Major depression in Chinese Americans: the roles of stress, vulnerability, and acculturation.

BACKGROUND

This study examined the relationship between recent negative life events, level of acculturation and other psychosocial risk factors in predicting major depression in Chinese Americans.

METHOD

Data were collected on 1,747 Chinese immigrants and native-born residents of the United States (ages 18-65) who resided in Los Angeles County between 1993 and 1994.

RESULTS

Findings indicated that a positive psychiatric history increased risk for major depression at Time 2, while social conflicts and traumatic life events moderated the effects of negative life events in increasing risk for major depression. In addition, level of acculturation moderated the effects of recent negative events in increasing risk, but only for those who were more highly acculturated.

CONCLUSIONS

The importance of testing the cross-cultural applicability of the stress-vulnerability hypothesis among ethnic minorities and extending them to include immigrant vulnerabilities is discussed.