title: Predictors of depression among refugees from Vietnam: a longitudinal study of new arrivals.
abstract: The present study examined the impact of prearrival traumatic experiences and sociodemographic characteristics on future depression among Vietnamese and Chinese refugees from Vietnam. This is a longitudinal study of newly arrived refugees from Vietnam undergoing a mandatory health screening. A stratified consecutive sample of ethnic Chinese and ethnic Vietnamese refugees was drawn. The depression subscale of the Indochinese Hopkins symptoms checklist was administered to 114 refugees within the first 6 months after arrival in the United States and 12 to 18 months later. Ethnic Vietnamese reported more prearrival trauma compared with ethnic Chinese. Age was strongly correlated with time 2 depression among ethnic Vietnamese but not among ethnic Chinese. Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that being a veteran, older, unattached, less proficient in English, ethnic Vietnamese, and more depressed at baseline predicted higher depression at follow-up. Although prearrival trauma predicted future depression, other sociodemographic characteristics assumed more importance with time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Hinton
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Tiet
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chesney
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008016:Life Change Events; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011336:Probability; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States; D014744:Vietnam / Q000208:ethnology; D014857:Warfare