understand the effects of this imprisonment on their
own families.
The end of the Vietnam War in 1975 and the im-
migration that followed provides another example of
a historical influence on a different group of Asian
Americans. This group of Southeast Asian immi-
grants came from three different countries: Vietnam,
Laos, and Cambodia. Although the first immigrants
who came to the United States around 1975 were gen-
erally wealthy and quickly established themselves in
their new country, immigrants that followed came
from more desperate circumstances, escaping refu-
gee camps and war-ravaged conditions in their home-
lands. Following these immigrants came the people
released from reeducation camps and many biracial
Asian children whose American fathers were in the
service during the Vietnam War. Understanding
which group the families of Southeast-Asian-
American children are associated with can provide
those working with them in schools and elsewhere
with crucial information about their backgrounds,
value systems, and behaviors. In the Southeast-Asian-
American community, there is a high level of respect
for education and those who provide it, and thus
good grades and hard work are emphasized by these
families.
Having more knowledge about the value systems,
practices, and histories of Asian-American children
can aid all those who work with them in better under-
standing their differences from and their similarities
to non-Asian-American individuals.
See also: RACIAL DIFFERENCES
Bibliography
California State Department of Education. A Handbook for Teaching
Korean-Speaking Students. Sacramento: California State De-
partment of Education, Office of Bilingual Bicultural Educa-
tion, 1983.
Leung, Brian. ‘‘Who Are Chinese-American, Japanese-American,
and Korean-American Children? Cultural Profiles.’’ In Vale-
rie Pang and Li-Rong Cheng eds., Struggling to Be Heard: The
Unmet Needs of Asian Pacific American Children. Albany: State
University of New York Press, 1998.
Pang, Valerie, and Li-Rong Cheng, eds. ‘‘The Quest for Concepts,
Competence, and Connections: The Education of Asian Pacif-
ic American Children.’’ Struggling to Be Heard: The Unmet
Needs of Asian Pacific American Children. Albany: State Universi-
ty of New York Press, 1998.
Tran, My Luong. ‘‘Behind the Smiles: The True Heart of South-
east-Asian-American Children.’’ In Valerie Pang and Li-Rong
Cheng eds., Struggling to Be Heard: The Unmet Needs of Asian
Pacific American Children. Albany: State University of New York
Press, 1998.
Jennifer Teramoto Pedrotti
ASTHMA
Asthma is the most common chronic illness seen in
childhood, affecting 5 to 15 percent of children in the
United States, approximately 3 million children
younger than eighteen years of age. One-third of
these children have severe asthma. Over the last twen-
ty-five years, there has been an increase in the preva-
lence of asthma. Although part of this may be
attributed to physicians diagnosing asthma earlier in
children, there still seems to be a real rise in the num-
ber of children worldwide with asthma. In the United
States, African-American children are more likely to
have asthma and more severe instances of the disease
compared to Caucasian children. African-American
children under four years of age are hospitalized four
times as often for their asthma. Crowded inner city
living also has been shown to increase a child’s likeli-
hood of having asthma, regardless of race. The inner
city environment has particles or allergens such as air
pollutants that sensitize these children to develop
asthma. Urban settings provide increased allergic ex-
posures and increased viral infections early in life
(possibly secondary to earlier daycare placement),
and crowding. Furthermore, asthma tends to be more
severe among children, resulting in higher death
rates for children with asthma. Other associated fac-
tors include prematurity, low birthweight, poor nutri-
tion, lack of breastfeeding, and low family income.
Genetics also plays a role in developing asthma. If
one parent is affected with asthma, the child is three
times as likely to develop asthma compared to a child
with non-asthmatic parents; if both parents have asth-
ma, the risk increases sixfold.
Asthma is an illness that affects the lungs, specifi-
cally the airways. Air enters the body through the nose
or mouth. It then enters the trachea, also known as
the windpipe. This is the large main airway of the
lungs. The trachea then divides into two smaller pipes
called bronchi that bring air to both the right and left
lungs. These airways then divide into many smaller
airways called bronchioles. These small airways even-
tually bring air (and oxygen) to the smallest sub-unit
of the lung called the alveolus. The alveolus is where
oxygen enters the blood and where carbon dioxide is
released. There are hundreds of thousands of alveoli
in each lung.
The airways are made up of three parts. First
there are the smooth muscle cells that surround the
airway. These cells allow the airway to get bigger or
smaller by relaxing or contracting. These muscles are
involuntary, meaning that they cannot be consciously
moved. They respond to local chemicals and nerves
to relax and contract. The second part is the lining of
the tube, which is made of normally thin cells called
epithelial cells. These cells help to protect the body30 ASTHMA