Vietnamese Youth Research Articles

Prevalence of victimization, and associated risk factors, impacting youth with disabilities in Vietnam: a population-based study

AbstractLittle research exists on the victimization of youth with disabilities in Asian countries. Yet, developing Asian countries, such as Vietnam, harbor a significant number of youth with disabilities, while services to address their needs often lag behind. The objectives of this study were to: 1) identify the prevalence of reported injuries due to family violence among youth with disabilities in a nationally representative sample of Vietnamese youth, and 2) analyze the relative contribution of disability status and other factors influencing variations in the prevalence of reported injuries. This study employed the 2003 Vietnam Survey Assessment of Vietnamese Youth (VNSAVY), the first nationally representative, population-based survey of 7584 adolescents and young adults in Vietnam. Data collection included face-to-face interviews and self-administered surveys. Weighted bivariate and multiple logistic regressions were used to investigate the relationship among disability, violence, and selected covariates. Results indicated that approximately 14% of Vietnamese youth reported having a disability. Among these youth, approximately 3% reported victimization, in comparison to 2% of able-bodied youth. The odds of youth with disabilities reporting injuries due to family violence remained 50% higher than those without disabilities, controlling for all other variables. Gender and alcohol abuse among family members were also significant risk factors in family violence. Youth with disabilities in developing Asian countries, such as Vietnam, may be vulnerable to physical violence. Preventative programs and services are thus needed to address the unique vulnerabilities of youth with disabilities in developing contexts by screening for victimization experiences and adapting trauma-informed behavioral health services and supports.

Korean’s Manhwa and the adoption of Vietnamese Youth - focusing on Sunjeong Manhwa (Girls’comic)

Korean comics (K-manhwa), the next wave “quietly” following the wave of Korean popular culture of K-Movie, K-pop, K-fashion, K-cuisine that are so-called Hallyu, is widely adopted by Vietnamese youth. This paper focuses on the current situation of Korean comics, especially Sunjeongmanhwa (Girls' comic) that is being introduced into Vietnam, enjoying the adoption of Vietnamese youth. In comparison with the case of Japanese manga, Chinese manhua and Chinese love stories, this paper analyzes the impact of this wave on the youth of Vietnam. Simultaneously, this paper introduces some experiences of Korean comics industry in the expectation that it will provide an objective view on K-manhwa and Korean culture in general, as well as coming up with some suggestions for Vietnam comics development.

The relationship between Vietnamese youths’ access to health information and positive social capital with their level of HIV knowledge: results from a national survey

This paper examines how Vietnamese adolescents’ access to health information, especially concerning HIV, and their level of social capital might predict their differential levels of HIV knowledge. It uses data from the 2003 Vietnam Survey Assessment of Vietnamese Youth (VNSAVY), which collected information on Vietnamese adolescents’ level of HIV knowledge, access to health information, and their social capital. The survey is the first population-based survey on Vietnamese young people and involved 7584 adolescents and young adults. This study employs k-means clustering technique with cross-validation procedure to build an indicator of social capital. Analyses involve weighted generalized ordinal regression, finding that having access to more information sources increases the level of accurate HIV knowledge among Vietnamese adolescents, though the effect is strongest among those with the lowest level of HIV knowledge and much weaker among adolescents already having an average level of HIV knowledge. Having a cohesive family, a strong social network, and peers who encourage healthy behaviors and discussions of sexual heath help adolescents achieve a higher level of HIV knowledge. The importance of positive social capital also has differential affects across HIV knowledge levels. The authors conclude that having more access to health information and more positive social capital increases HIV knowledge among Vietnamese adolescents, but the effect of these factors differs across groups. The findings suggest that policies aimed at improving adolescents’ level of knowledge need to diversify and should include programs that enhance social capital for adolescents, especially in ways that might encourage frank discussion regarding sexual behaviors. Such efforts could include peer counseling, family education, and community communication enrichment.

Feasibility of a mindfulness-based intervention to address youth issues in Vietnam.

