Psychological Traumas and Depression in a Sample of Vietnamese People in the United States

This article investigates the relationships among premigration stresses, nightmares, acculturation stresses, personal efficacy, and depression in a sample of 147 adult Vietnamese Americans. The analysis revealed that premigration stresses, nightmares, and acculturation stresses had significant indirect effects on depression. Acculturation stresses diminish personal efficacy, and a weakness of personal efficacy leads to higher depression. Age, gender, marital status, and English language ability also exert differential effects on premigration stresses, nightmares, acculturation stresses, personal efficacy, and depression. Health care professionals, social workers, health care organizations, and social work researchers who work with Vietnamese clients should be more culturally sensitive when planning and implementing services and developing research instruments.