In this episode we speak with Professor Cindy Y. Huang, whose work has shown that while the impact of worsening mental health and the pandemic is felt across youth identity categories, some youth are facing higher risk based on things like their identity or immigration status. For example, Asian American youth and their families have dealt with an increase in racism and racial violence and the sense of fear that goes along with it. 

Professor Huang notes the prevalence of these struggles (3:10) and how recent attention to mental health issues has given more of us language to talk about them, and how they are impacted by contextual factors like racism and discrimination (3:39). She gives us a sense of how these trends have been developing over time and why she thinks we’ve hit a point where we can no longer look away (6:20).

The conversation gets personal when Professor Huang shares about her experience as a psychologist and mother of three young children in the early days of the pandemic, experiencing some of the very stress and risk factors she studies (9:55). She points out the way young people experience uncertainty, right alongside our own, even if they don’t know how to describe it (11:34).

We also ask her what we can look for to identify when those around us are struggling, and she gives solid tips for noticing changes in behavior (14:38), how to check in and really listen to their responses. Professor Huang describes somatic symptoms, when our mental or emotional states can show up in our bodies (21:03). Finally she shares how understanding and compassion for the contextual factors impacting mental health,  like race and discrimination, can begin in our conversations at home (22:48).

You can find the full transcript of the episode here, along with links to Professor Huang’s work. 

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This series is created, hosted and produced by Joe Riina-Ferrie and Jen Lee, with audio production and original music by Billy Collins. "How's School?" is a production of The Digital Futures Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University.