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Running head: ASIAN AMERICANS AND MENTAL HEALTH 1

Asian Americans and Mental Health Related Disorders

Student Name

San Francisco State University

Asian-American Population and Mental Health Related Disorders

ASIAN AMERICANS AND MENTAL HEALTH 2

Asian-American Population and Mental Health Related Disorders

When immigrants arrived to the United States, their purpose was to seek a better life for

their families and loved ones. For those born in America, different struggles arise that may not be

a big deal to those who came here from a different country. To many Asian Americans, sadness

and mental health are the least of their problems, as providing for their families and having

financial stability are held at a higher priority. Most Asian immigrants started their own families

here in America where their children grew up with a different environment, thus teaching them

western values. Adapting to the American way of life is already difficult enough for many

immigrants who come to the United States, especially being introduced to a new western culture

they are unfamiliar with. This is a hardship many Asian Americans face in America, which can

cause a significant negative effect to their mental health. Many factors play into mental health in

Asian Americans such as; disparities in health care, social stigma, and acculturation which could

lead to rejection and mental health problems.

There is discerned interpersonal discrimination while seeking healthcare services

corresponding with poor and physical health, especially amongst Asian Americans. Ranjita

Misra, a researcher for the department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at West Virginia

University, did a study that correlates reported interpersonal discrimination when seeking health

care among a large subgroup of Asian Indians, which is the third largest Asian American

subgroup in the United States. A cross-sectional survey of 1824 participants took place in the

study, specifically those from populations in six states with higher concentrations of Asian

Indians. Perceived interpersonal discrimination when seeking health care was reported by a

relatively small proportion of the population (7.2%). However, Asian Indians who reported poor

self-rated health were approximately twice as likely to perceived discrimination when seeking

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care as compared to those in good or excellent health status (Ranjita, 2016). The results of this

study shows that Asian Indians experience these interpersonal discrimination acts when seeking

health care services, which shows the lack of help given to them when it comes to their mental

health and well-being.

Another reason why many Asian Americans do not seek health care is because there is a

social stigma which is due to their cultural and social beliefs. “A mental health problem is

considered a sign of weakness in traditional Asian cultures, and families do not want to be

stigmatized” (Kim, Atkinson, & Umemoto, 2001). Astraea Augsberger, a researcher at the

Boston University School of Social Work, reported a study of significantly high prevalence of

depression, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts amongst Asian American women who are

children of immigrants. A 5-year mixed methods study examined the differential proportion of

mental health utilization amongst a survey of 701 Asian-American women participants based on

their mental health risk profile determined by current moderate to severe depression symptoms

and lifetime history of suicidality. Results showed that 43% of women reported that they either

suffered from current moderate to severe depression symptoms or lifetime history of suicidal

ideation or suicidal attempts (Augsberger, 2015). Although the high-risk group demonstrated

statistically significant higher mental health utilization compared to the low and medium risk

groups, more than 60% of the high-risk group did not access any mental health care due to the

social stigma of mental health. Also, because mental health is so stigmatized amongst the Asian

American population, many try to solve problems on their own by seeking help from relatives,

spiritual leaders, or traditional healers. Yijie Wang and Su Yeong Kim, journalists for the

Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at University of Texas, conducted a

study on 24 years old old Chinese women name Ting who suffered severe move swings since

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college and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Wang and Kim states that, “Ting’s family did

not seek professional help until after Ting had already been suffering from bipolar disorder for

several years. Even after Ting was diagnosed with a mood disorder, they preferred traditional

Chinese treatment over medication (Wang and Kim, 2013).” Asian cultures tend to hold a

holistic view of mind–body relationships, which may explain why Asian Americans with mental

health problems are likely to report somatic symptoms and prefer traditional treatments that

target both mind and body (Chun, Enomoto, & Sue, 1996). In conclusion, this showed that

mental health is extremely stigmatized in Asian cultures that most Asian families would rather

seek help from relatives, spiritual leaders or traditional healers than seeking professional health

at mental health clinics.

