Kozuki Yoriko, Kennedy Michael G, Tsai Jenny Hsin-Chun
Psychosocial & Community Health, University of Washington School of Nursing, Seattle, Washington 98195-7263, USA.
J Adv Nurs. 2006 Mar;53(5):513-23. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2006.03753.x.
This paper reports the findings of a study that explored characteristics of relationships of Japanese immigrant women partnered both intraculturally and interculturally, and analysed the role of Japanese culture in these relationships.
Immigration can cause shifts in interpersonal structures with partners. When there are large discrepancies in gender roles and communication styles between the original and host cultures, the psychological impact on both partners may be significant. However, currently no empirical data are available to support this assumption.
Ten cases selected from the 68 medical records of Japanese-speaking women seen at a mental health clinic from September 2001 to September 2004 were analysed. All of the 10 women met DSM IV-TR criteria of major depressive disorder and were taking antidepressants. Half of the 10 women were in intimate intercultural partnered relationships and the remainder of the matched cases were in intracultural relationships at the time of treatment. The two cohorts were matched in age (36.2 and 43.2 years), length of stay in the United States of America (12 and 16.2 years), and length of treatment (1.2 and 1 years). The length of time of the sample in individual psychodynamic psychotherapy ranged from 20 to 317 hours, depending on the intensity of therapy.
Inductive data analysis revealed two themes: (1) Lack of awareness of differences in culturally bound communication by Japanese women in intercultural partnerships; (2) Lack of individuality in Japanese women in intracultural partnerships. Neither group appeared to consider relational aspects of partnership, or to make efforts to improve direct communication with their partners.
The influence of Japanese culture on gender role and communication styles functions contrary to the mainstream Western culture of the United States of America. In the future, interpersonal elements of cultural differences between host and original cultures in immigration should be considered in research related to immigrants' mental health. This approach should lead to effective interventions to facilitate mental health among immigrants, and regardless of purposes of immigration or length of stay in a psychosocially foreign environment.
本文报告了一项研究的结果，该研究探讨了日本移民女性在文化内和跨文化伴侣关系中的特点，并分析了日本文化在这些关系中的作用。
移民可能导致与伴侣的人际关系结构发生变化。当原文化和东道国文化在性别角色和沟通方式上存在较大差异时，对双方伴侣的心理影响可能很大。然而，目前尚无实证数据支持这一假设。
对2001年9月至2004年9月在一家心理健康诊所就诊的68名讲日语女性的病历中选取的10个案例进行分析。这10名女性均符合《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第四版修订版（DSM IV-TR）中重度抑郁症的标准，且正在服用抗抑郁药。10名女性中有一半处于亲密的跨文化伴侣关系中，其余匹配案例在治疗时处于文化内关系中。两组在年龄（36.2岁和43.2岁）、在美国的停留时间（12年和16.2年）以及治疗时间（1.2年和1年）方面进行了匹配。样本在个体心理动力心理治疗中的时间长度从20小时到317小时不等，具体取决于治疗强度。
归纳数据分析揭示了两个主题：（1）跨文化伴侣关系中日本女性对文化束缚沟通差异缺乏认识；（2）文化内伴侣关系中日本女性缺乏个性。两组似乎都没有考虑伴侣关系的相关方面，也没有努力改善与伴侣的直接沟通。
日本文化对性别角色和沟通方式的影响与美国的主流西方文化相反。未来，在与移民心理健康相关的研究中，应考虑东道国文化和原文化之间文化差异的人际因素。这种方法应能带来有效的干预措施，以促进移民的心理健康，无论移民目的或在社会心理陌生环境中的停留时间如何。
