Experiencing Trauma, Discrimination, and Psychological Distress Across Vietnamese Refugees and Immigrants: A Life Course Perspective

Background and Purpose: Since 1975, over one million Vietnamese have come to the US, either through refugee resettlement or through the Ordered Departure Program. As relatively new Americans, there is still limited knowledge on the experiences and issues faced by the Vietnamese community in the US. Vietnamese Americans are commonly assumed to be refugees who fled Vietnam because of war and persecution. However, a closer examination through a life course perspective reveals the importance of discerning entry status as refugees versus immigrants. Life course perspective can explicate how similar experiences of war, migration, and discrimination can be perceived differently by Vietnamese refugees and immigrants depending on timing of events and social context in which they became new Americans. It is important to study the differential impact of migration status as it implicates contrasting exit and entry circumstances in sending and receiving country, respectively. The growing number of Vietnamese Americans, along with their historical migratory context, highlights the importance of examining various mental health issues in the community. Using a life course perspective, this study examined how sociodemographic, societal, and historical experiences are associated with psychological distress across Vietnamese refugees and immigrants.

Methods: A secondary data analysis was conducted using a subset of Vietnamese refugees (n=291) and immigrants (n=211) drawn from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS). The NLAAS is a nationally representative household survey, which contains Vietnamese adults 18 years or older. Psychological distress was used as an outcome variable. Using life course perspective framework, we conducted the Multivariate linear regression analyses to examine sociodemographic factors (age, sex, education, physical health, & age at immigration), societal factors (racial and everyday discrimination) and historical experiences (pre-/post-migration trauma) associated with psychological distress. All analyses were weighted to take into account multi-stage probability sample selection and to correctly estimate standard errors. 

Results: Based on weighted descriptive analyses, Vietnamese refugees as a group, compared with their immigrant counterparts, were older; had fewer females; had more education; lived longer in the US; and reported significantly higher levels of psychological distress. Vietnamese refugees also reported more pre/post-migration trauma experiences and racial discrimination. Multivariate linear regression for refugees showed that the level of psychological distress was significantly associated with being female (b=0.14, p<.05); physical health (b=-0.21, p<.001); age at immigration (b=-0.01, p<.05); pre- (b=0.08, p<.01) and post- (b=0.10, p<.05) migration traumas.  For Vietnamese immigrants, physical health (b=-0.08, p<.01); and racial discrimination (b=0.09, p<.05) were significantly associated with psychological distress.

Conclusion and Implication: The findings suggest that the impact of social and historical experiences on psychological distress differs by migration status among Vietnamese Americans. Current literature tends to view Vietnamese Americans as solely refugees, but this study shows the importance of separating the two groups to better understand their lived experiences. The life course perspective can help to contextualize Vietnamese Americans’ experiences in terms of timing and social context. Future studies should consider distinguishing migration status as a way to inform intervention programs that align with distinct needs of Vietnamese refugees and immigrants.