title: Psychological well-being of older Chinese immigrants living in Australia: a comparison with older Caucasians.
abstract: Few current studies explore psychological well-being among older Chinese immigrants in Australia. The study addressed this gap and provided preliminary data on psychological well-being among this group. Four indicators, namely depression, anxiety, loneliness, and quality of life, were used to present a comprehensive picture of psychological well-being.
  
  
  
  Participants were two groups of community-dwelling older people, specifically 59 Chinese immigrants and 60 Australian-born people (median age=77 and 73, respectively). Data were collected through standardized interviews. The Geriatric Depression Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale and the WHO Quality of Life questionnaire were used to measure depression, anxiety, loneliness, and quality of life, respectively.
  
  
  
  Chinese participants' median quality of life score was higher than the scale mid-point, indicating relatively high levels of quality of life. However, 10% exhibited symptoms of depression, 6% had symptoms of anxiety, and 49% felt lonely. Compared to Australian participants, Chinese participants reported poorer quality of life and higher levels of loneliness. Importantly, the difference in quality of life remained when the impact of socio-demographic factors was controlled for.
  
  
  
  This study was the first to use multiple indicators to explore psychological well-being among older Chinese immigrants in Australia. Its results suggest that their psychological well-being might be worse than that of Australian-born people when using loneliness and quality of life as indicators. In particular, loneliness is a common psychological problem among this group, and there is a need for public awareness of this problem.
authors.affiliation: Health Promotion Division,National Ageing Research Institute,Melbourne,Australia.
authors.forename: Xiaoping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences,University of Melbourne,Melbourne,Australia.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bryant
authors.affiliation: Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences,University of Melbourne,Melbourne,Australia.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boldero
authors.affiliation: Health Promotion Division,National Ageing Research Institute,Melbourne,Australia.
authors.forename: Briony
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dow
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D044382:Population Groups / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: anxiety; depression; loneliness; older Chinese immigrants; quality of life