Youth problems including risky sex, drug use, violence and mental health issues are on the rise in Vietnam. Mindfulness is proposed as one way to address unskillful responses to stress that give rise to these behavioral and psychosocial issues in Vietnam. This study explores the feasibility of a mindfulness program for adolescents and young adults in a central city in Vietnam. The mindfulness-based intervention was comprised 1-h daily session over 3 weeks that was conducted at two different sites, one with handicapped adolescents/young adults at the Vocational School for Handicapped and the other with at-risk youth at a semi-private high school. Forty-two Vietnamese youth participants and five Vietnamese teachers/facilitators who were trained in the mindfulness program provided personal reflections of their experiences. Analyses of the qualitative data suggest that mindfulness was enthusiastically received and accepted by both youth and teachers. There is strong indication that mindfulness is promising as a prevention strategy to help with stress and to build important life skills among Vietnamese youth.

Homosexuality Tolerance Among Male and Female Vietnamese Youth: An Examination of Traditional Sexual Values, Self-Esteem, and Demographic/Contextual Characteristics

PurposeDisapproval of homosexuality is the cause of tremendous suffering among sexual minorities. No research has examined determinants of Vietnamese attitudes toward homosexuality. This article examined predictors of such attitudes among Vietnamese youth. MethodsData were from Vietnamese youth aged 15–24 years nationally surveyed in 2009 (Survey Assessment of Vietnamese Youth II). We evaluated structural equation models in which homosexuality tolerance was conceptualized to be influenced by two tiers of predictors: tier 1 (more proximal) including traditional sexual values and self-esteem and tier 2 (more distal) including demographic/contextual variables (urban residence, college education, Internet use, age, and marital status). Female (n = 3,135) and male (n = 3,072) data were analyzed separately. ResultsSexual conservativeness predicted intolerance in both men and women; value of fidelity also predicted intolerance in women. Self-esteem was nonsignificant for women; for men, positive self-perception was nonsignificant, but negative self-perception predicted tolerance. College education, urban residence, and Internet use predicted tolerance, with gender differences. ConclusionsFindings about traditional sexual values, college education, urban residence, and the gender difference in whether self-esteem matters are consistent with the literature. The positive association of Internet use with tolerance was first theorized and tested in this study. The study informs discussions on practice, in terms of tailoring/targeting attitude change interventions to rural versus urban youth and male versus female youth, capitalizing on the Internet to promote respect of sexual diversity, and locating attitudes toward homosexuality within the broader approach to sexuality.

Drumming the Future: Vietnamese Drumming as a Bridge Between Tradition and Popular Entertainment

The fascination of Vietnamese with drums and drumming reaches back into the pre-historic when bronze drums (Dong Son), from the Red River Delta region of Vietnam’s north, were prized trading commodities throughout the Asian world of that time. Substantial archaeological evidence from the Dong Son culture (1st millennium BCE – 2nd century CE) indicates that the bronze drums, cast in one piece through the lost-wax technique and often weighing two hundred kilograms or more were venerated possessions used as regalia, burial objects and musical instruments for ceremonies and festivals. Now in the twenty-first century the Dong Son and other historically renowned drum types have become symbols for Vietnam’s emergence into an international cultural and economic arena. Three Vietnamese international events illustrate the emblematic use of traditional drumming as a nationalistic symbol of modern Vietnam: The Third Asian Indoor Games held in Hanoi in 2009 opened with a drumming spectacle using battle drums; The Jubilee celebrations of the Vietnamese Catholic Church in 2010, drew delegates from across the Catholic world with the opening in the north in the Ha Nam province beginning with an immense traditional drumming performance within its religious setting; The 2012 Hue International Arts Festival incorporated ‘Resounding the Vietnamese Spirit’, a specific drums and percussion festival with performances using Binh Dinh war drums, royal drums from Hue, Dong Son drums, and Tay Son battle drums. In particular, Hue’s ‘Resounding the Vietnamese Spirit’ was designed to attract Vietnamese youth to the popular possibilities of traditional drumming. The hallmark of the move to drumming as popular entertainment, extending from the use of drumming in the traditional lion dance performances is the emergence of small, youth drumming groups who perform in the streets of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City for shop openings and local cultural events.

