ABSTRACT
A 10-year-old Korean American female presents to her pediatrician with multiple visits for stomachaches. After careful evaluation reveals no gastrointestinal problems, her doctor consults with a local child and adolescent psychiatrist regarding the patient and relays concern for possible anxiety. “She always tells me she is worried about school, even though she gets good grades, and seems very anxious to me in the offi ce. Also, she has diffi culty falling asleep at night due to her worries.” Aside from myopia requiring eyeglasses, the patient is overall healthy, with no history of developmental delay, and there is no concern for learning disorders. The psychiatrist asks about the patient’s family, and is informed the patient is the only child of fi rstgeneration Korean immigrants, and lives at home with her mother and father. Her parents speak English, but not fl uently, and while her mother accompanies her to all appointments, the patient is the primary historian-occasionally translating for her mother. Mother and daughter appear to have a loving relationship; however, the pediatrician notes that she fi nds it odd that the patient’s mother often mentions the patient’s grade point average.
