Transcript The Use of Youth Gang Activity Markers in Eradicating

Assessing the Health of Asian
American Youth:
A Multidisciplinary Approach
Cliff Akiyama
University of Pennsylvania
Jerry Lee Center of Criminology
Philadelphia, PA
Asian Demographics
Asian Demographics in the United
States (2000 Census Data)
 Asians make up 11.9 million of the total population
 U.S. residents who reported Asian alone or in
combination with one or more other races made up
4.2% of the total population in the U.S.
 Chinese are the leading Asian group with 2.7
million followed by Filipinos (2.4 million)
 U.S. residents who reported as Native Hawaiian and
Other Pacific Islander alone or in combination is
874,400 (0.3 percent of the total population)
Asian Demographics in the United
States (2000 Census Data)
 Median income of Asian and Pacific Islander (API)
households is $55,525, the highest median income of
any racial group
 The poverty rate of Asians and Pacific Islanders is
10.7% (lowest poverty rate the Census Bureau has
ever measured for this race group)
 44% of Asians and Pacific Islanders age 25 and
over hold a bachelor's degree or higher (the
corresponding rate for all adults 25 and over was
26%)
Asian Demographics in the United
States (2000 Census Data)
 1 in 7 Asian and Pacific Islanders ages 25 and over
hold an advanced degree
 The five largest contributors to the nation's Asianborn population were China, India, Korea,
Philippines, and Vietnam
 Close to half (about 45 percent) of the nation's
Asian-born population lived in three metropolitan
areas: Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco
Asian Demographics in the United
States (2000 Census Data)
 4.2 million of California residents (12% of total CA
population) reported as Asian in Census 2000,
making the Golden State the state with the highest
number of Asians
 New York, Hawaii, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois,
Washington, Florida, Virginia, and Massachusetts
followed in order. Combined, these ten states
represented 75% of the country's Asian population
Asian Demographics in the United
States (2000 Census Data)
 31.1 was the median age of the Asian population
 6.9 million people spoke an Asian or Pacific
Islander language at home
 There are over 100 Asian languages/dialects spoken
in the United States
 47% of the foreign-born population from Asia who
were naturalized U.S. citizens
 88% of API’s were either foreign-born themselves
or had at least one foreign-born parent
Asian Youth Gangs
Asian Gang Statistics in
Los Angeles County, California
 Asian gangs make up about 11% of the total gang
population (1,351 total gangs)
 There are currently 151 documented Asian gangs
in the County of Los Angeles
 Average age is 15 with a range of 8-22 years
 Gang membership exceeds 6,000 (over 150,000 total
members)
Asian Gang Statistics in
Orange County, California
 Asian gangs make up about 16% of the total gang
population (365 total gangs)
 There are currently 65 documented Asian gangs
in Orange County
 Average age is 15 with a range of 8-22 years
 Gang membership exceeds 3,000 (over 22,000 total
members)
Ethnic Composition of Asian
Youth Gangs
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Vietnamese
Cambodians
Laotians
Filipinos
Samoans
Chinese/Taiwanese
Koreans
Factors Contributing to Asian
Youth Gang Membership
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Lack of adult supervision
Breakdown of the family
Victimization due to racism
Reactions to culture shock
Need for survival
Desire for monetary profit
Traditional
Versus
“Non-Traditional"
Asian Gangs
Characteristics of Traditional
Asian Gangs
 Primarily found to be Pacific Islanders (i.e:
Filipinos, Samoans, Chamorros)
 Primary motive is driven by money and
drugs
 Extremely territorial
 Typically wear identifying colors which
indicate their gang affiliation (Red=Bloods
and Blue=Crips)
Characteristics of “NonTraditional” Asian Gangs
 Primarily found to be Vietnamese, Laotian,
Cambodian, Korean, or Chinese
 Prey on their own culture
 Primary motive is driven by money by
committing high tech crimes (i.e: computer
chip theft, credit card fraud, counterfeiting,
and auto theft)
 Extremely violent (home invasions)
 Transient (move from one place to another)
 Racial exclusivity
Suicide
National Characteristics of Suicide
 Suicide took the lives of 30,575 Americans in 1998 (11.3
per 100,000 population)
 More people die from suicide than from homicide. In
1998, there were 1.7 times as many suicides as homicides
 Overall, suicide is the eighth leading cause of death for all
Americans and is the third leading cause of death for
young people aged 15-24
 Males are four times more likely to die from suicide than
are females. However, females are more likely to attempt
suicide than are males
 Nearly 3 of every 5 suicides in 1998 (57%) were
committed with a firearm
Suicide in the Asian Community
 Suicide in the Asian Community makes up
11% of all suicides reported, which is the
highest for any minority group
 Asian American women have the highest
suicide rates among women ages 15 to 24
and those over age 65
 Suicide is ranked 8th in the leading causes
of death for Asian American and Pacific
Islander women in the United States
Teen Pregnancy
Teen Pregnancy in the
Asian Community
 As a group, Asian/Pacific Islanders (API)
experience low rates of teen pregnancy and
childbearing, and are therefore often left out of
prevention efforts as a low-risk population
 The "model minority" stereotype, coupled with
classification of API communities as a single
"Asian" group, has masked significant health
and social issues, in particular with adolescent
pregnancy
Teen Pregnancy in the Asian
Community: Confronting the Truth
 Asian/Pacific Islanders currently have one
of the fastest growing teenage pregnancy
rates in the nation, at a time when U.S. teen
births overall are decreasing
 When using a single API classification the
percentage of births to teen mothers is 5.6,
far below the percentages among whites
(12%), Hispanics (16%), and blacks (18%)
Teen Pregnancy in the Asian
Community: Confronting the Truth
 The greater API population comprises both the
lowest percentage of teen births (Chinese teens
at 1%) and the highest (Laotian teens at 19%)
 Groups falling in between include Chamorros
(Guam) at 17% and Hawaiians at 14%
 Cambodians and Pacific Islanders are also at
highly elevated risk of teen childbearing and
have seen a dramatic increase in the past few
years
Improving the Health of
Asian American Youth
Before any type of intervention or
prevention program can be implemented
in an Asian community, the community
must first admit that they have a problem
Apathy is the community’s worst enemy
Must gain “trust” within the community
Improving the Health of
Asian American Youth
 A multidisciplinary approach is needed to help
fight various health and social problems
 Such an approach should include the public
health, medical, legal, and law enforcement
sectors
 Prevention programs should promote parent
involvement and education
 Increase community involvement and
education through outreach programs