Peer and community influences on the acceptance of premarital sex among Vietnamese adolescents

Adolescents in Vietnam have a low level of sexual activity, but this may increase with urbanisation and economic development. The aim of this analysis is to understand trends in correlates of permissive attitudes towards premarital sex among Vietnamese adolescents using an ecological framework. Data from the Survey Assessment of Vietnamese Youth from 2003 (n = 7584) and 2009 (n = 10,044) were analysed using multivariable logistic regressions to examine associations between permissive attitudes towards premarital sex and demographic and contextual factors among adolescents aged 14 to 25. Correlates of having permissive attitudes towards premarital sex in both 2003 and 2009 included being male, older age, living in an urban area, living in the North, having ever used the Internet and perceiving that people in the community were having premarital sex. Variables that were significant in 2009 but not in 2003 included socio-economic status and belonging to an ethnic minority. Statistically significant changes in associations between 2003 and 2009 were observed for age, socio-economic status and belonging to an ethnic minority. The association of permissive attitudes with community norms and certain socio-demographic variables in conjunction with overarching economic development and urbanisation suggests that premarital sex will likely become increasingly common among Vietnamese adolescents. These trends should be further assessed as adolescent sexual activity becomes more common and adolescent friendly health services should be developed to provide appropriate and acceptable sexual and reproductive health care to young people.

Performing ‘Oriental’ masculinities: embodied identities among Vietnamese men in London

The young British-born Vietnamese are a largely unrecognised group in society and are generally not considered part of multiethnic Britain. A key characteristic of their racial positioning has been the very specific forms of hegemonic gendered labelling shaped by discourses of Orientalism. These Orientalist discourses subject Vietnamese men to pernicious stereotyping linked to ‘passive’ and effeminising forms of ‘subordinate’ masculinity. The ethnic and gendered dimensions of male Vietnamese youth experience are further compounded by the intersecting processes of social class and urban geographies which provide a distinct range of identity outcomes; these are particularly acute for working-class men living in highly urbanised areas. This article explores how young Vietnamese men subvert Oriental labels and stereotypes by using a range of unexpected, creative and ‘spectacular’ manipulations of hair, dress, style and comportment. I argue that Vietnamese men negotiate and perform ethnic masculinities through conscious and strategic forms of agency which entail everyday mundane forms of ‘risk’. The article draws upon primary data from in-depth, narrative interviews and participant observation.

Determinants of condom use at sexual debut among young Vietnamese

Condom use at sexual debut is associated with subsequent condom use and with decreased risk of sexually transmitted infections. There is a dearth of data on determinants of condom use at first sexual intercourse. We aimed to determine factors associated with condom use at first sexual intercourse before marriage among Vietnamese adolescents and youths. The study involved the analysis of data from the Survey Assessment of Vietnamese Youth, 2003, the first nationally representative survey of young people in Vietnam. The survey included 7584 adolescents and youths aged 14-25 years. In this study, data of 605 adolescents and youths who had engaged in premarital sex were analyzed for factors associated with condom use using descriptive analyses, and regression techniques, allowing for sampling weights, clustering and stratification. Of 605 adolescents and youths who had engaged in premarital sex, 28.6% reported condom use at first sexual intercourse. Condom use at sexual debut was less common in females than males [odds ratio (OR)=0.15; 95% confidence interval (95% CI)=0.07-0.30] and less common in those who experienced peer pressure to engage in social higher risk behaviors (OR=0.57; 95% CI=0.32-0.99). Condom use was more common if a friend/acquaintance or a stranger/sex worker was the first sexual partner (OR=2.20; 95% CI=1.16-4.17 and OR=17.90; 95% CI=6.88-46.54) respectively, each compared with fiancé/boyfriend/girlfriend as first sexual partner. These data suggest that approximately one in three unmarried Vietnamese youths used a condom at first sexual intercourse. Gender, peer pressure and the nature of the relationship to the first sexual partner were independently associated with condom use. These results can inform programs directed at preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among young Vietnamese.

