Family Factors Affecting Adjustment in Japanese Immigrant Housewives* FuMITAKA NODA, M.D. I , MASAKO NODA, M.D. 2 AND CAMPBELL CLARK, Ph.D. 3
marriage (i.e, traditional versus Western), level of communication with the spouse, and relationship with the children. One hundred and thirty Japanese wives completed a questionnaire which assessed three factors: 1. style of marriage, 2. level of communication with their spouse, and 3. relationships with their children. The respondents were divided into four categories according to their degree of adjustment: 1. problem free; 2. transitional difficulties; 3. late onset adjustment problems; and 4. chronic adjustment problems. Level of adjustment was then compared with the three factors to determine whether or not these were related to successful adaptation.
Data obtainedfrom 130 questionnaires distributed to immigrant Japanese housewives were analyzed to determine if family factors were associated with poor adjustment, and in particular with depressive symptoms. It was possible to identify women who had no major adjustment problems in adapting to life in Canada (n = 70), transitional adjustment problems (n = 30), late onset adjustment problems (n = 7) and chronic adjustment problems (n = 23). These categories were determined by self-report and validated by symptom identification. Style ofmarriage, communication with spouse and mother-child interactions were hypothesized to be related to adjustment problems. A 16 item questionnaire was developed to assess the degree to which these factors affected adjustment. The only factor which affected degree of adjustment was communication with the spouse. These results are discussed within the context of traditional hypotheses concerning adaptation to a new culture and the implication for treatment.
Methods Sampling Procedures A questionnaire written in Japanese was distributed to women in the Japanese communities in Vancouver and Toronto over a six month period. Points of distribution were churches headed by a Japanese minister, schools, and women's and immigrant associations. Of the 300 questionnaires distributed, 208 were completed and returned, yielding a 69.3% return rate. Of the 208 respondents, 144 (69%) resided in Vancouver. Based on the statistics of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan (1986), approximately 6.1% of the Japanese immigrant females in British Columbia and 2.7% of the Japanese immigrant females in Ontario were sampled. From this sample, women who were not married or whose visa status was other than that of an immigrant or Canadian citizen were excluded, giving us a sample of 160 subjects (76.9%). Eighteen (11.3%) of the women excluded were born in Canada but still maintained a relationship with the Japanese culture. Analysis Procedures
T
here is an extensive body of literature focusing on the adaptation of female immigrants in their new culture. A number of reports suggest that females encounter more difficulty adapting than their male counterparts (1-5). Several demographic factors related to successful adaptation have been identified, including age at immigration, length of stay in the host country, educational background, financial status, command of the language and disparity of female roles between their country of origin and their new country (2,6-10). Although these factors are useful in identifying individuals who may have difficulty in adapting to theirnew country, they do not provide insight into methods for reducing the distress associated with immigration and adaptation to a new culture. In this study, we examined family factors that may influence successful adjustment to a new culture by Japanese wives who emigrated to Canada. The factors studied were style of
The data were first analyzed for the presence and duration of self-reported adjustment. Specifically, the subjects were asked: 1. whether they had felt down immediately after immigration; and 2. whether they had felt so since. Only subjects who responded to both these questions were included in subsequent analyses (n = 130). Based on the responses to these two questions, subjects were placed in one of the following categories: 1. problem free (negative response to both questions); 2. transitional difficulties (positive to the first question, negative to the second); 3. late onset adjustment problems (negative to the first question, positive to the second); and 4. chronic adjustment problems (positive to
*Manuscript received January 1989; revised August 1989. 'Clinical Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia. 'Clinical Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia. 3Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia. Address reprint requests to: Campbell Clark, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, 2255 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, B.C. V6T 2A1
Can. J. Psychiatry Vol. 35, November 1990
689
690
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY
Vol. 35, No.8
