Korean American Female Perspectives on Disability Article Summary & Critique Article: Korean-American Female Perspectives on Disability Multicultural Arti

Korean American Female Perspectives on Disability Article Summary & Critique Article: Korean-American Female Perspectives on Disability

Multicultural Article Summary & Critique

General Requirements – 1 possible point
No page limit
1-inch margins
12 point font (e.g., Arial Narrow, Times New Roman)
Single space
APA reference Citation in Header.
Example: Goldin-Meadow, S., Cook, S.W. & Mitchell, Z.A. (2009). Gesturing gives children new ideas about math. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17 (5), 313-317.
Free of significant spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors
Summary Section – 3 possible points
Introduction
Brief description
Purpose of study
Sample research questions – if any?
Other necessary background information (e.g., Why was the study conducted? What was it about?)
Procedures
Methodology
Participants/Subjects
Setting
Procedures
Variables
Findings
Major Results
Conclusions
Major outcome(s)
Next steps
Impact
Critique Section- 1 possible points
Your evaluation of the study conducted
Strengths
Weaknesses
Lessons learned & Application to profession (Speech Language Pathology)

Criteria

Inadequate

Needs Improvement

Meets Standard

Exceeds Expectations

Organization, Cohesion, Style

Lacks organization. Somewhat coherent but very little unity across the essay. No transitions between ideas. No variety in sentence structure.

Content is logically organized and writing uses acceptable transitions between ideas. Some points seem misplaced or unrelated to the topic. Style meets college level.

Writing is logically organized and coherent. Transitions are used between ideas and paragraphs. Style is at college level and creates unity across ideas.

Writing shows attention to logic and reasoning of points. Writing leads the reader smoothly from the beginning of the essay to the conclusion and provokes thought regarding the topic. Outstanding tone and style used through out essay.

Grammar & Mechanics

Frequent spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors make reading and comprehending the essay difficult.

Some spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors exist but do not significantly hinder readability and comprehension.

Very few minor spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.

Essay is free of significant spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.

Format

Fails to follow format and assignment requirements; incorrect margins, font, spacing. Not formatted in APA Style

Meets format and assignment requirements. Some errors in APA Style formatting

Meets format and assignment requirements. APA Style formatting is correct.