Early Marriage and Intimate Partner Violence Among Adolescents and Young Adults in Viet Nam

Research about the association between early marriage and intimate partner violence (IPV) in low-income countries has yielded conflicting evidence. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of and associations between early marriage, and IPV among adolescents and young adults in Viet Nam. Secondary analysis of data from the national Survey Assessment of Viet Namese Youth-Round II (SAVY-II) conducted in 2009-2010, which assessed a representative cohort of people aged 14 to 25 years recruited via a systematic household survey was undertaken. Prevalence was established using descriptive statistics. The association between early marriage and IPV was examined using multiple logistic regressions, adjusting for potential risk factors. Of 10,044 participants, 1,701 had ever married and were included in analyses. Early marriage (before age 18), and experiences of verbal, physical, or sexual IPV were more common among females than males. More young married men than women reported experiences of controlling behaviors by their partners. Early marriage, being illiterate, and exposure to sexual abuse were associated with experience of IPV among young females, but not among young males. Poverty and exposure to family violence was associated with IPV in both sexes. Addressing early marriage, low educational opportunities for girls, childhood sexual abuse, family violence, and poverty should be considered in strategies to reduce IPV in Viet Nam.

From “Contested” Multiculturalism to “Localized” Multiculturalism: Chinese and Vietnamese Youth in Osaka, Japan

This article examines how everyday experiences of certain subjects at the margins of the state illustrate the gap between official discourses and practices of multiculturalism, and unofficial everyday interpretations or reactions to the former. For this purpose, the article discusses Chinese and Vietnamese youth who experienced educational programs under the framework of “multiculturalism and coexistence” (tabunka kyōsei) in primary school in Osaka, Japan. How do activists and teachers negotiate multiculturalism, and how do these youth remember their experience? The gap found here reshapes or contests state practices and discourses, and thus, illustrates a creative space within state and society.

The impact of tobacco prices on smoking onset in Vietnam: duration analyses of retrospective data

The benefits of preventing smoking onset are well known, and even just delaying smoking onset conveys benefits. Tobacco control policies are of critical importance to low-income countries with high smoking rates such as Vietnam where smoking prevalence is greater than 55% in young men between the ages of 25 and 45. Using a survey of teens and young adults, I conducted duration analyses to explore the impact of tobacco price on smoking onset. The results suggest that tobacco prices in Vietnam have a statistically significant and fairly substantial effect on the onset of smoking. Increases in average tobacco prices, measured by an index of tobacco prices and by the prices of two popular brands, are found to delay smoking onset. Of particular interest is the finding that Vietnamese youth are more sensitive to changes in prices of a popular international brand that has had favourable tax treatment since the late 1990s.

Road traffic injury among young people in Vietnam: evidence from two rounds of national adolescent health surveys, 2004–2009

Background: Based on previous data, road traffic injury (RTI) was a leading cause of non-fatal injury in all-age groups in Vietnam, and among the top causes of injury in children and adolescents. Specific analysis on RTIs in young people, however, has yet to be fully investigated. Using the results of two surveys in 2004 and 2009, the present study aims to describe the current situation of non-fatal, unintentional RTIs among Vietnamese youths. In addition, it explores RTI-related risk and protective factors.Methods: This study utilized the nationally representative Survey Assessment of Vietnamese Youth 2009 (SAVY2) of 10,044 youths aged 14 to 25 from all 63 provinces in Vietnam. The indicators were compared with data from SAVY1 in 2004 of 7,584 youths. Bivariate and multivariable statistical techniques were applied.Results: Overall, 75% of youths used a motorcycle in SAVY2 compared with 54.2% in SAVY1. Of the SAVY2 sample, the proportion that had experienced an RTI was 10.6% vs. 14.1% in SAVY1. While the proportion of RTIs for both sexes decreased, the decline was greater for males (11.9% vs. 17.8% in SAVY1) than in females (9.2% vs. 10.4%). The proportion of rural youths aged 22–25 who experienced an RTI increased slightly in the 5 years between the two study intervals. The percentage of youths reporting frequent helmet use increased significantly from 26.2% in SAVY1 to 73.6% in SAVY2. Factors related to the likelihood of ever having experienced an RTI included: older age, male, ever being drunk, and ever riding motorcycles after drinking.Conclusion: While improvements in RTIs appear to have occurred between 2004 and 2009, more attention should be paid, particularly, in maintenance and supervision of law enforcement to helmet use and drunk driving.

