Effects on Mental Health and Subjective Well-being of Thai Marriages with Foreigners During COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This article investigated the factors affecting the mental health and subjective well-being among foreigners-in-law in Thailand coming from 6 countries, during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 to December 2021. Based on a mixed-method approach, 560 recipients responded to an online survey and we conducted 25 in-depth interviews with key informants. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression, with content analysis for qualitative data. The results showed that the foreigner-in-laws wanted to be well taken care of by their Thai spouses and they appreciated the low cost of living in Thailand. However, they feared Covid-19 and worried about their well-being based on subjective evaluation because the respondents and their Thai spouses realized that they were not safe. In addition, the respondents did not know Thai laws, felt they were taken advantage of, were exposed to inequality, and felt insecure. Internal factors, such as age, positive emotion, negative emotion, and external factors, such as social support, socio-economic and physical factors, were significant (p<0.01) predictors of subjective well-being.