Quality of Life for North Korean Female Refugees: The Influence of Physical Health, PTSD, and Social Support

Authors

  • Ji-yeon Lee Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul, Korea
  • Sang-Soo Shin Center for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne
  • So Hee Lee National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33043/JSACP.11.1.2-13

Abstract

Background of the Study.The purpose of this study was to test a mediation model that describes the pathways
through which female North Korean defectors’ perceived physical health and Post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) symptoms may be associated with their quality of life. Specifically, we aimed to investigate whether social
support would mediate the association between North Korean defectors’ perceived physical health and PTSD
symptoms and their quality of life. Methods. The study sample included 172 female North Korean defectors
living in South Korea. Participants completed a health condition checklist, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Checklist-Civilian Version (PLC-C), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and
the Korean version of the Short-Form 8-Item Health Survey (SF-8). Results. The structural equation model
confirmed the hypothesized mediation model, with the following indices: χ2 (38) = 86.184, CFI = 0.97, NFI =
0.95, TLI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.08 (90% CI: 0.06 - 0.10). Discussion. Our findings could help counselors understand
unique issues that women refugees may experience as well as protective factors in their life (i.e., social support).

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Published

2019-12-18

How to Cite

Lee, J.- yeon, Shin, S.-S., & Lee, S. H. (2019). Quality of Life for North Korean Female Refugees: The Influence of Physical Health, PTSD, and Social Support. Journal for Social Action in Counseling & Psychology, 11(1), 2–13. https://doi.org/10.33043/JSACP.11.1.2-13

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 1 (2019): Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology, Summer 2019

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2019 Lee, Shin, & Lee

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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