2005; Sodowsky, Lai & Pake, 1991) Peer relations are especially salient to immigrant adolescents, due to their ethnic minority status in society Romero and Roberts (2003) found that Mexican American adolescents in the US perceived more discrimination within peer groups, compared to the majority group, due to their immigrant status that was the source of negative evaluations in peer relations A similar finding was attained

by Oppedal and his colleagues (2005): they examined the relationship between acculturation risks and psychological problems among young immigrants from

11 different ethnic groups One of the risk factors that influenced participants’ psychological well-being was the ethnic prejudice within peer group relations

In light of the research on stress in peer group contexts, it is safe to say that immigrant youths who do not feel accepted by the mainstream group due

to their cultural background may report high levels of stress Such discriminatory behaviour in their peer relations might lead to ethnic/cultural segregation For example, Li (2009) interviewed 12 Chinese youths in Canada, and found that peer crowds were mainly formed along ethnic or racial lines There was a White group, South Asian group, and Chinese group, and each group was exclusive to one another most of the time at school Consistent with this finding, Stodolska (2008) reported significant divisions or subgroups among young immigrants, such as Korean, Mexican, and Polish students in the

US Research participants described ethnic group divisions in terms of

‘Korean tables’, ‘Polish tables’, or ‘Japanese tables’ in the school cafeteria This group division generally made them feel more distant from the native-born White student group In this context, immigrant adolescents may feel ostracized by mainstream peers, which aggravates their stress

2.2.3.2 Family context

Immigrant adolescents’ stress may occur not only within peer and school contexts, but also in family contexts Among family members, acculturation often occurs at different rates and with different goals, which sometimes leads

to an increase in conflicts (Hwang, 2006; Kwak, 2003) Generally, adult migrants prefer to maintain their heritage culture and slowly accept the majority culture of the receiving country (Merz, Ö zeke-Kocabas, Oort & Schuengel, 2009) In contrast, their children, who are developmentally more susceptible to new environmental influences, assimilate into the dominant culture more quickly, because they have more opportunities to engage with the mainstream culture through their school (Bapistie, 1993; Birman 2006; Ying

& Han, 2007) This cultural gap may result in family conflicts and stress, which influence mental health among immigrant youths

Ying and Han (2007) investigated an intergenerational gap and its subsequent conflicts, conducting a longitudinal study with 490 Southeast Asian students in 8th and 9th grade in the US The results showed that the perceived intergenerational/intercultural discrepancy during early adolescence would predict conflicts with their parents in late adolescence, which increased their depressive symptoms Similar findings were echoed in the study by Dennis, Basanez, and Farahmand (2010) The participants were divided into Latino and non-Latino students, and their stress level was compared, as derived from the intergenerational gaps within the family context The study findings indicated that values/expectations and acculturation conflicts between parents and adolescents were significant predictors of increased depression and lower self-esteem This result confirms the assertion that perceptions of conflict with parents may have detrimental effects on mental health outcomes

of young people

Although a generational gap with parents has been found to be a normative part of adolescence (Pasch, Deardorff, Tschann, Flores, Penilla & Pantoja, 2006), such intergenerational discrepancies are more likely to be found among immigrant families, due to differences in the cultural experiences

of the parents who were raised in the culture of origin, and the children who have spent more time in the new culture (Kwak, 2003) These conflicts result

in increasing stress, which is negatively associated with adolescents’ psychological well-being (Kwak, 2003; Phinney & Vedder, 2006)

2.2.3.3 Linguistic context

Language is a fundamental constituent and a representation of culture Informed by the review of previous research, immigrant adolescents reported the lack of English (host language) proficiency as the most significant issue for their adjustment problems (Chirkov, 2009; Lueck & Wilson, 2010; Samuel, 2005) On the other hand, minority ethnic adolescents are pressured to not only to learn the new language of the receiving country but also to maintain their mother language This is because speaking the language of their origin would be perceived as an indicator of maintaining their ethnic identity and culture (Lueck & Wilson, 2010; Romero & Robert, 2003) Hence, adolescents showing ethnic language preference may demonstrate strong ethnic identities (Shi & Lu, 2007) However, if they are strongly attached to their ethnic language, they may face some emotional and academic troubles with local peers and in school contexts (Romero, 2007) Based on the above review, it is clear that immigrant adolescents experience confusing situations derived from the dichotomies between two languages In this bilingual environment, they feel pressured to balance speaking both languages fluently, at home (mother tongue) and at school (dominant language of the host society), which may result in stress

In summary, the findings of the aforementioned studies suggest that immigrant adolescents face bicultural stress in various contexts, mainly peer, family, and linguistic contexts, due to the cultural discrepancy between their heritage and the host cultures, as well as other contextual factors such as the particular attitudes and perceptions of the majority group toward them In light

of the above review, it is worthwhile to investigate thoroughly how this stress influences the psychological adjustment of immigrant adolescents The next section presents this issue

2.3 BICULTURAL STRESS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING

Recently, a number of researchers have found that psychological problems experienced by immigrant adolescents, such as depression, low self-esteem, anxiety, psychosomatic symptoms, and low life satisfaction, was a consequence of bicultural stress (Berry et al, 2006; Ghuman, 2003; Koneru et

al, 2007; Rudmin, 2009; Sodhi, 2008) These consistent results could provide

an important insight into how bicultural stress impacts the psychological being of adolescents who are caught between two cultures

well-Although numerous studies have demonstrated the particular relationship between stress and mental health during acculturation (Hovey, 2000; Hovey & King, 1996; Romero et al, 2007; Suarez-Morales & Lopez, 2009; Szalacha, Erkut, Garcia Coll, Alarcon, Fields & Ceder, 2004), comparably a few studies have been conducted for Korean adolescents (Cho & Haslam, 2010; Choi & Dancy, 2009; Park, 2009) Among these, Park’s study (2009) was valuable for examining Korean adolescents’ acculturation experience, in particular the stress arising in bicultural contexts The 260 Korean adolescent participants (aged between 12 and 18) in the US were divided into two groups –US-born and Korea-born youths One of the central findings of this research was that the stress experienced by both groups was

negatively correlated to their self-esteem and positively correlated to their depression This finding is consistent with other previous studies which examined the psychological well-being of Korean adolescents in the US; namely, difficulties in maintaining a good relationship with American friends and its psychologically negative consequences (Choi & Dancy, 2009), and bicultural stress in school settings and its influence on psychological symptoms, such as distress and suicidal ideation among Korean adolescents in five different high schools in the US (Cho & Haslam, 2010)

In addition to these empirical studies on the negative impact of bicultural stress on adolescents’ well-being, some studies have reported that Korean immigrant youths in particular have shown a high prevalence of depressive symptoms during their settlement (Hovey, Kim & Seligaman, 2006; Kim & Cain, 2008; Min, 2012) Furthermore, research demonstrated that Korean youths show significantly higher levels of depression and lower levels

of self-esteem compared with other Asians (Kim & Chun, 2003; Kuo, 1984; Yeh, 2003) and Chinese and Europeans in the US (Aldwin & Greenberger, 1987; Choi, Meininger, Roberts & Smith, 2002)

2.3.1 Challenges: Bicultural stress and psychological well-being in

Singapore

Even though these relatively consistent findings could pave the way for understanding immigrant adolescents’ acculturation experiences, there is still insufficient knowledge regarding bicultural stress and its influence on psychological well-being within the Asian region Do Asian adolescents easily adapt to new Asian countries with a similar cultural background? Do specific