Skip Navigation
Skip to contents

J Korean Acad Nurs : Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing

OPEN ACCESS

Articles

Page Path
HOME > J Korean Acad Nurs > Volume 42(1); 2012 > Article
Original Article
Adaptation Experience to Family of Immigrant Women in Multicultural Families
Jin-Hyang Yang, Hyun-Joo Park, Song-Soon Kim, Eun-Jeong Kang, Sang-Hee Byun, Ji-Soo Bang
Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing 2012;42(1):36-47.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2012.42.1.36
Published online: February 29, 2012

1Associate professor, Department of Nursing, Inje University, Busan, Korea.

2Lecturer, Department of Nursing, Inje University, Busan, Korea.

3Nurse, Baptist Hospital, Busan, Korea.

4Nurse, Inje University Pusan Paik Hospital, Busan, Korea.

5Nurse, Inje University Pusan Paik Hospital, Busan, Korea.

6Nurse, Inje University Pusan Paik Hospital, Busan, Korea.

Address reprint requests to: Yang, Jin Hyang. Department of Nursing, Inje University, 633-165 Gaegum-dong, Busanjin-gu, Busan 614-735, Korea. Tel: +82-51-890-6839, C.p. +82-11-803-1203, Fax: +82-51-896-9840, jhyang@inje.ac.kr
• Received: April 10, 2011   • Accepted: February 5, 2012

