Myths & Facts

Not all Asian Pacific Americans are as uniformly educated, acculturated, and financially successful as the myth of the "model minority" would suggest. Like other communities, Asian Pacific Americans need health and social services to improve their children's well being.

Here are some facts to contradict the myths:

In the United States:

• 17% of Asian American boys in grades 5 through 12 reported physical abuse, as compared to 8% among White boys, in a survey by the Commonwealth Fund.
  (The Health of Adolescent Boys: A Commonwealth Fund Survey. The Commonwealth Fund, 1998)
• 30% of Asian American girls in grades 5 through 12 reported depressive symptoms, as compared to White girls (22%), African American girls (17%), or Latino girls (27%), in a survey by the Commonwealth Fund.
  (The Commonwealth Fund Survey of the Health of Adolescent Girls. The Commonwealth Fund, 1998)
• Asian Americans are twice as likely to be poor as non-Hispanic whites.
  (1990 Census)
• The illiteracy rate of Asian Americans is 5.3 times that of non-Hispanic whites.
  (1990 U.S. Census, Social and Economic Characteristics)
• Asian American women ages 15-24 have a higher rate of suicide than Whites, Blacks, and Latinos in that age group.
  (Center for Disease Control and Prevention)
• 73.3% of Asian Americans speak a language other than English.
  (An Invisible Crisis: The Educational Needs of Asian Pacific American Youth. Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, 1997)
• 14% of Asian Americans live below the poverty line, compared to 13% of the U.S. population.
  (An Invisible Crisis: The Educational Needs of Asian Pacific American Youth. Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, 1997)

In New York City:

• From 1980-2000, the Asian American Pacific Islander population increased at least 231%.
  (US Census Bureau)
• 52% of Asian American births in 1999 were paid for by Medicaid, indicating that their mothers are poor or near poor, more than double that of 1990 (22%).
  (NYC Department of Health Summary of Vital Statistics, 1998)
• 24% of Asian Americans over age 25 do not have a high school degree.
  (US Census Bureau)
• 33% of Asian Americans students in public high schools drop out or do not graduate on time.
  (Class of 1999 Four Year Longitudinal Report and Event Drop Out Rates, NYC Board of Education)
• 96% of Asian American children are immigrants or children of immigrants.
  (1996 Housing & Vacancy Survey)
• 46% of Asian American households do not have anyone over age 14 who can speak English well.
  (US Census Bureau)
• 17.6% of Asian American households have incomes below the poverty line but only 7.2% receive public assistance.
  (1996 Housing & Vacancy Survey)
• The number of Asian American youths arrested for major felonies increased 38% between 1993 and 1996.
  (NYPD, Office of Management Analysis and Planning)
• Asian Americans live in the most overcrowded housing of any broadly defined ethnic or racial group; nearly one-fifth of all Asian households in the city are overcrowded.
  (1996 Housing & Vacancy Survey)

Moments in America for Asian American Children

(From a publication of the Children's Defense Fund: Special Report: Sizing up the Odds. CDF Reports, March 1999, Volume 20, Number 3)

• Every 13 hours, an Asian American baby dies.
• Every 1 hour, an Asian American baby is born to a mother who had late or no prenatal care.
• Every 5 hours, an Asian American baby is born at very low birth weight (less than 3 lb., 4oz.).
• Every 45 minutes, an Asian American baby is born at low birth weight (less than 5 lb., 8 oz.).
• Every 1 hour, an Asian American baby is born to a teen mother.
• Every 21 minutes, an Asian American baby is born to a mother who is not a high school graduate.
• Every 19 minutes, an Asian American baby is born to an unmarried mother.
• Every 16 minutes, an Asian American child is arrested.
• Every 7 hours, an Asian American child is arrested for a violent crime.
• Every 6 hours, an Asian American child is arrested for drug abuse.
• Every 2 hours, an Asian American public school student is corporally punished.
• Every 1 minute, an Asian American public school student is suspended.