Correlates of Depression Among Chinese and Korean Immigrant Elders in the United States

This study examines the effects of life stresses, religiosity and family coping resources on depression in a regional probability sample of older Chinese (n = 105) and older Korean (n = 100) immigrants. A major focus is placed on assessing the ethnic differences found in the relationship between religiosity and depressive symptoms, as experienced by the two Asian ethnic groups. The data for this secondary analysis was derived from a landmark study, Asian American Elders in New York City Survey. Findings suggest that about 46 % of the Chinese sample and 24 % of the Korean sample were depressed, indicating higher depression rates than those found among older Americans of other ethnicities in the literature. Data also show that Korean immigrant elders reported higher levels of religiosity (attended religious services at least once a week and felt that religion was very important in their lives) than their Chinese counterparts. Multivariate analyses confirm ethnic differences in depressive symptoms. Other things being equal, factors of religiosity have an overall significant positive impact on depression among the Korean group, but appear to have no effect on the Chinese group. This data shows that the impact of religiosity on psychological well-being is crucial for mental health professionals in maintaining cultural competency when working with clients from different Asian immigrant subgroups. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.