Meets format and assignment requirements. APA Style formatting is correct. World View
Korean-American Female
Perspectives on Disability
Joan Good Erickson
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Patrick J. Devlieger
University of Illinois at Chicago
Jenny Moon Sung
University of Hawaii at Manoa
C
ultures differ in regard to attitudes,
beliefs, and values toward health and
illness, including disability. Within an
identified culture, factors such as economic
status, level of education, religious beliefs, and
family background further influence cultural
beliefs. Thus, how health and illness, including
disabilities, are viewed will vary between as
well as within different ethnic communities
(Helman, 1990; Leininger, 1970; Spector,
1991). In a nation with growing numbers of
persons from diverse cultures, beliefs about
disabilities, including communication disorders, must be understood by professionals who
provide services to culturally diverse clients
and their families to develop and promote
effective evaluation and treatment approaches
(Lynch & Hanson, 1998).
Information is available on cross-cultural
attitudes toward health (Chin, 1992; Choi,
1995; Krepps & Kunimoti, 1994) and disabilities in general (Edgerton, 1970; ZernitskyShurka, 1988), although there is limited
information regarding communication disorders
(Bebout & Arthur, 1992; Maestas & Erickson,
1992). Research on Korean health beliefs and
systems and cross-cultural comparison of
Korean mothering practices as well as prenatal
care and caregiving to elderly parents with
dementia is also available (Choi, 1995; Furuto,
Biswas, Chung, Musase, & Ross-Sheriff, 1992;
Lee & Sung, 1997; Patterson & Kim, 1986;
Pritham & Sammons, 1993; Yoon, 1983).
However, data specific to the Korean-American
population on disability have not been reported.
Furthermore, Korean medical syndromes, such
as hwa byung and naeng have been described
(e.g., Kendall, 1987; Kim, 1995; Lin, 1983),
but the literature on how Korean medical
syndromes and belief systems relate to communication disorders is limited.
This article identifies the attitudes of
Korean-American women toward the causes
and treatment of disabilities. Through learning
about Korean culture and gathering empirical
information on cultural attitudes regarding the
causes and treatment of disabilities, clinical
professionals may increase their cultural
sensitivity toward and develop appropriate
treatments for the population of Korean
Americans currently residing in the United
States.
We have chosen to research KoreanAmerican females because these women will be
the primary caregivers in the American culture
within which speech-language pathologists are
going to evaluate and treat Korean-American
children and families. Therefore, speechlanguage pathologists who treat communication
disorders may increase effective communication and treatment by attuning to the cultural
beliefs of Korean Americans. One model that
addresses cultural information in clinical
practice is the cultural competency model of
care proposed for transcultural nursing.
According to Campinha-Bacote (1993), four
processes are included in working toward
cultural competency. First, professionals must
become culturally aware and sensitive to
differences in other cultures. Next, one must
seek cultural knowledge from various resources
including medical anthropology in order to
provide insights into appropriate treatment
approaches. In the next phase, professionals
need to develop cultural skills to accurately
“assess the client’s cultural values, beliefs, and
practices without depending solely on written
‘facts’ about that specific cultural group” (p.
115), including the client’s perception of
disability. In the final stage of developing a
culturally competent model of care, professionals engage in transcultural interactions with
clients from culturally diverse backgrounds
while recognizing intracultural variations. As
Sue and Sue (1990) indicate, it is crucial that
professionals “understand and can share the
world view of their culturally different clients”
(p. 168). This does not suggest that one must
“hold these world views as their own, but rather
that they can see and accept other world views
in a nonjudgmental manner” (p. 169).
Religious Beliefs
Information on the history of religion
provides the foundation for understanding
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology • Vol. 8 • 99–108 • May 1999 • © American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Erickson et al.: Korean-American Perspectives on Disability 99
1058-0360/99/0802-0099
Downloaded from: https://pubs.asha.org elizondo.denise@gmail.com
on 27/20/2018, Terms of Use: https://pubs.asha.org/pubs/rights_and_permissions
various Korean cultural beliefs, including views
on health and illness. Buddhist and Confucian
traditions are important influences in the lives of
Koreans (Kendall, 1988; Pritham & Sammons,
1993). Korea is currently a religiously pluralistic country that, unlike its Asian neighbors,
includes many Christians (Tien-Hyatt, 1987).
Metaphysical beliefs are cited in regard to
causes of illness or disability. For example,
beliefs such as having contact with dead spirits,
dead spirits entering the body, or receiving
punishment for sins of former ancestors are
beliefs found in the Korean culture (Cheng,
1993). One example is that a mother may cite
the fact that she attended a funeral during her
pregnancy as one of the causes of her child’s
disability (Chan, 1986). Other examples
reported include a Korean mother of two boys
with mental retardation who blamed their
disorder on the “spirit of a dead horse” that had
entered her body during the pregnancies with
the children. Another mother of an emotionally
disturbed son believed the son to be having
problems because his grandfather was an
alcoholic (Chan, 1986). These examples
demonstrate belief in the spiritual world and its
influence as an etiology of illnesses or disabilities. It would be unwise, however, to generalize
these beliefs to the entire Korean-American
population.
Social Orientation and
Family Structure
The Korean culture stems from a strong
patriarchal society with the male serving as the
dominant figure in the family. As with most
Asian cultures, the Korean culture is vertically
stratified where recognition of higher or lower
status is extremely crucial in communication.
Group harmony is stressed as well as homogeneity. One is taught not to call extreme attention to oneself, especially if it will lead to shame
or embarrassment. The Korean culture also
places strong importance on family loyalty.
There is a lifelong obligation to support and
