Prevalance and Predictors of Depression and Anxiety Among Korean Americans

Background and Purpose:

Mental health disparity has been identified as one of the four health disparity conditions that require immediate research attention, and Asian Americans are one of the groups affected by mental health disparity.  Within the Asian group, studies focusing on Korean Americans’ mental health needs and service utilization are more scarce than those on Asians in general or other Asian subgroups (e.g., Chinese and Southeast Asians).  The current study examined the prevalence of depression and anxiety among Koreans in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.  Based on stress and coping, and resilience theories, we also investigated whether Koreans’ acculturative stress and social support are significantly related to their levels of depression and anxiety.

Methods:

Korean adults who resided in Maryland or Virginia were eligible to participate in the study.  Multiple sampling methods were utilized in the study: 1) collaborating with local Korean community and religious organizations; 2) visiting local Korean stores and apartment complexes; and 3) using different listservs and social media.  A total of 602 Koreans participated in a self-administered survey, which was available in both English and Korean.

The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scales were used to assess the participants’ depressive and anxiety symptoms.  The study examined survey items on the participants’ demography, social support, acculturative stress, and English proficiency as potential predictors for depression and anxiety. The survey questionnaire was first drafted in English, translated to Korean, and then back translated to English to ensure consistency between the two versions.

Results:

The participants’ average score on CES-D was 14.4 (SD=9.8), ranging from 0 to 57.  Approximately 33% and 18.2% of the participants scored 16 or higher, and 21 or higher, respectively, suggesting that they might experience clinical depression.  The participants’ mean score on GAD-7 was 5.1 (SD=5.2) with a range of 0 to 21.  Ten percent and 6.9% of the participants reported moderate and severe levels of anxiety, respectively, implying that further evaluation would be warranted for these 100 participants as they might have a diagnosis with GAD.

The findings of the hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that the participants’ age and marital status significantly related to their depression and anxiety levels: single and younger participants reported higher depression and anxiety scores.  Income was a significant predictor for depression, but not for anxiety.  The participants’ perceived levels of acculturative stress and social support were significantly related to their depression and anxiety scores, but their English proficiency was not.  Among different sources of social support, support from family members had the most significant impact on depression while support from friends did on anxiety. 

Conclusions & Implications

The study showed high prevalence rates of depression and anxiety among Korean Americans.  The findings also highlight the unique challenges of immigrant, ethnic minorities, showing the association between acculturative stress and perceived social support, and mental health issues.  More efforts should be made to understand Korean Americans’ mental health needs to enhance our ability to provide culturally sensitive mental health services.