Depressive symptoms among Vietnamese-American college students

Fifty Vietnamese-American college students completed questionnaires measuring depressive symptoms, stressful life events, and acculturation to Vietnamese society versus U.S. society. In contrast to the findings of earlier studies, in which attention was limited to depressive symptoms specific to traditional Vietnamese culture, no gains in reliability or validity were apparent when analyses were limited to these symptoms. Acculturation to U.S. society was positively associated with increased reports of depressive symptoms, as was the occurrence of stressful life events. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the changing nature of the Vietnamese-American population.