Coping Resources and Mental Health of Chinese Older Immigrants in the United States: An Empowerment Perspective

Background and Purpose: Older immigrants are perhaps most vulnerable to mental health problems amongst all immigrant populations as a result of language barriers, relative cultural inflexibility, lack of access to entitlement benefits, and ageism. Despite their overall better physical health, older immigrants were reported to have higher levels of depression, stress, and sense of loneliness than their native-born peers. Taking an empowerment perspective, this study examined the potential influence of personal, family, and community coping resources on the mental health of Chinese older immigrants in the U.S. We hypothesized that all three levels of coping resources were related to better mental health outcomes.

Methods: Data were derived from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (PINE), the largest population-based epidemiological study of community-living Chinese older adults in the U.S. Using a community-based participatory approach, 3,159 Chinese older adults aged 60 and older were recruited from more than 20 social service agencies, community centers, faith-based organizations, and senior apartments in Chicago between 2011 and 2013. Structured interviews were carried out in respondents’ homes.

Personal coping resources was assessed by respondents’ sense of mastery (Pearlin Mastery Scale, α =.80). Family coping resources included family support (yes, no), spousal support (yes, no), and 6 items assessing children’s filial piety (α =.86). Filial piety is a central family norm for Chinese, which indicates children’s obligations to respect and care for aging parents. Community coping resources was assessed by 3 items indicating perceived neighborhood cohesion (α =.86). Mental health measures included depression (PHQ-9, α =.82) and quality of life (1 = good/very good, 0 = poor/fair).

Negative binomial and logistic regressions were carried out to predict depression and quality of life, respectively, using indicators of coping resources, while controlling for demographic variables, physical health, and levels of acculturation of the respondents.

Results: The regression results partly supported our hypothesis. Respondents with higher sense of mastery (β = -.03), perceived filial piety (β = -02.), and community cohesion (β = -.10) reported significantly less depressive symptoms. Those with greater sense of mastery (OR =1.08, CI: 1.07-1.10) and perceived filial piety (OR =1.06, CI: 1.04-1.08) were also more likely to report good or very good quality of life. Surprisingly, receiving support from family members (β = .18) was associated with a significantly higher level of depression.

Conclusions and Implications: This study identified important individual (i.e., sense of mastery), family (i.e., children’s adherence to traditional norms), and community level (i.e., sense of neighborhood cohesion) mental health coping resources for Chinese older immigrants. This information is crucial for social workers to design culturally sensitive programs to empower and promote successful aging among immigrants. The findings also suggest that support from family members may indicate dependence of older immigrants and possibly compromise their mental health. Future studies are needed to examine the ways in which the tight-knit relations in immigrant families could be a protective or risk factors for older immigrants’ mental health.