Acculturative stress among Amerasian refugees: gender and racial differences

Abstract

Adjustment and resettlement of refugees from one culture to another is often a challenging and sometimes difficult process. Since Congress passed the Amerasian Homecoming Act in 1987, there has been a substantial increase in the number of immigrants born of American servicemen and Vietnamese women during the Vietnam War. Several thousand Amerasians and their families left Vietnam and Cambodia for resettlement, and there are currently over thirty cluster sites of voluntary organizations used for placement and resettlement. One area is Springfield, Massachusetts, where our study is based. This research explored the mental health, adjustment, and issues of acculturation among refugees of this subgroup as they attempted to adapt to the American culture. A refugee acculturative stress inventory modified to fit this group was utilized, and Pearson correlation and t-test were employed for statistical analysis. Major findings indicate that most newly arrived Amerasians experience acculturative stress primarily in areas of spoken English, employment, and limited formal education. Gender and race had no impact on acculturative stress. Findings did not support the literature on refugees which indicates that males are more at risk than females regarding acculturative stress. There was a significant correlation between effective spoken English and employment on the level of stress. Implications for social work practice and future research are suggested.