Children of Immigrants and Their Mental Health Essay Example

📌Category: Child development, Health, Immigration, Mental health, Psychology, Social Issues
📌Words: 906
📌Pages: 4
📌Published: 03 February 2022

America is known as the land of the free. There is a typical tale where many foreigners believe that America provides great opportunities causing them to immigrate. Once they immigrate, there is a realization that their dream is unattainable. Instead of continuing to work for that dream, the immigrants began pushing that dream on to their children. They expect a great deal from their children. These children are expected to carry out their parent’s dreams, but they are also expected to handle their parent’s adult affairs. Although mental illness is something anybody can deal with from the stress of being forced to grow up, first-generation immigrants are more prone to mental illness; which can lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms. 

Aside from raising their children outside of what they are accustomed to, immigrants face many hardships that should not be compared to others. Fleeing their home country in it of itself is a major decision for an immigrant to make. Many immigrants move to a foreign nation seeking a fresh start, which also entails having to learn about new societal norms and a new language. Not understanding this environment “Also increases their risk of being taken advantage of by those who wish to profit from their lack of language access” (Popal). These obstacles that immigrants must overcome are vastly different from those of their children. First-generation immigrants grow up learning the commonly used language with their peers. The children do not have to worry about miscommunication. Immigrants are unable to differentiate between scams and legitimate offers since they are incapable of fully understanding the social cues or even the language itself. Immigrants are at fault, nor should their hardships be compared to those of their children. 

Additional stress and pressure form when immigrant parents rely on their young children to manage their adult affairs. Although it cannot be helped, immigrant parents need to start supporting themselves independently. Forcing their children to manage legal documents, understand adult affairs, and start phone calls to officials forces the child to grow up faster. These children no longer have free time when they bear the sole responsibility of caring for their parents. Having to manage “This multifaceted identity of caretaker/child increases anxiety, stress, and depression in children of immigrants compared to their parents” (Todd). The trauma and hardships of immigrants are not being discarded. It is realized that their hardships reflect and amplify on their children. It becomes less about the physical responsibilities the child has, rather the psychological effects. Having to manage their parent’s well-being along with schoolwork and other responsibilities the child may have is unnecessary stress that children should not have to be put through. The children of immigrant parents are forced to grow up faster due to having to manage their parent’s adult affairs and deal with the unforgiving U.S. system. Without maturing, children can not be as practical to their parents, making maturing a direct effect of having immigrant parents. All these burdens that are thrown onto the child from a young age encourage workaholism or the need to work extensively. Workaholism leads the child into a cycle of inadequate self-care as they begin neglecting themselves for work. By being dependent on their children, immigrant parents are not raising their children for the real world, rather inflicting more harm on their children. 

Growing up a first-generation immigrant, there is guilt experienced that often leads to unhealthy coping mechanisms such as alcohol. The trend of increasing alcoholism is not directly due to growing up as a child of immigrants and experiencing the stress of having to care for their parent’s wellbeing. In today’s day and age, children, first-generation immigrants, do not feel the need to fit in. Drinking is not a coping mechanism for most college students who have the highest reports of alcohol-related issues (Iwamoto, 1388). The more generations that grow up, the more societal norms change. Drinking has now become even more popular, especially in the college scene, because it is perceived as trendy. This may be a stepping stone for abusing alcohol in later life, explaining the increase in drinking for children of immigrants but as well as their native peers. Children of immigrants have a hard time expressing their emotions as a result of the guilt they feel for merely experiencing emotions. Their parents immigrated in hopes of creating a better future for not only themselves but their children as well. Immigration can happen for a multitude of reasons; “Many children of immigrants grow up conscious of the enormous sacrifices that their parents have made and spend the rest of their lives proving to their parents that the suffering was not in vain” (Chick). The children of immigrants do not feel like their emotions are justifiable because their parents experienced more considerable sacrifices to give them the life they have now. Because these children are unable or unwilling to express these emotions healthily, they frequently resort to unhealthy coping mechanisms. The desire to fit into society can play a part in the development of the abuse of alcohol; however, the guilt trumps the desire to fit in. Drinking to fit in maybe a way first-generation immigrants discovered alcohol, but they only continued to drink and began abusing alcohol as a form of coping. First-generation immigrants or not, abusing alcohol remains a growing problem; there must be easier access to mental health resources, particularly for immigrants.

From the added pressure of having immigrant parents, children of immigrants are more likely to develop a mental illness that can lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms. Children of immigrants need mental health support made specifically for them. There are hardships that only children of immigrants face, which opens another layer of trauma and unresolved emotions that may be difficult for the public to understand. Not everyone will be capable of understanding these emotions, which is why there needs to be new, innovative resources that children of immigrant parents feel comfortable using.

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