serve one’s family (Cheng, 1991; Eckert, Lee,
Lew, Robinson, & Wagner, 1990; Matsuda,
1989).
According to Chan (1992), traditional
Korean family values are changing as KoreanAmerican children have acculturated early in
their lives to American lifestyles and learn a
predominantly American culture rather than a
Korean culture. This acculturation process may
pose problems when it is combined with generational differences and language barriers. Secondgeneration Korean children are often fluent
English speakers, whereas first-generation
Korean-born immigrant parents predominantly
100
speak Korean. The potential for conflict in
cultural values also exists. For example, parents
might continue to expect the respect and
obedience of their children as well as have their
authority recognized. Depending on the level of
acculturation, the children might feel more
autonomous and independent and expect
equality in all relationships. In addition, the
traditional male dominance may be maintained,
but this does not mean that all health-care
decisions are taken by males.
In regard to views of nature, the Korean
view of the universe is holistic and spiritual,
whereas the Western view is dualistic and
materialistic. In terms of social orientation,
Koreans gain their sense of identity from a
social order, adopting a hierarchical structure
with a resulting emphasis on authority. From a
Western perspective, one gains a sense of
identity as an autonomous individual. Partners
are equal and work through compromise.
Concepts of time are also distinctly different
between the two groups. The Korean view of
time flows in a cycle where time revolves in a
circular pattern, moving, yet staying within the
same time frame. Thus, nothing really changes.
In contrast, the Western view of time is more
linear, traveling forward toward a goal.
The social orientation and family structure is
likely to directly influence the meaning of
disability. Within the context of traditional
Korean values and family structure, individuals
with disabilities may receive important family
support and solutions may be sought within the
confines of the family. However, in a situation
of acculturation with mainstream American
values, the potential for conflict may arise from
a need for individual development and a
different communication style.
Health Care
Health and Illness
The definition of health in Korean implies
wholeness (Keller, 1981). The Korean concept
of health disregards a biological foundation and
concentrates more on the interactions between
environmental, social, and physiological areas.
Illness is related to the state of ki, the cosmological vital energy, and is a practice of balancing
the two forces Um and Yang. Um represents
elements such as coldness, darkness, night,
femininity, and earth. Yang, on the other hand,
represents the opposite, such as hotness, light,
day, masculinity, and heaven. When these two
forces are in harmony and balance each other, a
person is considered healthy, physically and
mentally. This means that the causes of illness
are believed to result from physical, psychological, or spiritual factors or a combination of
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology • Vol. 8 • 99–108 • May 1999
Downloaded from: https://pubs.asha.org elizondo.denise@gmail.com on 27/20/2018, Terms of Use: https://pubs.asha.org/pubs/rights_and_permissions
any of these factors (Park & Peterson, 1991).
Causes of disabilities can be attributed to several
factors, such as imbalance of inner forces, bad
winds, demons, or spirits (Cheng, 1993).
Traditional Medicine
Traditional medicine incorporates the
definitions of health, wholeness, and balance.
Hanbang, or the traditional Korean medical
care system, has been used by generations of
Koreans to cure or aid in the recovery of an
illness as well as to maintain general health. It
is used for a variety of illnesses ranging from
minor muscular aches, indigestion, respiratory
problems, gynecological problems, and
allergies to injuries from automobile accidents,
body spasms, and even mental problems such
as fear and mental confusion (Pang, 1989).
Hanbang continues to be a major source of
treatment for illnesses for Koreans both in
Korea and in cities with large Korean populations in the United States. However, since the
late 19th century, Koreans have also turned to
Western medicine for treatment (Cha, 1978;
Parish & Parish, 1971). Most of the individuals
who continue to use hanbang in the United
States are Korean immigrants, particularly the
older-generation Koreans who may feel more
comfortable in a familiar traditional hanbang
clinic where the atmosphere is relaxing (Pang,
1989).
The usage of hanbang in conjunction with
Western medicine is critical to understanding
Korean culture and views of health. If Koreans
are using traditional treatments as well as
Western medicine, care must be taken that the
two complement each other rather than conflict.
Often, Western physicians are concerned
when their patients take traditional medicine
such as herbs in conjunction with other
prescribed medicine (Park & Peterson, 1991). It
is unclear whether this concern is due to the
physicians’ lack of trust in traditional medicine
or because of the possible danger of mixing
medications. The importance for clinicians lies
in the recognition of traditional medicine as a
possible means of incorporating and improving
health service to Koreans and other Asians.
Research Questions
Korean cultural beliefs, social and family
orientation, and concepts of health care
provide a rich background for an empirical
study. The objective of the present study was
to contribute to increased cultural sensitivity
and practice in clinical settings with regard to
disabilities, including communication disorders. Therefore, a descriptive study was
designed to address the following research
questions: (a) How familiar are KoreanAmericans with various disabilities? (b) What
are the cultural ideas of cause and prevention
of disability in Korean American culture? and
(c) What are the cultural beliefs regarding
treatment of various disabilities?
Methodology
Subjects
A sample of 30 Korean-American females
between the ages of 20 and 30 (M = 23.52)
participated in this study. All subjects had
completed or were currently pursuing a college
degree; seven were undergraduate students and
five were graduate students. Seventeen of the
subjects were employed and one was a homemaker. The length of time that they had lived in
the United States varied from 8 to 30 years (M
= 16.97), with all subjects arriving before the
age of 15. Subjects expressed strong religious
beliefs (M = 5.17 on a 7-point scale where 1
