According to the CDC, the leading cause of death for Asian American teens is suicide. If that fact surprises you, it’s probably because mental health — despite being one of the most pressing issues facing our community — is one of the least talked about.
A combination of stigma, perceived wellness, and external factors like discrimination have all contributed to the silence around this discussion. That’s why The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) released Beyond the Surface: Understanding Mental Health Among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Youth, a national study exploring the mental and emotional well-being of young people aged 14-25 in the AANHPI community.
This issue is deeply personal to me. Growing up in an immigrant family in Maryland, I was acutely aware of being one of the few Asian Americans in my school. Like many teenagers, I wanted nothing more than to fit in. In college, I was stunned by the number of suicides involving Asian American students on campus. It was a harsh awakening to the mental health struggles that disproportionately affect our community — an issue I hadn’t fully grasped before.
At TAAF, mental health is central to our mission of fostering greater safety, belonging, and prosperity. Recognizing the urgent need to address this crisis among AANHPI youth, we embarked on a groundbreaking study. We organized focus groups and surveyed over 1,400 young people from all major AANHPI subgroups, exploring critical topics like depression, suicide, stress, racial discrimination, and the availability of support systems. We also asked for their input on strategies and resources that could make a difference.
The results of the study show us that we have a lot of work to do. 48% of AANHPI young people scored above the threshold for moderate depression when presented with a widely-used screening tool. And even more concerning, 3 in 10 AANHPIs aged 14-25 revealed that they had either planned or attempted suicide within their lifetime; for LGBTQ+ youth, that number goes up to 51% (by far the highest rate of any demographic tracked in the study).
It was very important to us to learn what was behind these mental health struggles. We found that the biggest stressor on mental health for AANHPI youth is the pressure — both from themselves and from family — to succeed.
Self-pressure to succeed academically, competitively, or professionally was the greatest stressor, with 43% of respondents saying that it negatively affects their mental health. Negative race-based experiences are also a major factor, with 93% of participants reporting having experienced some form of discrimination in the past year. For many AANHPIs, microaggressions like having their ethnicity confused with another, or having their name mispronounced, were all too common.
While these findings are certainly alarming, we also identified many strengths and opportunities in our study. Contrary to common assumptions, over half of AANHPI youth said that they feel comfortable talking to their parents about mental health issues. A majority of respondents also feel that they can turn to their friends for mental health support, and despite experiences with discrimination, most AANHPI young people express confidence in their racial and ethnic identities.
Our young people do not have to face mental health struggles alone. It’s time to break the silence and stigma, and acknowledge the unique stressors that young AANHPIs often face.
We can call out the harm that cultural stereotypes like the mModel mMinority myth do to our community. The fact is, many AANHPI communities have lived with pervasive stereotypes which project a deceptive image of universal wellness and success, while at the same time trying to achieve the ideal of the American Dream. Many AANHPIs feel that they don’t want to burden their families by talking about their mental health and well-being, but statistics from TAAF’s annual STAATUS Index show that AANHPI parents are concerned about their children’s mental health, so parents can be a key resource in starting these much-needed conversations.
We need to meet AANHPI youth where they are, by leaning in to peer and group support models in schools, and promoting thoughtful social media use that can support mental health rather than detract from it. And we must acknowledge the diversity of AANHPI populations, understanding that different subgroups have unique experiences. Ethnicity, age, gender identity and sexual orientation all shape these experiences. It’s important that we tailor interventions to groups and communities at greatest risk.
Finally, I can’t emphasize enough the need to address the gap in funding and awareness around AANHPI research. For too long, our community has been left out of conversations about mental health. We’re dealing with a scarcity of not only funding, but mental health data on AANHPIs. For this reason, we’re calling for dedicated funding for AANHPI mental health, AANPHI-specific research, and the intentional recruitment of AANHPI researchers.
Only when we have the data can we promote awareness and develop targeted support and resources for our community.
My hope is that our findings in this report will act as a catalyst for critical discussion and, more importantly, action. At TAAF, we’re working every day to foster safety, belonging, and prosperity for AANHPIs. But safety goes beyond just physical well-being. We need to ensure that members of our community feel safe talking about issues of mental health and well-being, and finding the help they need. Through reflection and dialogue, and advocating for systemic change, we can build brighter futures for young AANHPIs everywhere.
Norman Chen is the Chief Executive Officer of TAAF and brings a thirty-year career in entrepreneurship, healthcare and community leadership in the United States and Asia. Norman is passionate about building organizations in both the nonprofit and private
sectors that positively impact society.
Prior to his appointment at TAAF, Norman co-founded the nonprofit Leading Asian Americans to Unite for Change (LAAUNCH) and helped to create a landmark study, The STAATUS Index, of American attitudes towards Asian Americans.
As a healthcare entrepreneur, Norman was the founder and CEO of Asia Renal Care, a network of specialty medical centers in six countries, and co-founder of DeltaHealth
Hospital, a world-class hospital in partnership with Columbia Heartsource. As a venture
capitalist, Norman led successful life sciences investments at Fidelity Asia Ventures
(now Eight Roads) and 6 Dimensions Capital.
Norman grew up on the East Coast and currently lives in the Bay Area. He has been a
board or advisory council member at The Nature Conservancy (CA), Children’s Medical
Foundation (HK), SF Marine Science Institute, and Positive Coaching Alliance. He holds
a B.S. degree from MIT and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
