More than 10% of youngsters and adolescents worldwide have diagnosable mental health problemIf these problems aren’t detected and treated, children may suffer from the identical or other mental health problems. in maturity.
Preventing mental health problems in children is subsequently a worldwide priority.
At the identical time, the variety of immigrants in Western countries equivalent to Australia, is growing – and face many cultural challenges in a brand new country. These challenges can impact parenting and the mental health of their children.
Parents play a very important role in kid’s mental health. They can help them develop a positive sense of self-worth and manage stress, which can prevent anxiety and depression. So immigrant parents can profit from personalized parenting support as they adjust to a brand new country so that they can support their kid’s mental health.
Parenting programs reach where they’re needed
Governments all over the world recognise the importance of stopping mental health problems in children and are allocating funding for this purpose. promotion and treatment of mental health.
In 2022, the Australian Government invested A$40.6 million to create an evidence-based online parenting program Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) more accessible for support mental health and well-being of youngsters (as much as 11 years of age).
The Australian Headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation has also developed individually tailored Partners in Parenting Online Program available in 2023 for parents of teenagers aged 12–18.
Parents can enroll in these programs online and work through modules at their own pace, which include interactive reflective exercises and video resources.
Similar programs can be found in other Western countries.
However, such programs still don’t reach enough immigrant families. who moved to Western countriesincluding in Australia.
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Our research has explored how immigrant parents raise their children and the way this affects the mental health of immigrant children. With this information, we can adapt parenting programs to raised support immigrant parents as they adjust to parenthood in their recent home country.
What have we done?
We combined the outcomes of 56 scientific studies from seven countries on the subject immigrant parenting and youngsters’s mental healthWe found that the ways by which parenting can affect kid’s mental health are largely the identical for immigrants and not an immigrant families.
For example, when parents are more caring and supportive and know what their children are doing after they aren’t around, children are more prone to have good mental health.
On the opposite hand, children could also be at greater risk of mental health problems in families where there may be frequent conflict between parents or between parents and youngsters, or in families where parents aren’t available to their children or have poor mental health themselves.
However, there may be a particular problem called “acculturation conflict” by which children and oldsters dispute over cultural differencesincluding learn how to raise children according to their culture of origin versus Australian expectations. These clashes pose particular risks of poor mental health for children of immigrants.
What is acculturation?
Acculturation occurs when persons are exposed to a brand new culture (e.g. values, beliefs, language, customs, and practices) and try to adapt to and incorporate it. to their every day lives.
Parents and youngsters undergo a technique of acculturation to adapt to recent cultureParents do that through work or interactions with adults.
But children do it in a different way. Children of immigrants are inclined to learn the language and values of Western countries faster than their parents. This could also be because they learn this stuff in nursery or school.
Children need to feel like they belong and slot in with their friends. This is often more vital to them than it’s to adults.
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What happens when the acculturation rates of fogeys and youngsters are different?
When children adapt to a brand new culture faster than their parents, it often results in misunderstandings and family conflicts.
Here are some examples of cultural conflicts between parent and child:
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parents show like to their children by providing shelter, food, and education. But their children see that their friends’ parents show them physical and verbal love and want their parents did the identical, or feel hurt or offended that they do not
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parents set high expectations and strict boundaries to make sure their children don’t bring shame to the family, while their offspring consider this excessive and unreasonable
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Parents expect their children to behave in response to the “proper” standards of their culture, but young people imagine their parents are too traditional or conservative.
How can we higher support parents?
Parenting programs have to work with immigrant communities to adapt their existing programs. This can increase parents’ interest in searching for support and can profit the mental health of immigrant children.
Adapting existing evidence-based parenting strategies can help immigrant parents minimize acculturation conflicts with their children and higher support their mental health and well-being.
This would require more government support and greater investment in these programs.
In the meantime, immigrant parents can talk truthfully with their children about how they would love their parents to specific their love and care, and make an effort to achieve this. For example, does their child feel most loved when their parent says “I love you,” buys them a present they like, or shows interest in things they’re taken with?
Immigrant parents can help their children understand the reasoning behind rules and limits and interact them in shaping expectations. Parents can attempt to validate their children’s perspectives, even in the event that they don’t all the time agree with them. Have a family discussion where each parent and child have a say in what the expectations are (for example, screen time or bedtime) and what the results shall be if expectations aren’t met.