Table I Percentage of Symptoms for Each Category Symptoms Loss of
Loss of
Suicidal
Insomnia
Appetite
Crying
Concentration
Ideation
Initial
0
0
0
0
0
Subsequent
0
0
0
0
0
Group Problem free (n=70)
Time
Transitional difficulties
Initial
53.3
26.7
83.3
20.0
20.0
(n=30)
Subsequent
0
0
3.3
3.3
0
Late onset adjustment
Initial
0
0
0
0
0
problems (n=7)
Subsequent
Chronic adjustment
Initial
56.5
26.5
65.2
43.5
17.4
problems (n=23)
Subsequent
47.8
21.7
39.1
47.8
8.7
both). These categories were validated by the subjects' selfreport of whether or not they had suffered, or were suffering from insomnia, loss of appetite, crying, lack of concentration and contemplation of suicide. In Table I, the percentage of subjects in each category who acknowledged having had each symptom is given. From this table, it is evident that: 1. the problem free category had no symptoms; and 2. whether or not symptoms were present and their time of occurence are consistent with the category labels for the categories with adjustment difficulties. Accordingly, the categories also differed significantly in the number of symptoms (initial =0.01, 2.37,0.00,2.09, F =61.4, p s; 0.001; subsequent =0.00, 0.07, 2.57, 1.65, F = 52.4, p s; 0.001 respectively). Moreover, the category with transitional difficulties had a significant reduction in symptoms over time (t = -8.09, p:;;;0.001), while the category with late onset adjustment problems had a significant increase in symptoms over time (t = -3.96, p:;;; 0.01). The number of symptoms did not change significantly in the problem free category, while the category with chronic adjustment problems had a significant reduction in number of symptoms (t = 2.33. P :;;; 0.05) but still had a mean symptom number of 1.65. These findings indicate that the category labels are appropriate. Of the 130 subjects, 54% were in the
problem free category, 23% in the category with transitional difficulties, five percent in the category with late onset adjustment problems and 18% in the category with chronic adjustment problems. The questionnaire used 16 three point questions (i.e. yes, neutral, no) which were designed to measure: 1. style of marriage; 2. degree of communication between the husband and wife; and 3. relationship with the children. To determine the content validity of each item, a principal component analysis with a varimax rotation was done on the 16 items (1I). The validity of specific items was determined by high loadings on specific factors. These items were then averaged while items with low loading were excluded. These average scores were compared across groups using a one way analysis of variance procedure and Tukey's Honestly Significant Difference post-hoc comparison procedure (12). Results The factor loading with accompanying item content are given in Table II. Of the 16 items, 14 clearly loaded on one of the three factors. Based on the item content, these factors were labelled communication with a spouse (items I to 5), relationship with children (items 6 to I I), and style of mar-
Table III
Means of the Four Categories for the Three Factors Variables Style of Marriage Communication with Spouse Relations with Chlidren
Problem Free 2.11 1.52* 2.21
Transitional Difficulties 2.01 1.55* 2.19
Late Onset Adjustment Problems 1.86 1.94** 2.33
* not significantly different from one another, **not significantly different from one another,***p
marriage (i.e, traditional versus Western), level of communication with the spouse, and relationship with the children. One hundred and thirty Japanese wives completed a questionnaire which assessed three factors: 1. style of marriage, 2. level of communication with their spouse, and 3. relationships with their children. The respondents were divided into four categories according to their degree of adjustment: 1. problem free; 2. transitional difficulties; 3. late onset adjustment problems; and 4. chronic adjustment problems. Level of adjustment was then compared with the three factors to determine whether or not these were related to successful adaptation.
Data obtainedfrom 130 questionnaires distributed to immigrant Japanese housewives were analyzed to determine if family factors were associated with poor adjustment, and in particular with depressive symptoms. It was possible to identify women who had no major adjustment problems in adapting to life in Canada (n = 70), transitional adjustment problems (n = 30), late onset adjustment problems (n = 7) and chronic adjustment problems (n = 23). These categories were determined by self-report and validated by symptom identification. Style ofmarriage, communication with spouse and mother-child interactions were hypothesized to be related to adjustment problems. A 16 item questionnaire was developed to assess the degree to which these factors affected adjustment. The only factor which affected degree of adjustment was communication with the spouse. These results are discussed within the context of traditional hypotheses concerning adaptation to a new culture and the implication for treatment.
Methods Sampling Procedures A questionnaire written in Japanese was distributed to women in the Japanese communities in Vancouver and Toronto over a six month period. Points of distribution were churches headed by a Japanese minister, schools, and women's and immigrant associations. Of the 300 questionnaires distributed, 208 were completed and returned, yielding a 69.3% return rate. Of the 208 respondents, 144 (69%) resided in Vancouver. Based on the statistics of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan (1986), approximately 6.1% of the Japanese immigrant females in British Columbia and 2.7% of the Japanese immigrant females in Ontario were sampled. From this sample, women who were not married or whose visa status was other than that of an immigrant or Canadian citizen were excluded, giving us a sample of 160 subjects (76.9%). Eighteen (11.3%) of the women excluded were born in Canada but still maintained a relationship with the Japanese culture. Analysis Procedures
T
here is an extensive body of literature focusing on the adaptation of female immigrants in their new culture. A number of reports suggest that females encounter more difficulty adapting than their male counterparts (1-5). Several demographic factors related to successful adaptation have been identified, including age at immigration, length of stay in the host country, educational background, financial status, command of the language and disparity of female roles between their country of origin and their new country (2,6-10). Although these factors are useful in identifying individuals who may have difficulty in adapting to theirnew country, they do not provide insight into methods for reducing the distress associated with immigration and adaptation to a new culture. In this study, we examined family factors that may influence successful adjustment to a new culture by Japanese wives who emigrated to Canada. The factors studied were style of
The data were first analyzed for the presence and duration of self-reported adjustment. Specifically, the subjects were asked: 1. whether they had felt down immediately after immigration; and 2. whether they had felt so since. Only subjects who responded to both these questions were included in subsequent analyses (n = 130). Based on the responses to these two questions, subjects were placed in one of the following categories: 1. problem free (negative response to both questions); 2. transitional difficulties (positive to the first question, negative to the second); 3. late onset adjustment problems (negative to the first question, positive to the second); and 4. chronic adjustment problems (positive to
*Manuscript received January 1989; revised August 1989. 'Clinical Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia. 'Clinical Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia. 3Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia. Address reprint requests to: Campbell Clark, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, 2255 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, B.C. V6T 2A1
Can. J. Psychiatry Vol. 35, November 1990
689
690
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY
Vol. 35, No.8
Table I Percentage of Symptoms for Each Category Symptoms Loss of
Loss of
Suicidal
Insomnia
Appetite
Crying
Concentration
Ideation
Initial
0
0
0
0
0
Subsequent
0
0
0
0
0
Group Problem free (n=70)
Time
Transitional difficulties
Initial
53.3
26.7
83.3
20.0
20.0
(n=30)
Subsequent
0
0
3.3
3.3
0
Late onset adjustment
Initial
0
0
0
0
0
problems (n=7)
Subsequent
Chronic adjustment
Initial
56.5
26.5
65.2
43.5
17.4
problems (n=23)
Subsequent
47.8
21.7
39.1
47.8
8.7
both). These categories were validated by the subjects' selfreport of whether or not they had suffered, or were suffering from insomnia, loss of appetite, crying, lack of concentration and contemplation of suicide. In Table I, the percentage of subjects in each category who acknowledged having had each symptom is given. From this table, it is evident that: 1. the problem free category had no symptoms; and 2. whether or not symptoms were present and their time of occurence are consistent with the category labels for the categories with adjustment difficulties. Accordingly, the categories also differed significantly in the number of symptoms (initial =0.01, 2.37,0.00,2.09, F =61.4, p s; 0.001; subsequent =0.00, 0.07, 2.57, 1.65, F = 52.4, p s; 0.001 respectively). Moreover, the category with transitional difficulties had a significant reduction in symptoms over time (t = -8.09, p:;;;0.001), while the category with late onset adjustment problems had a significant increase in symptoms over time (t = -3.96, p:;;; 0.01). The number of symptoms did not change significantly in the problem free category, while the category with chronic adjustment problems had a significant reduction in number of symptoms (t = 2.33. P :;;; 0.05) but still had a mean symptom number of 1.65. These findings indicate that the category labels are appropriate. Of the 130 subjects, 54% were in the
problem free category, 23% in the category with transitional difficulties, five percent in the category with late onset adjustment problems and 18% in the category with chronic adjustment problems. The questionnaire used 16 three point questions (i.e. yes, neutral, no) which were designed to measure: 1. style of marriage; 2. degree of communication between the husband and wife; and 3. relationship with the children. To determine the content validity of each item, a principal component analysis with a varimax rotation was done on the 16 items (1I). The validity of specific items was determined by high loadings on specific factors. These items were then averaged while items with low loading were excluded. These average scores were compared across groups using a one way analysis of variance procedure and Tukey's Honestly Significant Difference post-hoc comparison procedure (12). Results The factor loading with accompanying item content are given in Table II. Of the 16 items, 14 clearly loaded on one of the three factors. Based on the item content, these factors were labelled communication with a spouse (items I to 5), relationship with children (items 6 to I I), and style of mar-
Table III
Means of the Four Categories for the Three Factors Variables Style of Marriage Communication with Spouse Relations with Chlidren
Problem Free 2.11 1.52* 2.21
Transitional Difficulties 2.01 1.55* 2.19
Late Onset Adjustment Problems 1.86 1.94** 2.33
* not significantly different from one another, **not significantly different from one another,***p
