Effects of a Psychological Adaptation Improvement Program for International Marriage Migrant Women in South Korea

Abstract

Purpose: This study was conducted to develop and evaluate the Psychological Adaptation Improvement Program (PAIP) for international marriage migrant women in South Korea. Methods: A total of 43 international marriage migrant women who were enrolled in six rural multi-cultural family support centers in South Korea were included in this study. They were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 21) or to the control group (n = 22). The intervention group received 10 sessions of PAIP, 1 or 2 sessions per week for 8 weeks. The dependent variables were self-esteem, depression and social problem solving ability. The data were analyzed by Fisher's exact test, t test, and repeated measures analysis of variance using SAS program. Results: PAIP was effective in increasing self-esteem and reducing depression, and partially showed significant positive effects on participants’ social problem solving ability, suggesting increased levels of positive problem orientation and decreased avoidance style in the social problem solving ability subscales. Conclusion: PAIP might be used as an effective intervention to improve psychological adaptation among international marriage migrant women in the rural community of South Korea.

Keywords

• depression
• immigrants
• problem solving
• psychological adaptation
• self esteem