Social Determinants of Health and Well-Being of Adolescents in Multicultural Families in South Korea: Social-Cultural and Community Influence

Objectives: Adolescents in multicultural families (AMFs) are exposed to numerous stressors and face environmental vulnerability within the family, school, and community systems, which may affect their health and well-being. Concrete discussion on policies is lacking due to insufficient data on the l...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jungeun Shin (Author), Hyeonkyeong Lee (Author), Eun Kyoung Choi (Author), Chungmo Nam (Author), Sun-Mi Chae (Author), Oksik Park (Author)
Format: Book
Published: Frontiers Media S.A., 2021-03-01T00:00:00Z.
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Summary:Objectives: Adolescents in multicultural families (AMFs) are exposed to numerous stressors and face environmental vulnerability within the family, school, and community systems, which may affect their health and well-being. Concrete discussion on policies is lacking due to insufficient data on the levels of well-being of AMFs in South Korea. This study aimed to investigate social-cultural and community factors affecting their well-being.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sample of 206 AMFs (aged 13-18 years) from 16 general schools and three multicultural schools across eight large cities. AMFs completed a self-administrative questionnaire assessing well-being, individual factors (acculturative stress, health behavior), social and community factors (social support, sense of community), and environmental factors (school type, economic status). Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.Results: Social support and sense of community significantly and directly affected well-being. The economic status and type of school had an indirect effect on well-being, whereas the effect of acculturative stress was not significant. Factors significantly affecting adolescents' well-being were social support, sense of community, economic status, and type of school.Conclusion: Addressing well-being may be the strategy leading AMFs to grow into healthy adults. These results could help educators, health professionals, and policymakers to identify ways to enhance the well-being of AMFs.
Item Description:2296-2565
10.3389/fpubh.2021.641140