ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The number of marriage immigrant women has been increasing in the past several years in Korea and their adaptations to the new environment have been an important social issue. The aims of this study were to evaluate the psychosocial and mental health statuses of Vietnamese marriage immigrant women (VMIW). We intended to compare the mental health of VMIW with married Vietnamese women living in Vietnam and reveal the demographic or psychosocial factors affecting their mental health. METHOD: Subjects comprised one-hundred-forty-three VMIW who enrolled in multiculture family support centers in Chungbuk Province and forty-eight women from Vinh Phuc province in Vietnam. Marital satisfaction, domestic violence and social support were evaluated as psychosocial factors, and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) were used to evaluate mental health. RESULTS: VMIW had a larger age gap with their husbands but better psychosocial statuses. BDI (p = 0.20), BAI (p = 0.08), GHQ (p = 0.13) scores of VMIW were not significantly different compared to Vietnamese residents. Marriage duration of VMIW affects significantly their marital satisfaction, social support and depressive levels (p < 0.01). The level of domestic violence showed a significant difference according to the educational levels of their husbands, composition of family members and marriage process (p < 0.05). VMIW with older husbands and jobless VMIW had low levels of anxiety (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that VMIW have no difference in mental health compared to Vietnamese women living in Vietnam which is contrary to general expectations. However, various environmental factors, such as marriage duration, have an effect on the mental health of VMIW. As marriage duration is proven to be important factor on mental health of VMIW, more extended duration of care and interventions are needed to maintain good mental health. Networking system connecting mental health screenings by the multiculture family support center to the local mental healthcare center is needed to care those with poor screening outcomes.