IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v284y2021ics027795362100561x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The central role of social support in the health of Chinese and Korean American immigrants

Author

Listed:
  • Morey, Brittany N.
  • Valencia, Connie
  • Park, Hye Won
  • Lee, Sunmin

Abstract

Prior research contends that social support positively influences health by optimizing individuals’ psychological processes such as appraisals, emotions, and sense of control—known as stress-buffering effects. This study tests this theoretical concept by examining whether the association between social support and health can be explained by the psychological processes of perceived stress and distress among Chinese and Korean American immigrants. Furthermore, we examine what predicts social support in this population, with a particular focus on factors related to immigration. Using a total sample of 400 Chinese and Korean American immigrants, we examine the association between social support and self-rated health (SRH), accounting for demographic factors, socioeconomic status, perceived stress, and perceived distress using multivariable logistic regression models. We conducted a mediation analysis using the Karlson, Holm, and Breen (KHB) method to determine whether perceived stress and distress partly explained the association between social support and SRH. Findings showed a strong total effect of higher social support on better SRH. Furthermore, mediation was detected, with perceived stress and distress explaining 42.98% of the total effect of social support on SRH. Multivariable linear regression models revealed that social support among Chinese and Korean American immigrants was associated with marital status, employment, ethnic identity, and acculturative stress. This study highlights the centrality of social support for Chinese and Korean American immigrants, which lowers perceived stress and distress, leading to better overall health. By confirming these stress-buffering effects, our findings suggest that bolstering social support among vulnerable Chinese and Korean American immigrant populations can have a positive effect on health by optimizing stress appraisals.