© 2012 Korean Society of Nursing Science

  • 19 Views
  • 0 Download
prev next
  • Purpose
    This study was to explore adaptation experience to family among women who immigrated for marriage. Specific aims were to identify problems immigrant women face as family members and how they interact with other family members.
  • Methods
    Grounded theory methodology was utilized. Data were collected from iterative fieldwork with individual in-depth interviews from 6 immigrant women as key informants, and 2 of their husbands and 2 of their mothers-in-law as general informants.
  • Results
    Through constant comparative analysis, a core category emerged as "tearing down the wall in communicating". Causal conditions were feeling frustrated in one's expectations, differences in language and life style, differences in recognition, and perceptions of discrimination and prejudice. Strategies were learning the Korean language, learning Korean culture, managing stress, mediating differences between family members, and introspecting. Intervening factors were support systems, burdens of child-rearing, and the condition of one's health. Consequences were rooting oneself in one's family and accepting one's life as it is.
  • Conclusion
    Results of the study indicate that there is a need for nurses to understand differences in communication with family members among immigrant women and to provide information and emotional support to improve the adaptation of these women to their Korean families.
  • 1. Ahmad F., Shik A., Vanza R., Cheung A., George U., Stewart D.E. Popular health promotion strategies among Chinese and East Indian immigrant women. Women & Health. 2004;40:21–40.Article
  • 2. Aroian K.J. Immigrant women and their health. Annual Review of Nursing Research. 2001;19:179–226.ArticlePubMed
  • 3. Blomstedt Y., Hylander I., Sundquist J. Self-reported integration as a proxy for acculturation: A qualitative study. Nursing Research. 2007;56:63–69.ArticlePubMed
  • 4. Cui J. A qualitative study on the life experience for the Korean-Chinese women in international marriage in adjustment period. Journal of Asian Women. 2005;44:329–364.
  • 5. Han G.S. Family life and cultural encounter of foreign wives in rural area. Korean Cultural Anthropology. 2006;39:195–243.
  • 6. Kang Y.M. A qualitative study on the adapting process of immigrant wives in Korea. 2009;Asan, Soonchunhyang University. Unpublished master's thesis.
  • 7. Kim H.S. International marriage migrant women in Korea. Korean Journal of Women Health Nursing. 2008;14:248–256. http://dx.doi.org/10.4069/kjwhn.2008.14.4.248.Article
  • 8. Kim J.H., Park O.I. Comparative analysis on family conflict and life satisfaction between rural and urban immigrated women. Journal of Rural Society. 2008;18:127–160.
  • 9. Kim Y.S., Park J.Y. Experience of acculturation among female marriage immigrants. Korean Journal of Family Social Work. 2010;30:269–298.
  • 10. Koo C.H. Grounded theory: A study on the adaptation of immigrant women. 2007;Busan, Pusan National University. Unpublished doctoral dissertation.
  • 11. Statistics on multi-cultural family. Korean National Statistical Office. 2010;Retrieved March 14, 2011. from http://www.kosis.kr.
  • 12. Kwon M.H. A study on acculturation stress of immigrant women married to Korean men. The Korean Association for Public Administration 2010 Conference Proceedings. 2010;2174–2197.
  • 13. Lehti A., Hammarström A., Mattsson B. Recognition of depression in people of different cultures: A qualitative study. BMC Family Practice. 2009;10:1–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2296-10-53.PMC
  • 14. Lundberg P.C. Meanings and practices of health among married Thai immigrant women in Sweden. Journal of Transcultural Nursing. 1999;10:31–36.ArticlePubMedPDF
  • 15. Meadows L.M., Morse J.M. Morse J.M., Swansen J.M., Kuzel A. Constructing evidence within the qualitative project. In: Nature of qualitative evidence. 2001;Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage. 187–200.
  • 16. A survey on the reproductive health of the immigrant women of international marriage. Ministry of Health & Welfare. 2009;Retrieved March 12, 2011. from http://www.mw.go.kr.
  • 17. Multicultural Family. Yonhap news. 2011;01 24 Retrieved April 05, 2011. from http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=100&oid=001&aid=0004882080.
  • 18. Rosenberg E., Richard C., Lussier M., Abdool S.N. Intercultural communication competence in family medicine: Lessons from the field. Patient Education and Counseling. 2006;61:236–245. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2005.04.002.Article
  • 19. Schoevers M.A., van den Muijsenbergh M.E., Lagro-Janssen A.L. Self-rated health and health problems of undocumented immigrant women in the Netherlands: A descriptive study. Journal of Public Health Policy. 2009;30:409–422. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/jphp.2009.32.ArticlePDF
  • 20. Song M.K., Jee S.H., Cho E.K., Lim Y.W. A study on the parental experience of a foreign mother in a multicultural family. Korean Journal of Counseling and Psychotherapy. 2008;20:497–517.
  • 21. Strauss A., Corbin J. Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. 1998;2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage.
  • 22. Uhm D. Effects on couples' communication, intimacy, conflict and quality of life by foot massage between immigrants. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing. 2010;40:493–502. http://dx.doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2010.40.4.493.ArticlePubMed
  • 23. Yang J.D., Kim C.T. An experimental study on the foreign married immigrated lady's marriage satisfaction in the rural community. Journal of Public Welfare Administration. 2006;16:1–18.
  • 24. Yang S.M., Yon M.H. A study on the enculturative stressors, stress responses of marriage migrant women in rural areas. Korean Journal of Counseling and Psychotherapy. 2009;21:943–966.
  • 25. Yang Y.M., Wang H.H. Life and health concerns of Indonesian women in transnational marriages in Taiwan. The Journal of Nursing Research. 2003;11:167–176.ArticlePubMed
  • 26. Yih B.S. The health-related experiences of foreign wives in Korea. Korean Journal of Adult Nursing. 2010;22:477–487.
Figure 1
Adaptation experience to family of immigrant women in the multicultural family.
jkan-42-36-g001.jpg

Figure & Data

REFERENCES

    Citations

    Citations to this article as recorded by  

      • Cite
        CITE
        export Copy Download
        Close
        Download Citation
        Download a citation file in RIS format that can be imported by all major citation management software, including EndNote, ProCite, RefWorks, and Reference Manager.

        Format:
        • RIS — For EndNote, ProCite, RefWorks, and most other reference management software
        • BibTeX — For JabRef, BibDesk, and other BibTeX-specific software
        Include:
        • Citation for the content below
        Adaptation Experience to Family of Immigrant Women in Multicultural Families
        J Korean Acad Nurs. 2012;42(1):36-47.   Published online February 29, 2012
        Close
      • XML DownloadXML Download
      Figure
      • 0
      We recommend
      Adaptation Experience to Family of Immigrant Women in Multicultural Families
      Image
      Figure 1 Adaptation experience to family of immigrant women in the multicultural family.
      Adaptation Experience to Family of Immigrant Women in Multicultural Families

      J Korean Acad Nurs : Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
      Close layer
      TOP