Premium
Vietnamese Amerasians: The relationship between biological father, psychological distress, and self‐destructive behavior
Author(s) -
Bemak Fred,
ChiYing Chung Rita
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6629(199907)27:4<443::aid-jcop6>3.0.co;2-n
Subject(s) - vietnamese , feeling , psychology , distress , ethnic group , psychological distress , clinical psychology , population , mental health , cognition , developmental psychology , social psychology , medicine , psychotherapist , psychiatry , environmental health , philosophy , linguistics , sociology , anthropology
Vietnamese Amerasians are children who were fathered by U.S. serviceman and civilians during the Vietnam War. Although several studies have been conducted with this population, none have addressed the issue of the biological American fathers and its effect on mental health. This study examines the cognitions and feelings of Vietnamese Amerasians (N = 169) towards their biological fathers and the effect of this on psychological distress and self‐destructive behavior. The findings of the study showed that Vietnamese Amerasians' cognitions about their biological American father were significant predictors of both psychological distress and self‐destructive behavior. Ethnic and gender differences were found. Implications of findings are discussed. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.