Suggested Citation

  • Morey, Brittany N. & Valencia, Connie & Park, Hye Won & Lee, Sunmin, 2021. "The central role of social support in the health of Chinese and Korean American immigrants," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:284:y:2021:i:c:s027795362100561x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114229
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027795362100561X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114229?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. E. Keith Smith & Michael G. Lacy & Adam Mayer, 2019. "Performance simulations for categorical mediation: Analyzing khb estimates of mediation in ordinal regression models," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 19(4), pages 913-930, December.
    2. Ulrich Kohler, 2011. "Comparing coefficients between nested nonlinear probability models," German Stata Users' Group Meetings 2011 08, Stata Users Group.
    3. White, A.M. & Philogene, G.S. & Fine, L. & Sinha, S., 2009. "Social support and self-reported health status of older adults in the United States," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 99(10), pages 1872-1878.
    4. Janet Currie, 2009. "Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise: Socioeconomic Status, Poor Health in Childhood, and Human Capital Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 87-122, March.
    5. Prus, Steven G., 2011. "Comparing social determinants of self-rated health across the United States and Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 50-59, July.
    6. Gee, Gilbert C. & Spencer, Michael & Chen, Juan & Yip, Tiffany & Takeuchi, David T., 2007. "The association between self-reported racial discrimination and 12-month DSM-IV mental disorders among Asian Americans nationwide," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(10), pages 1984-1996, May.
    7. Harley, Kim & Eskenazi, Brenda, 2006. "Time in the United States, social support and health behaviors during pregnancy among women of Mexican descent," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(12), pages 3048-3061, June.
    8. Ulrich Kohler & Kristian Bernt Karlson & Anders Holm, 2011. "Comparing coefficients of nested nonlinear probability models," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 11(3), pages 420-438, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Li, Fanlue & He, Ke & Wang, Yuejie & Zhang, Junbiao, 2021. "Does Indoor Air Pollution from Solid Fuels Influence the Mental Health of Rural Residents? Evidence from China," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315024, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Rao, Smitha & Enelamah, Ngozi V., 2024. "Social protection and absorptive capacity: Disaster preparedness and social welfare policy in the United States," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    3. Marja Eliisa Holm & Päivi Sainio & Jaana Suvisaari & Katri Sääksjärvi & Tuija Jääskeläinen & Suvi Parikka & Seppo Koskinen, 2022. "Differences in Unfavorable Lifestyle Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic between People with and without Disabilities in Finland: Psychological Distress as a Mediator," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-15, June.
    4. Terence Wood & Sabit Otor & Matthew Dornan, 2022. "Why are aid projects less effective in the Pacific?," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 40(3), May.
    5. Stefanie Sperlich & Frauke-Marie Adler & Johannes Beller & Batoul Safieddine & Juliane Tetzlaff & Fabian Tetzlaff & Siegfried Geyer, 2022. "Getting Better or Getting Worse? A Population-Based Study on Trends in Self-Rated Health among Single Mothers in Germany between 1994 and 2018," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-13, February.
    6. Zimei Liu & Yezhi Ren & Yanlan Mei, 2022. "How Does Internet Use Promote Farmer Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Rural China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-15, December.
    7. Xuezhen Xu & Fang Wang & Tao Xu & Sufyan Ullah Khan, 2023. "How Does Capital Endowment Impact Farmers’ Green Production Behavior? Perspectives on Ecological Cognition and Environmental Regulation," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-27, August.
    8. Mathieu Ichou & Matthew Wallace, 2019. "The Healthy Immigrant Effect: The role of educational selectivity in the good health of migrants," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(4), pages 61-94.
    9. Samuel H. Fishman & S. Philip Morgan & Robert A. Hummer, 2018. "Smoking and Variation in the Hispanic Paradox: A Comparison of Low Birthweight Across 33 US States," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 37(5), pages 795-824, October.
    10. Zajacova, Anna & Montez, Jennifer Karas, 2018. "Explaining the increasing disability prevalence among mid-life US adults, 2002 to 2016," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 1-8.
    11. Jakob, Martina & Combet, Benita, 2020. "Educational aspirations and decision-making in a context of poverty. A test of rational choice models in El Salvador," SocArXiv w9bkq, Center for Open Science.
    12. Mas Ayu Said & Govindamal Thangiah & Hazreen Abdul Majid & Rozmi Ismail & Tan Maw Pin & Hussein Rizal & Mohd Azlan Shah Zaidi & Daniel Reidpath & Tin Tin Su, 2022. "Income Disparity and Mental Wellbeing among Adults in Semi-Urban and Rural Areas in Malaysia: The Mediating Role of Social Capital," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-16, May.
    13. Myrskylä, Mikko & Elo, Irma T. & Kohler, Iliana V. & Martikainen, Pekka, 2014. "The association between advanced maternal and paternal ages and increased adult mortality is explained by early parental loss," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 215-223.
    14. Watson, Barry & Kong, Nancy & Phipps, Shelley, 2022. "Dreaming of a Brighter Future? The Impact of Economic Vulnerability on University Aspirations," IZA Discussion Papers 15539, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Thomas Bøker Lund & Sara Vincentzen Kondrup & Peter Sandøe, 2019. "A multidimensional measure of animal ethics orientation – Developed and applied to a representative sample of the Danish public," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(2), pages 1-24, February.
    16. Gottlieb, Aaron & Wilson, Robert, 2019. "The effect of direct and vicarious police contact on the educational achievement of urban teens," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 190-199.
    17. Hee Sun Kim & Janet H. Lawrence, 2021. "Who Studies Abroad? Understanding the Impact of Intent on Participation," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 62(7), pages 1039-1085, November.
    18. Han, Yang & Wei, Jianwen & Zhao, Yandong, 2021. "Long-term effects of housing damage on survivors’ health in rural China: Evidence from a survey 10 Years after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    19. Kóczán, Zs., 2024. "Lasting scars: The long-term effects of school closures on earnings," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    20. Nix, Justin & Pickett, Justin T., 2017. "Third-person perceptions, hostile media effects, and policing: Developing a theoretical framework for assessing the Ferguson effect," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 24-33.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:284:y:2021:i:c:s027795362100561x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.