Changes in and Challenges for Intentional Injury in Vietnam

To describe the current situation of intentional injury among Vietnamese youth as well as risk and protective factors. The Sample of Survey Assessment of Vietnamese Youth 2009 (SAVY2) involving 10,044 youth aged 14 to 25 in 2009 was used and compared with SAVY1 in this study. The data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques. Of the sample in 2009, 3% of the young people reported that they had been injured by a family member. The proportion who were intentionally injured by others outside their home was 7.6%. Youth who were most likely to hurt others included urban males, those who had ever been drunk, those who had been intentionally injured by others, and those who had weak family connectedness. Having suicidal thoughts (both sexes) is related to alcohol consumption. The rate of violent behaviors was low, but several risk and protective factors were found and confirmed.

Seeking balance between the past and the present: Vietnamese refugee parenting practices and adolescent well-being

This qualitative study examines the resources that Vietnamese refugee parents use in raising their adolescent youth in exile and how they, and their adolescents, regard their experiences of different parenting styles. The study is based on 55 semi-structured interviews and several focus groups performed with a small sample of Vietnamese refugee parents and their adolescent children. Three main themes from the interviews were identified: the role of the extended family and siblings in bringing up children; language acquisition and cultural continuity and, finally, religion and social support. Our findings suggest extended kin are involved in the raising of adolescent children, providing additional family ties and support. Parents regarded Vietnamese language acquisition by their youth as facilitating both communication with extended kin and cultural transmission. Several parents stressed the importance of religious community to socializing and creating a sense of belonging for their youth. Vietnamese refugee parents seek a balance between Vietnamese values and their close extended family social networks, and the opportunities in Norway to develop autonomy in pursuit of educational and economic goals. Together these parenting practices constituted a mobilization of resources in support of their youth. These findings may have important implications for future research on resiliency and the role of these strategies as protective factors mediating mental health outcomes. They may also have implications for treatment, in terms of the types of resources treatment can access and for prevention strategies that maximize key cultural resources for Vietnamese refugee youth.

Experience of Low Mood and Suicidal Behaviors Among Adolescents in Vietnam: Findings from Two National Population-Based Surveys

To date, no population-based data about experiences of low mood and suicidal behaviors among adolescents in Vietnam have been published in the English peer-reviewed literature. The aim was to establish the prevalence of self-reported symptoms of low mood, acts of self-harm, and suicidal thoughts and their correlates among adolescents from two national population-based surveys, Survey Assessment of Vietnamese Youth (SAVY) I (2003-2004) and II (2009-2010). Data from the subset of participants aged 14-19 years from the two structured SAVYs were analyzed. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were used to test for between-group comparisons. Multiple logistic regressions were performed to determine factors associated with low mood and suicidal ideation. A weighting factor was used in all analyses. Prevalence of experiences of low mood was 34.06% in SAVY I and 37.34% in SAVY II; prevalence of suicidal behaviors was 5.28% (SAVY I) and 12.21% (SAVY II). Significant risk factors were being female, an ethnic minority, illiterate, or exposed to violence; perceiving study load as too heavy; following a religion other than Buddhism; or living in wealthier families. Better family cohesion protected adolescents from these unfavorable outcomes. Alcohol use co-occurred significantly with experiences of low mood and suicidal behaviors. Self-reported lifetime experiences of low mood are common among Vietnamese adolescents, with signs of an increasing trend. Suicidal behaviors are less prevalent than in other settings but are also increasing. Further research is warranted to elucidate these findings and to inform interventions to optimize the mental health of adolescents in Vietnam.

