Vietnamese Parental Perceptions of Child and Adolescent Mental Illness

Vietnamese Americans and Depression: A Health and Mental Health Concern

“…It is prevalent for Vietnamese Americans to believe that mental illness is caused by wrongdoing to others, as suffering ordained by High Power, and hence not amenable to ordinary treatment. Seeking culturally irrelevant treatment may interfere with the balance of nature; therefore, accepting mental problems as personal destiny and treating physical symptoms as a way to treat mental illness are popular ways to deal with psychological distress (Chentsova-Dutton et al, 2007;McKelvey et al, 1999). With data directly from the VietnameseAmerican population, this study supports the evidence that practitioners must realize the importance of family involvement, religious support and health-focused consultation in the helping process.…”

“…Many Vietnamese equate "stress/anxiety" to "depression" and describe psychological discomfort in physical terms (Tran et al, 2003). Similar to other Asian groups, Vietnamese Americans may not seek professional mental health services, due to cultural barriers related to lack of public awareness about their unique needs and issues as a newest Asian immigrant group and other reasons for not disclosing mental problems (McKelvey, Baldassar, Sang, & Roberts, 1999;Wagner et al, 2006;Yeung & Kam, 2006 and rejecting help are common reactions to a mental illness. In Vietnamese culture, the main reason for this reaction is closely tied to cultural norms that govern personal behavior in families and society (Yeung & Kam, 2006).…”

Vietnamese Immigrants in Brisbane, Australia: Perception of Parenting Roles, Child Development, Child Health, Illness, and Disability, and Health Service Utilisation

“…One Vietnamese focus group participant perceived that Karma, attempted abortion, and taking the oral contraceptive pill were also causes of mental illness in children. These findings are consistent with the current literature, which indicates that Asians living in Western countries tend to stigmatise disability and mental illness more than their Western counterparts [37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. One such study explores the perceptions of various groups of ethnic university students and found that AsianAmericans, particularly those Asian born, saw physical and mental disabilities as being more stigmatised than did African-Americans, Latin-Americans, and EuropeanAmericans [38].…”

Parenting Styles as Perceived by Vietnamese American Adolescents

“…Therefore, when addressing questions regarding their parents, children tend to choose their fathers as a reference figure. McKelvey and Baldassar (1999) refer this cultural value among Vietnamese people as ''social desirability'' that parents in their study tend to provide a positive image to outsiders even though they are facing difficulties with their children.…”