Yen Le, Jill L. Snodgrass, Ph.D.
The Lived Experience of Religiosity and Stress Among Middle-Aged Vietnamese American Catholic Immigrants
Middle adulthood is a developmental period that often starts around age 40-45 and
extends to 60-65 years of age (Santrock, 2015). Middle adulthood extends for decades
and often entails both positive and negative experiences and influences (Finke, Huston,
& Sharpe, 2005). Lachman (2004) indicated that midlife experiences are complex, with
both gains and losses and multiple patterns of change across the social, psychological,
physical, and spiritual domains. Although midlife most often entails both gains and
losses, the term “midlife” is often associated with the term “crisis” and is viewed
by many as a period replete with stressors. Stressors may involve job loss, financial
pressures, divorce, remarriage, empty nest syndrome, menopausal transitions, and the
demands of multiple roles (Lachman, 2004).
Objective: There is little available research indicating how Vietnamese American Catholic immigrants
engage protective factors in order to moderate midlife decline. This gap of knowledge
is problematic for mental health clinicians and other helping professionals who work
to provide the best possible care for immigrants facing midlife stress. This article
reports the findings from a qualitative study that utilized interpretative phenomenological
analysis to uncover the lived experiences of religiosity and stress among middle-aged
Vietnamese American Catholics immigrants.
Research Questions:
The goal of this study was to investigate the following research questions:
1. What are the participants’ lived experiences of midlife?
2. What are the participants’ lived experiences of midlife stressors, and what are
those stressors?
3. How do participants cope with midlife stressors?
4. What is the role of spirituality in midlife?
5. What wisdom did participants acquire in adapting to midlife, if any?
Method: The study received approval from Loyola University Maryland’s Institutional Review
Board. Participants were required to meet the following criteria: be a Vietnamese
American Catholic immigrant; be between the ages of 40-60; be clergy, a religious
brother or sister, or a lay person; be willing to participate in a 45-60 minute in-person
interview; and be willing to be contacted by phone or email for a follow-up after
the interview. Participants consisted of six Vietnamese American Catholic immigrants
between the ages of 43-50. The ways of achieving credibility and trustworthiness in
this qualitative research is by conducting member checks and engaging in debriefing
and bracketing.
Results: Analysis of the six interviews resulted in the generation of the five superordinate
themes: defining midlife; midlife stressors; coping with midlife stressors; spiritual
strategies for coping with midlife stressors; and wisdom related to midlife.
Conclusion: The study findings offer important implications for helping Vietnamese Americans Catholic
immigrants to find optimal ways (e.g., religious beliefs and religious practices)
to cope with midlife stressors and to facilitate resilience.
Contact person: Yen K. Le, ykle@loyola.edu
References
Finke, M. S., Huston, S. J., & Sharpe, D. L. (2005). Balance sheets of early Boomers:
Are they different from pre-Boomers? Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 27, 542–561.
doi: 10.1007/s10834-006-9026-7
Lachman, M. E. (2004). Development in midlife. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 305-331.
doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141521
Santrock, J. W. (2015). Life-span development (15th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.