Lived Experiences of Second-Generation Chinese-Australians

Existing research has found that Chinese-Australians have a low rate of utilization of mental health services and experience longer delays to treatment-seeking. Related findings suggest that psychological distress may be currently underestimated or underreported in this population, and various barriers to service use and access have been identified. While the help-seeking behavior of Chinese-Australians has been explored in this context, it remains unclear what experiences in the lives of Chinese-Australians contribute to these trends. Furthermore, virtually none of the extant research acknowledges immigrant-generational differences, such that the second-generation has been subsumed into the dominant psychological discourse of the Australian population. Participants of the current qualitative study were recruited from the community population of second-generation Chinese-Australians. Thematic analysis of interview data encompassing their lived experiences of psychological distress and coping revealed the following findings. Many of the participants experienced difficulties communicating with their parents after English became their primary language over the family’s native Chinese dialect. This development affected their ability to convey emotions and experiences, constraining these relationships. Parental expectations for academic performance were experienced by many participants as ongoing pressure, in some cases serving as a precipitant of anxiety while instilling in others a cultural ethic of hard work. Furthermore, racial stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination informed many participants’ view of themselves as ultimately unassimilable regardless of efforts to conform, and therefore served a desire to connect with their Chinese heritage. Many participants cultivated an orientation towards social justice, which arose for some out of their own acculturative and mental health difficulties, and generated greater empathy towards the concerns and suffering of others. On the most part, participants encountered challenges accessing professional help for their own difficulties because of cultural stigma and familial shame, and therefore tended to rely on their own resilience to manage their psychological and acculturative distress.