Second-Generation Immigrant Struggles in Australia

Did you know that approximately 48% of Australians have at least one parent who was born overseas? Aside from English, Mandarin, Arabic, and Punjabi are amongst the most spoken languages in our country.

Second-generation immigrants, who are born and have grown up in a country different from their parents' origin, often experience unique challenges related to their bicultural life experiences, identity formation and family relationships. Common struggles may include:

• Pressures to strive for academic excellence and career paths set by parental expectations,

• Intergenerational trauma resulting from their parents’ or relatives’ experiences of migration, displacement, or discrimination,

• Stigma associated with mental illness, which impacts mental health literacy and deters treatment seeking, and

• Conflicts in cultural expectations set by their country of residence versus their parents, which can lead to identity confusion, family conflict and mental distress.

Addressing the mental health struggles of second-generation immigrants in Australia requires a culturally sensitive treatment approach. This ensures that treatment will be tailored to each person’s unique experiences.

Jenny Tran has a particular interest in working with second-generation immigrants and is available on weekday afternoons for consultation. Book online through her profile page.

Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2021 Census: Nearly half of Australians have a parent born overseas | Australian Bureau of Statistics. Www.abs.gov.au. https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/2021-census-nearly-half-australians-have-parent-born-overseas#:~:text=The%202021%20Census%20found%20that

Giguère, B., Lalonde, R., & Lou, E. (2010). Living at the Crossroads of Cultural Worlds: The Experience of Normative Conflicts by Second Generation Immigrant Youth. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4(1), 14–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2009.00228.x