Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 May 4;9(5):537.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare9050537.

Influencing Factors of Depression among Adolescent Asians in North America: A Systematic Review

Ping Zou  1 , Annisa Siu  2 , Xiyi Wang  3 , Jing Shao  4 , Sunny G Hallowell  5 , Lihua Lydia Yang  6 , Hui Zhang  7
Affiliations
Review

Influencing Factors of Depression among Adolescent Asians in North America: A Systematic Review

Ping Zou et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: Asian American adolescents experience rates of depression comparable to or greater than those of other ethnic minorities. The purpose of this systematic review is to summarize psychosocial factors related to depressive symptoms of Asian American adolescents between the ages of 10 to 19.

Methods: Various electronic databases were systematically searched to identify research articles published from 2000 to 2021, and the psychosocial factors influencing depression among Asian adolescents in North America were examined.

Results: A total of 81 studies were included in this systematic review. Consistent findings on relationships between depressive symptoms and influencing factors included (a) acculturative stress, (b) religious or spiritual significance for females, (c) parent-child cohesion, (d) harsh parenting style, (e) responsive parenting style, (f) racial or ethnic discrimination, (g) being bullied, (h) positive mentor presence, and (i) exposure to community violence. Collectively, the majority of included studies suggest that depressive symptoms were more likely found among Asian American adolescents who (a) are older, (b) are female, (c) have immigrant status, (d) exhibit coping behaviours, (e) face academic challenges, (f) face a poor socioeconomic situation, (g) perceive parent-child conflict, (h) perceive maternal disconnectedness, and (i) perceive negative peer relations. A number of conflictive findings also existed.

Discussion/conclusions: This systematic review provides a summary of the various psychosocial factors on individual, familial, and social levels, which influenced the depressive symptoms of Asian American adolescents. Such findings offer a starting point to examine what factors should be necessarily included in related depression-preventive intervention design and evaluation. Culturally sensitive care, strengthened family-school-community collaboration, and targeted research efforts are needed to meet the needs of Asian adolescents experiencing a range of depressive symptoms.

Keywords: Asians; North America; adolescent; depression; influencing factors; systematic review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study selection flow diagram.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Wyatt L.C., Ung T., Park R., Kwon S.C., Trinh-Shevrin C. Risk Factors of Suicide and Depression among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Youth: A Systematic Literature Review. J. Health Care Poor Underserved. 2015;26:191–237. doi: 10.1353/hpu.2015.0059. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. The Johns Hopkins Hospital Adolescent Depression. The Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation. [(accessed on 26 April 2021)];2021 Available online: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/psychiatry/specialty_areas/moods/adap/do....
    1. Logan J.E., Vagi K.J., Gorman-Smith D. Characteristics of Youth with Combined Histories of Violent Behavior, Suicidal Ideation or Behavior, and Gun-Carrying. Crisis. 2016;37:402–414. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000389. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lu W. Adolescent Depression: National Trends, Risk Factors, and Healthcare Disparities. Am. J. Health Behav. 2019;43:181–194. doi: 10.5993/AJHB.43.1.15. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Garland A.F., Zigler E.F. Psychological correlates of help-seeking attitudes among children and adolescents. Am. J. Orthopsychiatry. 1994;64:586–593. doi: 10.1037/h0079573. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources