Exploring the culturally specific factors of mental health in South Asian minority students in Hong Kong

Abstract

Ethnic minority mental health in Hong Kong is understudied. This study assessed the mental well-being of minority youth in Hong Kong and explored culturally relevant factors that may promote or adversely affect this well-being. Four focus groups (including Pakistani and Indian students) were involved in this pilot qualitative study. Thematic analysis generated five main themes, related to: positive mental health outcomes for students: (1) peer and family support; (2) adolescents’ recreational activities; (3) adolescents’ sense of humour; (4) strong religious beliefs and (5) local Chinese community support. Adolescents’ adverse life experiences emerged as a significant theme in the assessment of risk factors in relation to the mental health of the students involved in the study. Two unique findings should serve to guide future research on culturally specific factors that promote positive mental health among Indian and Pakistani minority ethnic groups. First, religion and sense of humour were seen to be important to young male individuals. Second, research suggests that support from local Chinese is a significant factor in the promotion of positive mental health. The findings of the study offer insights to guide further larger scale quantitative research, and innovative and empirical driven social work practice.