Dibakar Pal

Thank you for your response.

I understand the the hierarchy of authority based on kinship, age and gender....  

I have done extensive research.  

I see generations of torn kids struggle while attempting to identify themselves with the culture of ancestors and the modernization or changes in their world that conflict with that traditional hierarchy.    

These blended cultures produce kids that belong to both cultures and do not need to always hear, read, or see that one 1/2 of their cultural make up is responsible for the situations of the other half or visa versa.  

These kids lose that cultural hierarchy.

As a counselor, the textbook answers are not what these are seeking. These kids are working to fit into both worlds without upsetting the apple cart.  

The gender of these kids is not the issue.  These kids are from both traditional genders and identify themselves with GLB and cross gender.

These kids are targets of authorities in both their Asian culture and the other cultures of their communities.  

These kids are followed in and out of town by the authority of all cultures.  

Kids from born of mixed cultures suffer at different levels.  

Some never find a personal cultural identity.  

Some find an individual identity that eliminates both cultures of their blended world.  

Some make an either or selection.  

Some keep art journals.  

The successful ones use the blended cultures as a tool for success.  

These are the kids I serve.  

Textbook responses take cultural sides.

I have lived in the Asian culture for almost 4 decades and have observed a growing trend.  

I am curious as to possible suggestions for teaching these kids how to identify with both cultures with the same pride for which single cultural kids identify.

I am curious as the possible suggestions outside standard text responses for the changing trend in different populations.  

Smaller villages tend to follow the hierarchy while larger villages, towns, and populations of isolated or merged Asian cultures have begun a trend to move away from traditional hierarchy of authority based on kinship.  

I was seeking individual opinions of the possible causes, especially in the non-blended populations.  

When I say blended, I mean Asian cultures that have been mixed with cultures outside Asian.

I notice the trend more predominantly in second and third generations after the blending of cultures. The blending of cultures does not necessarily have to be biological.  The trend is more dominate when the blend is biological.

This trend appears to be occurring even if the blended families remain living within the Asian cultural boundaries of the villages. 

I hope I am better understood.  

Jeanne

Hi Jeanne,

Thanks for your very important and interesting question and for the elaboration of your question. I appreciate your insightful observations on the emotional and identity challenges of third culture individuals or the second and third generations of immigrant families. Some of them can embrace the host country's culture and their culture of origin; others reject both; and still others accept one, but reject the other.

As a clinician and an academic, I've seen these phenomena very often together with intergenerational conflict due to acculturation and generation gaps as well as linguistic and cultural barriers between the generations.

In my presentation on a multicultural psychotherapy approach to bipolar disorder in Asian Americans, I discussed some ways for dealing with the intergenerational conflict among Asian/Asian American families (e.g., understanding and validating both generations and helping them to understand each other, etc.). Another idea is to suggest that the older generation does not impose its cultural values on the next generation, but introduce them to the new generation, while they allow the next generation to choose whatever cultural values and ideas they prefer to adopt.

To respond to your question on how to teach these students, I wonder if you'd discuss the values and ideas your students have and explore their origins, while you validate/affirm all their values and choices. In an opportune time, consider gently reminding them of their good fortune of being exposed to different values from both individualist cultures and collectivist ones and being free to decide what to accept and adopt. This is my two cents.

Dear Jeanne,

You ask if the increasing trend of mental illness you are seeing could be attributed to the change in the merging of cultures or to the cultures already merged. "The increasing trend" means the state of change. Therefore, it would be attributed not to the cultures already merged but to the change in the merging of cultures. I am a Japanese and belong to Asians. Japanese culture heavily depended on Chinese culture but began to be merged with Western culture since the latter half of the 19th century. However, I think that the merging is not yet finished. As for the traditional Chinese culture, the link given below would be of interest to you.

Best regards,

Tatsuo

http://pages.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/chin/familism.html

Thank you.  

The culture I live with originates from Japan, migrated to the Philippines, then to the Micronesian Islands.  Until 1950, most of this culture still lived in straw huts.  Many of the rituals are still celebrated with full gusto and quite interesting.  It has been a real privilege to be part of the transition as an observer.  Some of the elders that have migrated stateside still talk about childhood chores and spiritual belief systems.  Many of the elders still speak Japanese and Tagalog because the school systems were Japanese based.  The Spaniards also had a big influence on these islands.  The younger generations speak a mixture of many languages and parts of the original language.  I agree I believe the merging has a long way to go.  The stateside Micronesians work hard to keep their culture alive (at least the positive aspects).  The language has been fade rapidly.  There is not a great deal of literature written in the native tongue.  

Thank you for the site.

Jeanne