Table 2 Domain I: stressors experienced by participants
Theme | Subtheme | Representative quote(s) |
|---|---|---|
1. Individual stressors | Family conflict | My family harmony? It feels like we pretend not to have a conflict. No one wants to talk. And avoidance, I presume is doing something good for each other. But we have zero communication, in our so-called “harmony.” There is a sense of ownership that my parents had. “I feel like I'm not a human to them. I feel like I'm an object that they control.” I feel like they see me as something they have ownership of and that doesn't have their own conscience.” |
Cultural identity | When I was younger, I would only say that I was American. To be frank, I didn't want to tell people that I was Chinese. You want to fit in, you don't understand why you're different, and you hate that you are different, but I think part of growing up is accepting the things that make you different and embracing them and finding places that are special | |
COVID-19 pandemic | Being in the same physical space day after day causes extreme conflicts COVID, sort of united the family: feeling the same, sharing similar feeling, and feeling safe to express them | |
2. Collective stressors | Mental health stigma | The shame and guilt of talking about mental health as a weakness. It's like, “Oh yeah, I have this pain, I have this sneezing. I have the fever. It is like more objective neutral thing to talk. But mental health, that's so stigmatized to talk about that.” |
Uncertainty from COVID | In COVID-19, we are like floating on the ocean, we have no idea what is coming next. And things keep piling up Things that I see on the news make me feel that I am uncertain about what my future holds: “Where should I move to build my family and find the place where I belong?” | |
Polarized Society and family conflicts | Issues around injustice, inequality, and racism have been ongoing. [My family and I] are not necessarily in active conflicts, just disagreements, not seeing eye to eye on these issues, and not really talking about them either, because of not much understanding on either side. Instead of bringing up frustration, which ends up being something that I'm okay with, but I think my mom is not. For example. She would rather spend our time to share things that pertain to our individual lives rather than to the broader society |