(PS5-B36) The Impact of Age of Immigration on Asian American Mental Health

Introduction: There is a dearth of literature examining age of immigration and mental health symptoms among Asian Americans. Extant studies show mixed findings where most have found that those who emigrate to the U.S. at a younger age have a greater risk of developing symptoms of depression and anxiety than individuals who emigrate at an older age. Researchers posit that such symptoms may develop due to internalized cultural conflict between the culture of origin and the host culture. However, minimal research has examined the impact of age of immigration on symptoms of anxiety and depression within an Asian-origin sample and among young adults who emigrated at varying ages as children. This secondary analysis examined the association between age of immigration and (a) symptoms of depression and (b) state and trait anxiety among young adult Asian Americans. We hypothesized that participants who immigrated at an older age would show lower depression and anxiety symptoms.

Methods: A sample of N=199 Asian Americans were recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and an urban northeastern college to complete an online battery of measures. Eligibility criteria into the larger study included being between the age of 18 to 30, reporting that both biological parents were born in an Asian country, living in the U.S. since the age of 14, and residing in the U.S. State and trait anxiety were assessed by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Depression symptoms were assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory. A one-way ANOVA was performed to compare age of immigration (i.e., immigrated below the age of 5, from 5-10 years old, from 10-12 years old, or born in the U.S.) on depression and anxiety outcomes.

Results: There was a significant difference in state anxiety among age of immigration groups, F(3, 36.93)=3.44, p=.03. Post-hoc Bonferroni tests revealed that those who immigrated between the ages of 10 and 12 had significantly higher state anxiety than those who immigrated under that age of 5 (Mean Difference=9.51, p=.03). There was no statistically significant difference in depression symptoms or trait anxiety among the four age of immigration groups.

Discussion: In our sample, Asian Americans who immigrated between the ages of 10 and 12 showed greater state anxiety than Asian Americans who moved to the U.S. under the age of five. These findings diverge from prior research, but we postulate whether this may be because extant literature has focused on age of immigration between children, adults, and older adults, therefore lacking a nuanced look at the impact of different childhood ages of immigration on mental health symptoms. Although preliminary, the findings of the study highlight the importance of age of immigration on mental health outcomes among Asian Americans.