The Effect of Postmigration Factors on Quality of Life among North Korean Refugees Living in South Korea

Jung Eun Shin, Jung-Seok Choi, Soo-Hee Choi and So Young Yoo
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Jung Eun Shin: Department of Nursing, Yonsei University College of Nursing, Seoul 03722, Korea
Jung-Seok Choi: Department of Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul 06351, Korea
Soo-Hee Choi: Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 03080, Korea
So Young Yoo: Department of Psychiatry, SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center, Seoul 07061, Korea

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-10

Abstract: North Korean refugees have not only endured traumatic experiences in North Korea and during defection but have also undergone an adaptation process after arrival in South Korea. Their quality of life (QoL) is likely to be affected by these traumatic life events, leading to subsequent posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or postmigration adaptation-related stress, which involves a sense of dislocation with the culture, language, and people in South Korea. We investigated which aspects predicted the QoL of refugees from North Korea. Fifty-five participants currently living in South Korea completed a checklist about personal characteristics and traumatic experiences before, during and after migration. Diagnosis and symptom severity of PTSD, depressive mood, anxiety, and QoL were also assessed. A multiple regression analysis was performed to evaluate associations between QoL and other variables of interest. Overall, QoL was associated with previous economic status in North Korea, present occupation in South Korea, difficulty interacting with South Koreans, depressed mood, and state–trait anxiety. Finally, QoL was explained by having difficulty interacting with South Koreans, depressed mood, and state anxiety, with the model accounting for 51.3% of the variance. Our findings suggest that QoL among North Korean refugees in South Korea is influenced by the current level of their anxiety and depressed mood, and post-migration adaptation-related stress resulting from trying to integrate with South Koreans after settlement.

Keywords: quality of life; refugees; depression; anxiety; PTSD (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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