Depressive Symptoms and Sleep Disturbances in Korean American Women

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and sleep disturbances among Korean American women. Forty-nine women completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and revised Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II. Overall, participants scored 12.56 (SD = 9.93) on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, 5.31 (SD = 3.01) on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and -2.27 (SD = 1.64) on the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II. Approximately 29% of the women (n = 14) scored 16 or higher on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale indicating that they had elevated depressive symptoms, and 39% (n = 19) scored 6 or higher on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, which indicated that they had sleep disturbances. Results from the stepwise multiple regression, controlling for the degree of the women’s acculturation, indicated that sleep disturbances (β = .39, p = .004) were significantly positively related to depressive symptoms, F(2, 46) = 7.27, p = .002 and the model explained 24% of the variance in women’s depressive symptoms. When taking care of Korean American women who have elevated depressive symptoms, their sleep disturbances need to be assessed. Health practitioners need to assess for depressive symptoms in women with sleep disturbances.