The mental health of immigrant mother's offspring in Taiwan: A national epidemiological study

Jung-Chi Chang; Wei-Lieh Huang; Yi-Lung Chen; Susan Shur-Fen Gau

doi:10.1016/j.jfma.2019.08.033

The mental health of immigrant mother's offspring in Taiwan: A national epidemiological study

J Formos Med Assoc. 2020 Feb;119(2):601-609. doi: 10.1016/j.jfma.2019.08.033. Epub 2019 Sep 19.

Authors

Jung-Chi Chang¹, Wei-Lieh Huang², Yi-Lung Chen³, Susan Shur-Fen Gau⁴

Affiliations

¹ Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Yun-Lin Branch, Yun-Lin, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Hsin-Chu Branch, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan.
² Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Yun-Lin Branch, Yun-Lin, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
³ Department of Healthcare Administration, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan; Department of Psychology, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan.
⁴ Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: gaushufe@ntu.edu.tw.

PMID: 31543300
DOI: 10.1016/j.jfma.2019.08.033

Abstract

Background/purpose: With globalization, transnational marriages become more and more common in the world. The mental health of the offspring of immigrants is a significant public health issue. The present study aimed to investigate whether children of immigrant mothers demonstrate more emotional and behavioral problems than those of native mothers in Taiwan.

Methods: In a sample of 6242 children in grade 3, grade 5, and grade 7 from a national epidemiological study of child mental disorders, 617 (9.9%) children were born by immigrant mothers (Chinese, Vietnam, Indonesia, and other countries) and 5625 children by Taiwanese parents. The children reported on Achenbach Youth Self-report, and their parents reported about them on the Child Behavior Checklist, Parental Bonding Inventory, and Family APGAR for assessing emotional and behavioral problems, mother's parenting style, and perceived family support.

Results: Compared with children of native mothers, children of immigrant mothers reported themselves and were reported by their parents to have more externalizing and internalizing problems. However, after considering the effects of sociodemographics, parenting style, and family function, only significant differences in externalizing problems between children with native or immigrant mothers were found.

Conclusion: Our findings indicate that right parenting style and family support; may offset emotional and behavioral problems in children of immigrant mothers, and suggest that improving maternal parenting and family function is beneficial to child development, regardless of immigrant or native mothers.

Keywords: Child behaviors; Family function; Immigrant; Offspring; Parenting.

Publication types

Comparative Study

MeSH terms

Aggression / psychology
Child
Child Behavior Disorders / ethnology*
Child Behavior Disorders / psychology
Depression / ethnology*
Depression / psychology
Emigrants and Immigrants*
Epidemiologic Studies
Female
Humans
Linear Models
Male
Mothers*
Parent-Child Relations*
Parenting / ethnology*
Parenting / psychology
Self Report
Socioeconomic Factors
Taiwan