While the woes of older Asian American women and suicide prevention have received national attention, the media has neglected to examine the same issue with regard to younger Asian-American women and teenagers. But they bear a close look all the same.

            The older women suicide issue was the subject of an article, "Asian Americans struggle with suicide" by Stephanie M. Lee at SFGate, then picked up with another racier article by Jorge Rivas in "Older Asian American Women Have Highest Suicide Rate" at Colorlines last year.

            The woes of our elderly mothers become frail and abandoned are undoubtedly touching. Asian-Americans have strong traditions of responsibility and respect for their elderly which the elderly are sometimes not at all shy about evincing, according to psychotherapist Dr. Ben Tong in his "Asian American Domestic Violence" essay.

            But a closer look at the statistics tables at the Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the "Mental Health and Asian Americans" webpage reveals that there are more age groups of Asians in jeopardy besides older Asian women. According to the OMH, whose 2008-2010 data was republished from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), younger Asian Americans are suffering from mental distress.

            For instance, suicide death rates for Asian American females aged 15-24 years old are 1.3 times higher than their Non-Hispanic White counterparts. (It is only 1.1 time higher among Asian American women 65 years and older). (OMH did not publish any tables regarding specific ethnicities).

            And while the death rates by suicides for Asian American male teenagers (15-19 years old) is roughly only fifty percent that of Non-Hispanic White males; for Asian American female teenagers, there is a higher statistic. The data indicates that Asian females 15-19 years old are 1.2 times or twenty percent more likely than their Non-Hispanic White females to have actually died from attempted suicide.

            Taken as a whole, Asian American teenagers (Grades 9-12) seem to be more troubled by suicide ideation than Non-Hispanic Whites by a factor of 1.2 or twenty percent. Asian American males are 1.5 times or fifty percent more likely to have attempted suicide as well, while Asian American females are 1.9 times or ninety percent more likely to also have attempted suicide.

            Why aren't these statistics making national headlines?

            Well, in fact they do, when combined with hot-button issues such as LGBT (lesbian gay bisexual transgender) teenaged bullying. One such case which received national press coverage was the suicide of David Phan on November 29, 2012. Bullying, abetted by the school, and the depression of being targeted for coming out, drove this likeable 14 year old teenager to shoot himself in the head "in front of peers on a sky bridge just outside the school" according to the Huffington Post.

            More attention needs to be paid to the factors that combine to create mental conditions such as depression, anxiety, other mental disorders, or domestic violence. But as in the situation with the elderly, Asian American teens and younger women may be vulnerable to symptomatic cultural barriers, fear of shame and of outside interference, along with financial restrictions which inhibit help-seeking.

            Combined with factors such as regional isolation (eg. small western cities), the see-saw effects of being torn between high family expectations versus conforming with peers, of not knowing how to seek help versus trusting non-Asian adults, of family unity (picture of success) versus domestic abuse, can create complicated adjustment issues beyond those which teenagers already experience with regard to identity.

            According to Drs. Joyce Chu and Stanley Sue in "Asian American Mental Health: What We Know and What We Don't Know," Asian Americans underutilize mental health services, also due to unfamiliarity with Western conceptions. More culturally accommodating therapies are needed. Accommodations might include Buddhist "Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy," and "Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction." The researchers, however, observe that such approaches also need to be considerate of the wide variability and heterogeneity in Asian American populations--something that is routinely under-recognized in standard research polls.

            There are traditional Asian practices which also can be included, such as therapeutic Buddhist teachings or use of homeopathic herbal remedies. For instance, Dr. Jingduan Yang, M.D. ("Common Illnesses of Women") praises the effectiveness of Falun Dafa meditation practice in redistributing and balancing of qi in the body, along with dispelling negative emotions, and promoting self-awareness.

            One thing that the OMH presentation of findings indicates is that there are very low percentages of Asian Americans 18 years or older who either are seeking mental health treatment  or are receiving prescription medications. In 2008, the overall ratios of males and females seeking counseling was at .30 ratio or thirty percent that of Non-White Hispanics. With regard to receiving prescription medications, the ratio was .20 or twenty percent that of Non-White Hispanics.

            With more low-middle income American covered under the Affordable Care Act, maybe more Asian-Americans will feel empowered to seek or explore counseling/treatment options, in addition to practicing and/or exploring traditional Buddhist methods.

Photo of Scared Stiff IV by Gay Asian Pacific Alliance (GAPA), Visit Gapa.org.

Article by chriswong (blu-geese.org), copyright 2014