Two Filipino-Americans completed suicide this year in different parts of the United

Two Filipino-Americans completed suicide this year in different parts of the United States.

On April 27, the body of Nycal Rodriguez, a 21-year-old English major of Bloomfield College, was found on the Edgewater coastline of New Jersey, the news site North Jersey.com said.

Meanwhile, Gabrielle Molina, a 12-year-old student at Jean Nuzzi Intermediate School 109, hanged herself last May 22, the Filipino Reporter news site reported.

Both students left suicide notes and came off school-related problems prior to their deaths.

While the circumstances behind their deaths are different, the two join the slew of Asian Americans who have tragically completed suicide in the country.

Statistics, preventive factors and risks
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), the suicide rate among Asian Americans is lower than the national average- 6.10 per 10,000 compared to 11.5 per 10,000.

However, Asian Americans with suicidal thoughts are less likely to seek professional help and treatment. College students and women, US-born and those between ages 65-84, of Asian American descent are more likely to have suicidal thoughts and to attempt suicide than other minorities.

One of the huge factors often cited in studies is the labeling of Asian Americans as a model minority.

The University of Texas (UT) describes the model minority stereotype as the expectation placed on people of that race to be “smart”, wealthy, hard-working, obedient, and uncomplaining.

Another UT article states that the term came from a 1966 NYT Magazine article, where UC-Berkley Professor William Peterson described Japanese-Americans, who were increasing their financial and educational status through education, as a model minority.

A team of three professors from different universities made a multi-campus national study on Asian American students and suicide in 2011.

The study was conducted across 66 campuses and with 1,377 Asian American student volunteers. It examined risk and protective factors associated with suicide ideation.

According to the study by Wong, Brownson, and Schwing, belongingness- living with family members and a partner- is a protective factor against suicide. They hypothesize that racism may be a reason why active participation in at least one student organization was positively associated with having morbid thoughts and serious considerations of suicide.

Having a specific religious affiliation is another preventive factor. Emory University adds that impulse control, sobriety, and a healthy lifestyle, among others, lowers the odds for morbid or suicidal thougths.

The 2011 study cites medication for mental health concerns, being female, having a low GPA, and being an undergraduate as high risk factors. Recent family problems (47.7%) and academic problems (43%) are cited as the most reported events before morbid or suicidal thoughts occurred in students. The study also hypothesizes that participating students with poor academic performance may have higher susceptibility to parental criticism.

Family problems, low grades and female gender roles present higher odds of suicide

In an article on Hardboiled, a newsmagazine on Asian-Pacific-Americans at UC-Berkley, Dr. Dung Ngo of UT-Baylor says Asian American women experience a two-fold pressure from being female and of a certain ethnic descent.

In the same article, he said, “The cultural expectations are that Asian women don’t have that kind of freedom to hang out, to go out with friends, to do the kinds of things most teenagers growing up want to do.”

“In addition, Asian American girls are under pressure to be the perfect mothers and daughters and wives as well. They are often expected to be super moms in their near future who would be dedicated to their family and work a full time job at the same time,” he added.

Culture-based shaming of mental illnesses
Andrew Lam expounds on culture-based shaming of mental illneses in 2009, posting an analysis in New American Media.

The analysis was prompted by the three Chinese-American students who died by suicide at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the same year, and the Asians and Asian Americans who made the 13 out of 21 suicide victims between 1996 to 2006 at Cornell University.

“It seems to be the pressure of family cultural expectations all the way back to their home country, from China to Vietnam to Japan to Korea. Passing the exams is crucial in you position in society, and that is the basic understanding. If you fail that, you fail a lot of expectations,” said Lam in an interview with Sandip Roy on the Brian Leher show.

When asked why Asian-Americans are least likely to seek out therapy, he said, “There’s a lot of Asian cultures where emotional conversations are very difficult… in many cultures, particularly in Confucian-bound cultures, those things are not articulate[d] verbally. You understand things through a kind of gesture you do for each other, but because [they are not taught how to express their feelings]… it can be debilitating to begin to discuss how things are affecting you.”

Earlier in the interview, he commented on parental expectations, and said, “Their whole lives revolve around how to get better education for their children, and the children likewise perceive this as a way to connect to their parents. I’m not a psychologist but I can say safely that a lot of these kids perceive their identity very much through an academic lens.”

Philippine rates and incidents
Monina Garduno-Cruz, MD, published in the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development website on June 2012 that the incidence of suicide among Filipino males increased from 0.23 to 3.59 per 100,000, while the female rate rose from 0.12 to 1.09 per 100,000 between 1984 and 2005.

Dr. Randy Dellosa, a psychiatrist, said Filipinos have a tendency for confusing depression for normal sadness.

The World Health Organization reported that only one out of three Filipinos will seek counselling, and those who do not seek help or are unaware of their condition may commit suicide.

Their data also showed that there are 4.5 million depressed Filipinos, the highest in Southeast Asia, a stark contrast to the 2012 survey that tied the Philippines and Guatemala as the seventh and eight happiest countries in the world.

In the study, the reasons cited for Filipinos not seeking help are inability to afford treatment and the lack of qualified psychiatrists in the country.

How to help prevent attempts and aid in recovery
The 2011 study by Wong, Brownson, and Schwing cites belongingness as a preventive factor.

Joseph Miravite, a college student in Los Angeles, CA, reinforces the role of having a community which supports immigrants in adjusting to a new environment.

“I had a lot of time to adjust before going back to school,” he told GMA News Online. “That down time gave me time to study and learn the culture around me.”

He also said that living in a diverse state like California meant that experiences of racism or discrimination were at a minimum.

“It’s harder here because you’re all alone and it gets to a point where you have to face your inner demons at a more intense and personal level — kasi nga you’re alone in a very different atmosphere,” Missy Maramara, a Fulbright scholar studying her Masters in Fine Arts at the University of Arkansas, also told GMA News Online.

She said getting over culture shock and letting go of certain home comforts helped her adjust to life in the US.

“When I went to China, or Singapore, or even Cebu or Davao, I would feel a great strange culture shock that would make me wish I were back in Manila, as fascinated as I was in being in those progressive and/or exotic places,” she commented. “Home is home, but sometimes you need to let go of what you’re used to in order to grow.”

Signs of serious suicidal thoughts
Emory University advices those who see signs of morbid or serious suicidal thoughts to listen to the person’s feelings, express their care and concern while not judging or arguing with the person, and assist them in finding help, whether it is through family, counselors, or spiritual leaders.

The Asian American Suicide Prevention and Education project by the Asian American Federation recommends not leaving a person who is having serious thoughts of suicide, and to call one or more of the following numbers:

1-800-273-8255 (TALK) – National Suicide Prevention Hotline (More than 150 languages are offered)

1-877-990-8585 – Asian LifeNet Hotline (24 hours). (Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Fujianese are offered)

911

– VVP, GMA News