Content area
Full text
ABSTRACT
An exploratory study was conducted to investigate mental health concerns and coping strategies in a sample of 274 Chinese, Japanese, and Korean immigrant junior high and high school students. Participants responded to two open-- ended questions relating to difficulties associated with coming to the United States and attendant coping strategies. Data were coded into several categories, and chi-square and logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results indicated that the most common problem across all three Asian immigrant groups was communication difficulties. The most frequently reported coping strategy was the use of social support networks. In addition, Japanese students were more likely to experience interpersonal problems than were their Chinese and Korean counterparts. Korean students tended to utilize religious practices as a coping strategy more than did Chinese and Japanese students. The implications for research and counseling are discussed.
In 1999, there were approximately 10.9 million Asians in the United States (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2000), and it is expected that Asians will number 20 million by the year 2020 (Ong & Hee, 1993). In terms of specific ethnic groups, 24% are Chinese, 12% are Japanese, and 11% are Korean, representing almost half of the total Asian population in the United States (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1993). Additionally, 66% of Asians in the United States were born in another country (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1993). Hence, it is assumed that a large number of Asian immigrants are youth who are attending schools throughout the U.S.
Although researchers contend that immigrant youth demonstrate distinctive psychological problems and require emotional support (Chiu & Ring, 1998; James, 1997), they rarely utilize mental health services (James, 1997). Munroe-Blum, Boyle, Offord, and Kates (1989) report that immigrant children utilize mental health services considerably less often than do nonimmigrant children. Researchers believe that lack of culturally sensitive mental health services partially contributes to these underutilization patterns (James, 1997; Sue & Sue, 1999).
Since research has demonstrated that coping strategies differ across cultures (Cross, 1995; Olah, 1995; Yeh & Wang, 2000), it can be assumed that immigrant youth would utilize coping strategies that differ from those used by nonimmigrant students. Moreover, immigrant youth are more likely to experience psychological problems such as depression, low self-esteem, anxiety, and loneliness (James, 1997)....