Search

Few studies have looked at the differences in culture, language, and educational attainments among generations of Hmong in the United States since the beginning of their immigration to the United States. This study of 195 Hmong participants examines the effects of generational status on Hmong immigrants across several factors including marriage and family planning practices, cultural identity, and educational attainment. Cultural identity and family practices of immigrants lean toward increased adaptation to American culture with each successive generation; however, educational attainment was lower among second-generation immigrants when compared to their first-generation counterparts. Explanations for lower educational attainment may be due to confounding factors such as time effect. This study informs social work practice by exploring the variations in acculturation trajectories among the Hmong in the United States. (Contains 4 tables.)

The Hmong, who began migration to the United States of America in the latter half of the 1970s, represent a largely unstudied segment of the Asian-American population. Traditional practices such as teenage marriage were widely reported in the early years after migration began, but have been left relatively unexamined more recently. Explicit focus on Hmong women has been largely absent in recent research. This paper examines the relationships between marriage patterns, education and earnings among Hmong women in the United States. Using results from a survey of 186 Hmong women, the results of this study indicate high rates of teenage marriage, as well as associations between early marriage, marital abuse, and both low earnings and lower levels of educational attainment among women married as teenagers compared to Hmong women who waited until adult age to marry. There were signs of encouragement, including higher than anticipated rates of educational attainment among the sample overall. Marital stressors such as spousal abuse remain prevalent, especially among Hmong women who married in their teenage years. Implications of this research are discussed for both practitioners and for future directions in research within the Hmong-American community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

•Summary: An online survey was completed by Hmong women in the United States (n = 186). The survey was distributed via listserves and websites frequently used by Hmong women, and solicited information about marital factors, presence and intensity of depressive symptoms, and socio-demographic circumstances.•Findings: The findings of this article indicate a significant relationship between marital abuse and depression among women married as teenagers when compared to non-abused women who married in adulthood. Excessive worry and feeling like everything takes great effort were the two most frequently reported indicators of depression reported by Hmong women in this sample. Additional marital and socio-demographic factors are explored in their relationship with depressive presentation.•Applications: These findings suggest that mental health practitioners working with Hmong women may need to be particularly attuned to issues of marital stressors related to traditional marriage practices and cultural stressors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]