was no influence and 7 was extensive influence) and included Catholic, Protestant, and
Buddhist religions. All subjects except one
were bilingual in English and Korean and 11 of
the subjects spoke other languages, including
French (5), Spanish (3), Chinese (1), Japanese
(1), and German (1).
Interviewer
Face-to-face and telephone interviews were
conducted by the third author (JMS), a multilingual Korean female who was an undergraduate
student at the University of Illinois and fluent
in both English and Korean. Although subjects
were given a choice of language for the
interview and a Korean version of the interview
was available, all selected English as the
language for the interview.
Instrument Development
The instrument used for this study was based
on the instrument used in earlier studies with
African-American, Jewish-American, MexicanAmerican, and Athabaskan cultures (e.g.,
Maestas & Erickson, 1992). The purpose of the
current study was not to compare results with
any of these groups but to establish characteristic information of the Korean-American
population as a unique culture. In addition,
three cultural informants including two Korean
women, age 54 and 58, as well as a KoreanAmerican man, age 56, were interviewed. All
cultural informants were college-educated
professionals from Pusan, South Korea who
reported having both Western and traditional
Erickson et al.: Korean-American Perspectives on Disability 101
Downloaded from: https://pubs.asha.org elizondo.denise@gmail.com on 27/20/2018, Terms of Use: https://pubs.asha.org/pubs/rights_and_permissions
health beliefs. The information consisted of
answers to our questions as well as suggestions
to edit or add other questions. Thus, information obtained from these sources as well as a
literature review regarding Korean cultural
beliefs on health and illness were used to
increase the cultural sensitivity of the interview
protocol and develop appropriate items for the
closed-ended questions. Open-ended questions
exploring beliefs regarding causes and treatment of disabilities including communication
disorders were similar in format to those used
in the pilot studies. In summary, the instrument
provided a culturally appropriate tool for
collecting information about cultural beliefs
and treatment of disabilities. Communication
disorders were included as disabilities.
Description of Instrument
Part I of the interview form contained two
sections that examined the subjects’ familiarity
with different disabilities and the ranking of the
severity of various disabilities. Section A asked
the subject to list four disabilities categorized to
be most severe in the Korean culture. Section B
examined the subjects’ familiarity with various
disabilities and the effect they would have on a
person’s life. The responses were quantitatively
measured on a five-point Likert scale ranging
from 1 being “no effect” on the person’s life to
5 having “a lot of effect” on the person’s life.
Part II focused on cultural variations
regarding etiology. Sections A and B were
open-ended questions for which the subjects
related their ideas on the prevention and causes
of disabilities. Section C was composed of
closed-ended questions that focused on the
causal factors of disabilities from a cultural
point of view. In this section, the subjects were
asked if people from the Korean culture would
agree or disagree about various etiologies. In
some instances, subjects responded that they
did not know. The same list of etiologies was
then used to ask the subjects for their personal
point of view regardless of cultural influence.
Subjects could respond “agree,” “disagree,” or
“maybe” to each item.
Part III focused on beliefs regarding the
treatment of disabilities. Sections A, B, C, and
E were composed of open-ended questions
regarding the treatment of various disabilities
including communication disorders. Section D
was composed of closed-ended questions
asking who the subjects turned to for information or help with disabilities and illnesses.
Answers were recorded on a four-point Likert
scale, with 1 being “never” and 4 being “always.”
At the end of the interview, information on
each subject was obtained, including marital
102
status, employment, place of birth, education
level, knowledge of different languages,
religious affiliation, race or ethnicity, and selfproclaimed cultural group.
Scoring System
Eleven of the 30 interviews were completed
in person, 11 by telephone, and 8 subjects
completed the form independently. Closedended questions were tabulated using SPSS
software. Open-ended questions were typed and
used as complementary information to results
obtained in the closed-ended questions.
The reliability of the Likert scale items was
documented as follows. Etiology beliefs were
evaluated and categorized as representing
medical or traditional (folk) beliefs by five
research team members, consisting of the first
author and graduate students who collaborated
with the research on multicultural issues on
disability. Reliability was then obtained by
having 10 graduate students in speech and
hearing science rate the categorizations of each
item. Twenty-seven items had at least .90
reliability, indicating acceptable categorization
as medical (e.g., mother used drugs or alcohol
during pregnancy) or folk (e.g., punishment
from God) beliefs. Items rated below .90
reliability appeared affected by semantic
difficulties, i.e., they were etiologies that
sounded scientific or medical but were actually
folk beliefs (e.g., mother had an abortion in the
past). These items were placed in a category
named “other” to be analyzed separately.
Results from the closed-ended questions
were analyzed separately and then contrasted
with answers from the open-ended questions on
the interview form. This led to an informed
discussion that reflects both a quantitative and
qualitative investigation and to questions for
further research.
Results
Familiarity With Disabilities
At the beginning of the interview, subjects
indicated the four disabilities they thought
people from the Korean culture believed to be
the most severe. The most frequently mentioned and the one rated as the most severe
disability was mental retardation. This was
followed by blindness, missing/paralyzed limbs
and physical deformity, deafness, and mental
illness. Similar findings were indicated in
response to the closed-ended questions.
Disabilities assessed by the subjects as
having the most effect on a person’s life (Table
1) were mental retardation (4.67), Alzheimer’s
disease (4.33), mental illness (4.20), blindness
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology • …
Purchase answer to see full
attachment