The Effects of Socio-demographic Factors, Acculturation Stress and Resilience on Depression among Mothers-in-law in Multicultural Families

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate factors influencing depression among mothers-in-law in multicultural families. METHODS: For this study, 159 participants from multicultural familieswere recruited through administrative units of the B. & U. Metropolitan City and G. Province. Data related to acculturation stress, resilience, and depression were collected fromApril to August 2014 and analyzed through t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, and regression analysis with the SPSS/WIN 22.0 for Windows program. RESULTS: The participants had a moderate level of acculturation stress (2.43+/-0.75 range 1~5) and resilience (4.74+/-1.14 range 1~7). About 58% of the participants had depression. The results of stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that mothersin-law's depression was affected by resilience (beta=-1.17, p<.001), acculturation stress (beta=0.85, p=.026), perceived economic level (beta=-0.83, p=.016), difficulty in physical activity (beta=-0.62, p=.027), relationship satisfaction (beta=-0.51, p=.035), and education level (beta=-0.48, p=.033). The explanatory power of these factors was 35%. CONCLUSION: The findings indicated the need to lower the level of depression by enhancing resilience and reducing acculturation stress among mothers-in-law in multicultural families. Future research to reduce depression among mothers-in-law inmulticultural families should consider how to enhance resilience and reduce acculturation stress.