Understanding Asian American College Students’ Suicidal Behavior: Qualitative Study

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine Asian American college students’ perception of suicide and culture-bound risk factors associated with suicidal behaviors. By analyzing five focus groups of 28 Asian American college students, this study identifies their dual perspectives on suicide and a range of culture-bound risk factors such as loneliness and sticking out feelings, parent’s higher academic pressure, inter-generational acculturation disparity and burden for living up to model minority image. The findings of this study suggest that Asian American college students’ suicidal behavior needs to be understood from their Asian cultural attributes such as collectivistic values for honoring family reputations and racial discrimination besides individual student’s mental illnesses including depression. Based on this finding, this study recommends culturally competent suicide prevention programs for both college campus and Asian American ethnic communities.