FAMILY FUNCTIONING AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING IN VIETNAMESE ADOLESCENTS

This paper presents an exploratory study that examines the influences of family functioning on the psychological well-being in a sample of V ietnamese adolescents. Thirty Vietnamese families from the King County area in the state of Washington participated in this study. Thirty ad olescents between 13 and 19 years of age and 53 parents (27 fathers an d 26 mothers) responded to self-reported questionnaires. Data analysis was conducted to provide a descriptive ''picture'' of family and indi vidual characteristics associated with Vietnamese adolescents' psychol ogical well-being Gender differences were apparent with Vietnamese fem ale adolescents reporting higher mean scores on depressive symptoms an d lower mean scores on self-esteem. These findings are consistent with prior research on Euro-American adolescents, where females reported m ore depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem than did their male coun terparts. Further, mean scores on adolescents' reports of problems rel ating to parents were higher for females than males. These adolescents reported more family cohesiveness and parental supports, particularly from their fathers. Implications for future research, practice, and p olicy are also discussed.