RECOGNIZING PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS

Prejudice and racism: What are their impacts on adolescents with an immigrant background?

RECOGNIZING PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS

Prejudice and racism: What are their impacts on adolescents with an immigrant background?

Approved by Deogratias Baghilishya, psychologist

At school, your teen fought with a classmate who made racist remarks, your daughter is regularly insulted for what she wears, or your child is rarely invited to participate in group projects just because they’re different?

These are some situations that children with an immigrant background might face. Anger, misunderstanding: these daily pitfalls may be difficult to tolerate as a parent, especially if you are facing problems yourself.

What are their impacts on your child’s mental health? How should you react to them? What should you say to your child to help them cope?

 

Here are some answers to help you see things more clearly.

What are the signs that your teen is suffering from racism and discrimination?

Sometimes, teens can have trouble telling their parents that they are a victim of racist stereotypes and prejudices. However, if you see that your teen is saying or doing any of the things listed below, it may be good to have a discussion with them.

Examples of problematic remarks:

  • Life is bad here; there are too many obstacles;
  • I’m worthless, I’m bad at everything I do. The future is hopeless and no matter what I do, I’ll never be able to change it.

Behaviours to watch out for:

  • Isolation, withdrawal, repeated absences from school;
  • Meltdowns or anxiety attacks;
  • Agitation, unusual remarks;
  • Sudden stomach aches, excessive fatigue;
  • Reduced appetite and falling grades.

What are the impacts of racism and discrimination on an adolescent’s mental health🧠?

Most racist stereotypes, prejudices or behaviours are due to a false interpretation or major discrepancy in cultural representations between the adolescent’s culture and their host environment. When these two representations meet, it creates significant mutual misunderstanding and unacceptable behaviours such as discrimination and racism.

Young people who have developed certain skills valued in their birth culture are suddenly questioned and singled out. This triggers a sort of distress in the identity of these young teens, especially since they are also in a season of life in which they are trying to find themselves.  Irritation, frustration, confusion, anxiety, sadness in girls, irritability in boys—the list of mental health consequences is long and can sometimes lead to depression. 

A heavy feeling of loneliness and nostalgia may develop as the young person grieves their life in their birth country and the values there. This can give way to inner suffering and deeply rooted trauma.

The young person will have an even harder time if their family is also suffering due to having lost their social standing and finances by leaving their country of origin, for example.

 

 

How should I react to my child who is a victim of racist prejudices and discrimination 🤔?

The first thing you must avoid is trying to trivialize or downplay what your teen is experiencing. We sometimes tend to try to reassure our child by saying things like:

  • It isn’t serious, it’ll be okay;
  • Just be strong and you’ll get through it; ,
  • We’ve seen worse.

These are words that deny your child’s distress and further increase their discomfort.

It is also important to take stock of your own feelings so you can embrace your child’s suffering without trivializing or dramatizing it. To do so, feel free to get help from your loved ones or your community if you yourself have trouble managing your emotions. It is important for your child to be able to have a calm discussion with you in order to reflect on their situation constructively.

Then, ask your teen:

  • What really happened?
  • How did you feel and why did it make you react?
  • What made this event important to you?

Finish the discussion by working with your teen to find solutions in order to determine the best way to react to these aggressions without causing themselves more problems.

What can I do to help my child deal with racism and discrimination?

If your child was bullied at school, the ideal thing would be to contact the principal. However, some parent newcomers do not know the system well enough to do so and may, in some cases, have to deal with staff members who are unprepared to manage this type of situation.

In that case, the simplest thing would be to seek out support from community organizations and continue to closely monitor your teen’s behaviour at school. Is it increasingly difficult for them to attend? Do they lack motivation? Are there often notes in their agenda?

These situations can also be anticipated by informing and making your child aware of the challenges related to immigration. When your teen arrives here, it is important to make them understand that they will need to adopt new cultural references. If possible, try to bring them to intercultural meetings where they can meet other young people. This way, they will be able to learn certain subtleties of the culture that cannot be found in a book and yet are extremely useful to internalize.

It is by understanding how others operate that your child will be able to understand what may lead others to judge them. It will also be a way for them to gain a better understanding of their own identity and begin to discover other people without feeling so threatened. As such, they will be on a more solid footing to assert their own identity and teach others about who they are.

The end goal is for the young person to develop their own culture based on their birth culture and the culture of their host country.

What happens if young people are not helped to confront racist prejudices and discrimination?

Some young people may get through it and call upon their resources to face these situations, but it can be a heavy burden for others.  They will become at risk of developing a very negative view of their host society and getting closer to marginalized and violent groups such as gangs.

The more numerous the situations of rejection, the more the young person will develop anxiety and avoidant reactions, such as being absent from school or late for work. They will develop low self-esteem and a tendency to withdraw into themselves.

The wounds left by such trauma can run deep, especially because your teen will have suffered them at a young age.

But don’t forget that adolescents are highly resilient and make it through most of the time, as long as you believe in them.

Community resources:

Find other community organizations (search available in French only)

NEED TO TALK ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL?

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