Maternal mental health and child development in Asian immigrant mothers in Taiwan

Marriages between Taiwanese men and immigrant women are common in Southern Taiwan. However, little is known about the adjustment of these women to life in Taiwan and their children's development as a result of cross-national marriage. This study evaluated the psychological status and adjustment of the foreign-born mothers in Taiwan, and assessed the influence of their immigrant motherhood on child development.

Ninety-four immigrant mothers (41 Chinese, 37 Vietnamese, and 16 Southeast Asian women) and their 104 children born in Taiwan were enrolled in this study. Information was obtained by a clinical interview for medical history and sociodemographics, and five standardized self-administered questionnaires for maternal general mental health, maternal depression, maternal cognitive functioning, home environment, and child development.

Chinese mothers were significantly more educated and less likely to marry via referral agencies than mothers from Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia. Husbands of Chinese mothers significantly better educated, less likely to have physical illnesses, and were closer in age to their wives than husbands in the other two groups. Immigrant mothers had high rates of psychological distress (70%) and marked depression (24%). Longer residency in Taiwan predicted a higher likelihood of maternal depression, especially in the Southeast Asian mothers. Chinese mothers had the highest degree of cognitive functioning and provided a better home environment for their children. Childhood developmental delay was predicted by older child age and parental marriage via referral agencies.

This study highlights the need to give continuous psychosocial support to immigrant mothers and to identify early developmental delays among their children.