Aging, Acculturation, and Health: Korean American Elders

这项研究是对NIA老龄化行为和社会研究（BSR）特别倡议#1健康差异的回应。调查的重点是增长最快但研究不足的少数民族之一：韩裔美国老人。潜在的关注是与老化，文化适应和健康相关的经验的重要性。在压力和应对模式的指导下，本研究将健康状况和文化适应作为潜在的压力源，健康感知和文化适应压力作为评价，各种心理社会和文化因素作为应对资源，主观幸福感作为结果。主观幸福感是由抑郁症状和生活满意度指数。具体目标是：（1）评估潜在压力源之间的联系（健康状况和文化适应）和结果（抑郁症状和生活满意度），（2）检查压力源和结果之间的联系是否通过评估介导（健康认知和文化适应压力），（3）研究心理社会和文化资源（掌握感，社会网络，社会支持，宗教信仰，子女满意度和家庭团结）修改压力源，评估和结果之间的联系。将从佛罗里达的两个城市抽取65岁及以上韩裔美国老年人（n=310）的概率样本。面对面的访谈将使用韩语版的结构化问卷进行。一系列的回归分析与测试的直接，中介和调节效应将提供所提出的研究问题的答案。从文化适应水平的差异化的文化适应压力的独特的方法将不仅解决传统的压力模型，但也对研究人群敏感的具体问题。阐明健康感知和文化适应性压力的干预作用，可以指导干预策略，以防止或尽量减少不良情绪的后果，通过改变负面的看法和态度的压力。此外，确定保护性的社会心理和文化资源将作为制定/实施文化上胜任和有效的社会服务和方案的基础。这项研究是扩大我们对少数民族老年人独特经历的理解的重要一步;将根据这项试点研究的结果开展进一步的研究。

The proposed study is in response to the NIA Behavioral and Social Research on Aging (BSR) special initiative #1 Health Disparities. The investigation focuses on one of the fastest-growing but understudied minority populations: Korean American elders. The underlying concern is with the significance of experiences associated with aging, acculturation, and health. Guided by a stress and coping model, the study conceptualizes health conditions and acculturation as potential stressors, health perception and acculturative stressfulness as appraisals, a variety of psychosocial and cultural factors as coping resources, and subjective well-being as outcome. Subjective well-being is indexed by depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. Specific aims are: (1) to assess the connections between potential stressors (health conditions and acculturation) and outcomes (depressive symptoms and life satisfaction), (2) to examine whether the connections between stressors and outcomes are mediated through appraisals (health perceptions and acculturative stressfulness), and (3) to examine how psychosocial and cultural resources (sense of mastery, social network, social support, religiosity, filial satisfaction, and family solidarity) modify the connections among stressors, appraisals, and outcomes. Probability samples of Korean American older adults aged 65 and older (n=310) will be drawn from two cities in Florida. Face-to-face interviews will be conducted using the Korean version of a structured questionnaire. A series of regression analyses with tests of direct, mediating, and moderating effects will provide answers for the proposed research questions. The unique approach with the differentiation of acculturative stressfulness from the level of acculturation will not only address the conventional stress model but also specific issues sensitive to the study population. Elucidation of the intervening roles of health perception and acculturative stressfulness may guide intervention strategies to prevent or minimize the adverse emotional consequences of stressors by altering negative perceptions of and attitudes towards stressors. Further, the identification of protective psychosocial and cultural resources will serve as a basis for developing/implementing culturally competent and effective social services and programs. This study is an important step in expanding our understanding of the unique experiences of minority elders; further research will be developed based on the results from this pilot research.