title: Measuring immigration stress of first-generation female Korean immigrants in California: psychometric evaluation of Demand of Immigration Scale.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Immigration involves challenges and distress, which affect health and well-being of immigrants. Koreans are a recent, fast-growing, but understudied group of immigrants in the USA, and no study has established or evaluated any immigration stress measure among this population. This study explores psychometric properties of Korean-translated Demands of Immigration (DI) Scale among first-generation female Korean immigrants in California. Analyses included evaluation of factor structure, reliability, validity, and descriptive statistics of subscales.
  
  
  METHODS
  A surname-driven sampling strategy was applied to randomly select a representative sample of adult female Korean immigrants in California. Telephone interviews were conducted by trained bilingual interviewers. Study sample included 555 first-generation female Korean immigrants who were interviewed in Korean language. The 22-item DI Scale was used to assess immigration stress in the study sample.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Exploratory factor analysis suggested six correlated factors in the DI Scale: language barriers; sense of loss; not feeling at home; perceived discrimination; novelty; and occupation. Confirmatory factor analysis validated the factor structure. Language barriers accounted for the most variance of the DI Scale (29.11%). The DI Scale demonstrated good internal consistency reliability and construct validity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Evidence has been offered that the Korean-translated DI Scale is a reliable and valid measurement tool to examine immigration stress among Korean immigrants. The Korean-translated DI Scale has replicated factor structure obtained in other ethnicities, but addition of cultural-specific items is suggested for Korean immigrants. High levels of language and occupation-related stress warrant attention from researchers, social workers, and policy-makers. Findings from this study will inform future interventions to alleviate stress due to demands of immigration.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Ding
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: C Richard
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Hofstetter
authors.forename: Gregory J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Norman
authors.forename: Veronica L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Irvin
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chhay
authors.forename: Melbourne F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Hovell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000208:ethnology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D055815:Young Adult