Trauma Affecting Asian-Pacific Islanders in the San Francisco Bay Area

Abstract

Trauma is a transgenerational process that overwhelms the community and the ability of family members to cope with life stressors. An anthropologist trained in ethnographic methods observed three focus groups from a non-profit agency providing trauma and mental health services to Asian Americans living in the San Francisco Bay Area of United States. Supplemental information also was collected from staff interviews and notes. Many of the clients were immigrants, refugees, or adult children of these groups. This report consisted of authentic observations and rich qualitative information to characterize the impact of trauma on refugees and immigrants. Observations suggest that collective trauma, direct or indirect, can impede the success and survivability of a population, even after many generations.

Keywords: Asian Americans; exploitation; immigrants; mental health; refugees; trauma.

Figure 1

Conceptual Framework for Trauma. Trauma, manifested as freeze, flight, fight, fright, is a complex multigenerational process that juxtaposes conflict/confrontation (war, natural disaster, genocide) with coping and adapting strategies (spiritual healing, cultural identity, mediation, conversation, conciliation, and negotiation). Additionally, cyclic processes such as psychologic injury, loss of identity, cultural and emotional factors play an important role in trauma.