Moving to America, Asian American immigrants are introduced to a new way of living

that is very distinct from their own culture, beliefs, and values, which can have a degrading

effect on their mental health. This problem revolves around the idea of acculturation, which is

defined as a person or group from one culture comes to adopt practices and values of another

culture, while still retaining their own distinct culture (Cole, 2017). For example, Asian

Americans adapting into western culture, norms, and values would be an example of

acculturation. Another term for Asian Americans adjusting to a new culture is also called

“assimilation,” which means the process through which immigrants, their children, and their

children’s children gradually lose their culture of origin and become an indistinguishable part of

the mainstream society (Wang and Kim, 2013). John W. Berry, a Professor of Psychology at

Queen’s University, proposed two different acculturation strategies: integration and assimilation.

Asian immigrants who choose the strategy of assimilation are oriented towards the western

culture rather than towards their heritage culture. Immigrants who choose the strategy of

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integration are highly oriented towards both western culture and their heritage culture. In results,

amongst the two acculturation strategies, integration represents the most effective strategy in

having mutual acceptance between two different cultures, versus, assimilation which has the

lowest mutual acceptance of losing their culture of origin for a mainstream culture. Another

study was conducted by David Takauchi, a Professor and Journalist at the Chinese American

Psychiatric Epidemiological (CAPES), where he took a large-scale sample of 1,747 Chinese

Americans between the ages of 18 and 65. He found that among highly acculturated individuals,

older women were twice as likely as men to experience depression compared to less acculturated

individuals. Takeuchi also states that “U.S.-born Asian American women experienced higher

rates of lifetime depression and anxiety disorders than did foreign-born Asian American women,

and that Asian American men who were more fluent in English experienced lower rates of

depression and anxiety disorders during both a particular 12-month period and over the course of

their life (Takeuchi, 2007). In results, these research findings indicate possible gender and

generational differences in the relationship between acculturation and psychological well-being

showing acculturation being a risk factor for significant levels of depression.

In conclusion, Asian-Americans have a difficult time addressing mental health due to the

perspective of past generations. Older generations of Asians that originate from Asian countries

have always perceived mental illnesses as an impractical problem or a deficiency. There are

disparities in mental health amongst Asian Americans unlike other races in this country. For

example, Indians that live in America face a type of prejudice when pursuing health care

services, which ultimately can affect their mental health. Also, the beliefs of different

generations of Asians can affect their mental health as well due to the stigma connected to

mental health. Older generations of Asians see mental health as a weakness or sort of a “fake

ASIAN AMERICANS AND MENTAL HEALTH 6

problem” because of the many hardships they had to endure in their life. Most families would

rather put their trust in a family member, a healer, or a religious leader when it comes to seeking

healthcare, over a mental health hospital. Moving to America also plays a role in this

indifference between generations on how mental health is noted. The acculturation and change

that families must accustom to once moving into this country for the first time can startle the

social norms that they are familiar to. Parents and past generations have already been taught a

lifestyle and way of life from their origin country, which ultimately causes different perspectives

on certain topics such as mental health. Today in America, a new lifestyle and culture is

introduced to Asian Americans that can shift their values and mental health as it is vastly

different from their parent’s point of view. Asian Americans learn to adapt to the environment of

this country and grow up conforming to the social norms of normal American children and teens.

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Work Cited

Augsberger, A., Yeung, A., Dougher, M., & Hahm, H. C. (2015). Factors influencing the

underutilization of mental health services among Asian American women with a history

of depression and suicide. BMC Health Services Research, 15(1), 542.

Misra, R., & Hunte, H. (2016). Perceived discrimination and health outcomes among Asian

Indians in the United States. BMC Health Services Research, 16(1), 567.

Berry, J. W. (1980). Social and cultural change. In H. C. Triandis & R. Brislin (Eds.), Handbook

of cross-cultural psychology (Social psychology, Vol. 5, pp. 211– 279). Boston: Allyn &

Bacon.

Takeuchi, D. T., Chun, C.-A., Gong, F., & Shen, H. (2002). Cultural expressions of distress.

Health, 6 , 221–236.

Wang, Y., & Kim S. Y. (2013). Acculturation and Culture; A Critical Factor for Asian

Americans’ Health. Handbook of Asian American Health.

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