Mental Health and the Chinese Immigrant Youth
       By Coleman K. Wong, L.C.S.W., Chinatown/North Beach Mental Health Services

       Youth problems in our immigrant Chinese American community are also mental health problems. It not only involves the families, but also the community and cultural differences.

       We know that suicide rates among youth in general are rising. Youth crime and violence have not decreased with adult crimes according to FBI statistics. We find among youth gangs, 60% of members meet criteria for depression in addition to conduct disorder. We believe these problems in our community are mostly preventable with education and outreach efforts. Law enforecment may deter the anti-social behaviors, but not the underlying problems.

       Teenage problems in our community differ among boys and girls, although the differences are increasingly blurred between them. Boys have a tendency to act out their depression which, combined with natural rebelliousness of age and susceptibility to peer infulence,  can result in anti-social behaviors. Girls, on the other hand, are more likely to consider suicide. Asian girls have the highest suicide rate in the world. One of the general causes is over reliance on relationships due to low self-esteem. Being jelted or rejected by friends can easlily trigger desperate acts when girls cannot rely on family for support. The  main problem facing girls in immigrant families is that they are relied upon to take care of the family because some parents are less adaptable in a new society. In general, girls are expected to do more for the family without same attention given to the boys, especially the oldest girl. Fmaily stress and high expectations, with increasing social competition, would contribute to more problems.

       The typical Chinese immigrant family in San Francisco with teenager problems is a hard working family at different income levels. Mostly, both parents are working, running a business or one travels a lot. The time spent as a family together is limited. Although we know that time spent may not always help with our children's development, having quality time together is very important to avoid problems. These families will over focus on education due to cultural values. However, some immigrant teenagers may not have done well in grade school. Some rural background children may have received very little schooling. Alternatives to school education may be better options for them (i.e.: on the job training, night school or other vocational programs). Although colleges have increased criteria to admit a more well rounded student with extra curricular requirements, Chinese students still only get involved with extra curricular to get into those schools, not to be a well-rounded person! This is due to most immigrant parents' over emphasis on  education expectations.

       In mental health, we must not just consider a teenager's educational development, but also consider their intellectual, social, emotional, spiritual, ethical and physical development as well. There are too many "good" students who have emotional problems. Some with good grades never socially grow up. Some become socially phobic and avoid people completely. Intellect without good ethics can lead to white collar crimes or other detrimental behavior. Ignoring the need fo good physical development (i.e., health, exercise nutrition and hygience) may result in poor confidence and low self-esteem. Lac of attention to a teenager's overall development can impede future success and happliness. Inth worst case, if a person continues to develop poorly, he/she may no longer be able to cope, thus triggering mental illnesses, becoming dependent on substance of gambling, or involve into criminal behaviors.

       We have also seen too many families under stress causing emotional and physical abuse on teenagers who exhibit "poor" or "inadequate" behavior. Blaming our children is easier than facing our own problems.

       Our immigrant teenagers have special needs. Eighty percent (80%) will do well without assistance despite going through difficult accuturation, adjustment and family hardships. We must appreciate and support them. It is natural for teenagers to be oppositional and not always listen. This is their time to develop their sense of independent capacity in the world outside the family. Competing with friends and peers is normal. Helping teenagers to achieve and survive them even after they have made mistakes. Teenagers can learn from mistakes given the right supports. Otherwise many will do badly and even deliberately make mistakes when angry. It is also risky to overprotect our teenagers because of our own parental worries. Exposure to the mainstream society is crucial for immigrants to succeed in America. We as parents must not dwell on our insecurities and worries about the "bad world out there". It is actually our own inability to handle the world out there, not the children's. Giving into threats will only make them more confused or get worse. In our culture, using counselors or calling the police can be shameful. Learning to trust "outside help" can be difficult given immigrant insecurities. But in America, using the community's resources to curb escalating destructive behaviors can actually save futures and lives if other efforts have already been exhausted.

       How does one get a teenager to achieve what we parents want them to achieve? It is not easy. The key is to develop a good level of trust and communication with our teenagers. To achieve this, several points have been mentioned, including time, tolerance, clear spoken realistic expectations and loving supports. Although we cannot change the stresses on immigrant families, we can focus on understanding them so we can resolve them. To help bridge some gaps in cultural value differences causing family stress with teenagers, following is a list from the Chinese American Parenting Project to consider.