This article examines three distinguishing characteristics of Hmong culture, and gives examples of the problems these differences can create in serving Hmong children and their families.Background information is provided to help facilitate the assimilation of the Hmong refugees from Laos into American society. The 100,000 involuntary refugees live primarily in Texas, California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Rhode Island, and 66% receive Refugee Cash Assistance or Aid to Families with Dependent Children. Topics covered are 1 the nature and importance of the clan, 2) the centrality of the family and childbearing and discipline, and 3) beliefs about physical and mental illness. The clan, or extended family group, is the basic social and political unit among the Hmong. There are 18 family clans, and all are represented in the US. There is a clan leader who is authorized to represent the clan in working with other clans in the best interests of Hmong society and who has tremendous decision-making power within the group. The clan provides a sense of belonging and helps in group decisions making and problem solving within families. Families are patrilineal, and men are the sole providers while women raise the children and care for the home. Divorce is rare, and if it occurs, the woman must give up her children to the children's fathers clan. Children were considered an economic asset in their rural agrarian life, however, in America, there is the realization that large families are expensive to support. Contraception is resisted. The discipline of children is strict but not abusive by American Standards. Adolescence is a difficult times even for the Hmong and a culture which requires parental presence on a date and views kissing and holding hands in public as inappropriate is in conflict with American culture. The Hmong have coped with the extent of poverty within their ranks. They also value education. The risk factors for assimilation are cultural dissonance and social isolation. Other conflicts with American culture arise in the treatment of disease and the psychological effects of being a minority culture and having lived through a particularly violent time.

[No Keywords available]

doctor patient relation anthropology cultural anthropology Physician-Patient Relations Americas refugee Interpersonal Relations Sick Role Migrants population psychological aspect developing country Laos Population Dynamics mental health human Family And Household Refugees Developing Countries Asia Ethnic Groups ethnic group Developed Countries ethnology family size Family Characteristics human relation Mental Disorders health mental disease United States Cultural Background North America family marriage sociology Cross-Cultural Comparison Asian Americans Asian American Personality Development Acculturation ego development risk factor Risk Factors Child Rearing Behavior Western Hemisphere cultural factor social welfare Social Sciences Article migration Marriage Patterns Southeastern Asia population and population related phenomena developed country Demographic Factors patient attitude Critique Economic Factors Northern America Anthropology, Cultural Population Characteristics nuptiality Child