Department of Sociology, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306, USA.
Soc Sci Med. 2011 Dec;73(11):1618-26. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.09.014. Epub 2011 Oct 4.
The relationship between human agency and health is an important yet under-researched topic. This study uses a life course perspective to examine how human agency (measured by voluntariness, migratory reasons, and planning) and timing (measured by age at immigration) affect mental health outcomes among Asian immigrants in the United States. Data from the National Latino and Asian American Study showed that Asian immigrants (n=1491) with multiple strong reasons to migrate were less likely to suffer from mental health problems (i.e., psychological distress and psychiatric disorders in the past 12 months) than those without clear goals. Moreover, Asian immigrants with adequate migratory planning had lower levels of distress and lower rates of 12-month psychiatric disorders than those with poorly planned migration. Compared with migrants of the youngest age category (six or younger), those who migrated during preteen and adolescent years without clear goals had higher levels of psychological distress, and those who migrated during adulthood (25 years or older) were less likely to suffer from recent depressive disorders (with the exception of those migrating for life-improving goals). Furthermore, we found that well-planned migration lowered acculturative stress, and multiple strong reasons for migration buffered the negative effect of acculturative stress upon mental health. Findings from this study advance research on immigrant health from the life course perspective by highlighting the effects of exercising human agency during the pre-migration stage upon post-migration mental health.
人类能动性与健康之间的关系是一个重要但研究不足的话题。本研究采用生命历程视角，考察了人类能动性（通过自愿性、移民原因和规划来衡量）和时间（通过移民年龄来衡量）如何影响美国亚洲移民的心理健康结果。来自全国拉丁裔和亚裔美国人研究的数据显示，具有多种强烈移民原因的亚洲移民（n=1491）比那些没有明确目标的移民不太可能出现心理健康问题（即过去 12 个月中的心理困扰和精神障碍）。此外，具有充分移民规划的亚洲移民比那些规划不佳的移民的困扰程度更低，12 个月的精神障碍发生率也更低。与年龄最小的移民群体（6 岁及以下）相比，那些在青春期及以前没有明确目标移民的人心理困扰程度更高，而那些在成年期（25 岁及以上）移民的人则不太可能患有近期抑郁症（除了那些为了改善生活而移民的人）。此外，我们发现，规划良好的移民可以降低文化适应压力，而多种强烈的移民原因可以缓冲文化适应压力对心理健康的负面影响。本研究从生命历程的角度出发，考察了移民前阶段行使人类能动性对移民后心理健康的影响，从而推进了移民健康研究。