Intentional injury in young people in Vietnam: prevalence and social correlates

Violent acts in young people constitute one of the most serious forms of violence in any society. Violence by young people in schools, on the streets, and in their families has been documented in many studies worldwide. Homicide and non-fatal assaults involving young people have been reported as a great global burden of premature death, injury and disability. Adolescents and young people are both the main victims and perpetrators of such violence. In Vietnam, an emerging pattern of health problems in adolescents related to intentional injury and violence is drawing increasingly more attention from government and the public. Describe the situation of intentional injury among Vietnamese youth, including risk and protective factors, in order to suggest policy implications. The 2003 Survey Assessment of Vietnamese Youth was used as a data source, providing a nationally representative sample of 7584 youth aged 14-25 years, resident in 42 of the country's 61 provinces. This sample was drawn from the 45,000 households in the 2002 Vietnam Living Standards Survey, with a multi-staged and stratified design, using the probability-proportional-to-size method to maintain representativity. Data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques. Of the sample of young people, 2.2% reported injury resulting from violent behavior by a family member and 8.0% by non-family members, the latter demonstrating a significantly higher rate among males than females (13.6% vs. 2.4%). Characteristics of youth most likely to hurt others included: male sex, inebriation at some point, victims of intentional injury, group riot participants and carriers of weapons. Youth who had been members of mass social organizations or clubs in the community were half as likely to hurt other people as those who were unaffiliated with such groups. Females were almost four times more likely than males to attempt suicide. Other risk factors for suicide attempts were past inebriation (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.3-5.4), ever having been a victim of intentional injury by a family member (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.1-11.5) or ever having had feelings of hopelessness (OR 6.5, 95% CI 3.3-13.6). Prevalence of violence and self-harm among Vietnamese youth is comparatively less than in Western and other Asian countries. Risk and protective factors appear similar to those found in most populations. In particular, this study indicated a possible protective effect of membership in social groups. National policy for injury prevention should include strategies to reduce violence and self-harm within this population group.

Language Learning Strategies Used by Thai and Vietnamese University Students

Based on several standardized tests, previous studies show that Vietnamese youths have higher proficiency in English than Thai youths in spite of the latter’s social advantages. An explanation for the discrepancy is probably that the two groups use different strategies in learning English. This study reports the results of an investigation into language learning strategies commonly used by Thai and Vietnamese university students, using the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) developed by Oxford (1990) and semi-structured interviews. A comparison of the patterns of language learning strategies used by the two student groups revealed some resemblances and differences, illustrating what teachers and students should know to successfully teach and learn English, respectively. It is hoped that the findings of this study will be of particular benefit to educational planners, methodologists, and classroom teachers; they will not only help them better understand the strategies used by Thai students in learning English, but also facilitate the process of improving English education in Thailand.

Silent Gratitude: Education among Second-Generation Vietnamese in Norway

Some minority groups manage well in the Western education system; others do not. In this paper we investigate the role of parental education and family relations in explaining the relatively-high school performance among youth of Vietnamese origin in Norway. Differences in parental education and family relations can also help us to understand the internal differences in school performance of these young people. We use quantitative register data, qualitative data from in-depth interviews and survey data. Our results indicate that parental education does not explain their offspring's relatively high educational performance, nor does parental education per se seem to impact as much compared to pupils of majority background. The qualitative data suggest that family relations can provide a more promising approach to understanding these Vietnamese youths' educational success and differences. This is partly supported by the survey data, althoug the correlations are weaker than expected.

Her Work From Within

This article describes the journey of a young Vietnamese immigrant girl, Sandy Dang, who arrived in the United States with no knowledge of the English language or the U.S. educational system. While her parents worked hard to begin their new life in the United States, Sandy was left on her own to navigate the unknown waters. What she needed was a mentor who could help her with schoolwork and with adjusting to life in this country. Now a grown woman and having witnessed many Vietnamese youths traveling the same and confusing journey, Sandy Dang set up an agency, Asian American Leadership, Empowerment, and Development of Youth and Families (AALEAD), to help such youths and their parents transition to American life. Sandy’s vision and agency have helped many of youths who have gone on to have successful careers and who have come back as volunteers to help continue Sandy’s legacy.