Am J Psychiatry 1993; 150:470-473
Copyright © 1993 by American Psychiatric Association
Premigratory risk factors in Vietnamese Amerasians
RS McKelvey, JA Webb and AR Mao
Department of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Tex.
OBJECTIVE: The study's goal was to determine the ability of risk factors
determined before migration to predict future levels of anxiety and
depression in a group of Vietnamese Amerasian immigrants. METHOD: In a
cohort of 161 randomly selected Vietnamese Amerasian youth in Vietnam
awaiting placement, risk factors for psychological distress were identified
with Felsman's 35-item Personal Information Form and the Hopkins Symptom
Checklist-25 (HSCL-25). Ninety-five members of the original cohort were
subsequently reevaluated, again with the HSCL-25, at a Philippine refugee
center during their 6-month stay there awaiting placement in the United
States. RESULTS: A statistically significant relationship was found between
greater numbers of risk factors identified in Vietnam and higher total
symptom levels in the Philippines. The strongest relationship was between
greater numbers of risk factors and higher levels of depression. The
relationship between number of risk factors and levels of anxiety was not
significant. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the ability of risk
factors determined prior to departure in Vietnam to predict future levels
of psychological distress in a group of Vietnamese Amerasian immigrants.
