Analyzing the Mental Health of Youth South Asians

Knowledge about mental health is increasing, especially in the South Asian community. But is it enough? South Asians face unique, yet overlooked struggles—silenced by community, cultural expectations, and stigmas around mental health. Unfortunately, one in four South Asian youth face anxiety, substance use disorders, and related issues. Why is this the case? Let’s understand the cultural roots of this problem.

There are a lot of factors that can cause stress, anxiety, depression, and eventually serious mental health issues in South Asian youth. For many, it is the struggle to retain South Asian cultural values and adapt to new, Western ones. This is combined with the familial and societal pressure of getting good grades, a good education, and getting a high-earning STEM job, and more. The stress from these pressures often leads to feeling burnt out, self-harm, or even suicidal tendencies. While these pressures are seen in many other communities, the South Asian community has a unique added pressure. The pressure is from being a collectivist culture. A collectivist culture is one that prioritizes the community’s needs over an individual. This characteristic leads to the constant question in people’s minds, “What will people say?” or “What will our neighbors and society say?” It creates this fear in the minds of the youth that they might dishonour the family by revealing their mental health issues. This is why underreporting is such a huge problem in the South Asian community, with only 8% of the youth reporting their conditions or disorders.

These social stigmas are especially true for the South Asian youth that identify with the LGBTQ+ community. Thirty-nine percent seriously consider suicide and eight percent have attempted it, just in the last year. Suicidal ideation has risen to over 50% among transgender and nonbinary South Asian youth.

Such statistics are worrisome and show how serious the stigmas around mental health are in the South Asian community. Thankfully, there are organizations working hard to prevent such statistics from increasing. Organizations like the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) launched the program Chai & Chat, allowing safe spaces for the South Asian community. South Asian Sexual & Mental Health Alliance (SASMHA) offers community support through workshops and podcasts, including on LGBTQ+ issues and topics for South Asian youth.

While there is important and gradual progress regarding mental health awareness and increasing support for people struggling with these conditions, there is a long path ahead.

If you are interested in learning more about this topic, read the research in the link below. https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.2016.110203