Part 2 essay

Panahi-Pour

Japanese Immigrant Mental Health and Wellbeing

Yasha Panahi-Pour

UCR

Professor Ayón

February 3, 2021

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Immigrants encounter significant barriers when it comes to accessing mental health. They

face discrimination, economic problems, and hostile immigration policies preventing them from

accessing better mental health care services (Teruya & Bazargan-Hejazi, 2013). In the United

States, mental health is a significant issue among Japanese immigrants mainly because of racial

discrimination, economic challenges, and health services accessibility challenges. Besides, several

social determinants of health influence how the Japanese immigrants experience mental health in

the U.S. Some of these social determinants of health include economic stability, neighborhood and

physical environment, education, food, community and social context, and health care system

(Cabral & Cuevas, 2020). The immigration status of the Japanese Americans also plays a

substantial role in this group's mental health. The social determinants of health, including

economic stability, neighborhood and physical environment, education, food, community and

social context, and health care system influence the Japanese immigrants' mental health experience

in the United States.

Section 1: Characteristics of Immigrant Group

The immigrant group under consideration in this assignment is the Japanese immigrants.

The Japanese immigrants comprise an ethnic group that falls under the Asian Americans category.

It is regarded as one of the oldest groups of Asian origin to have moved to the United States. The

first Japanese immigrants arrived in the U.S. in the 1880s during the Meiji period (Torimoto,

2017). They first settled in Hawaii islands before moving to the mainland in the late 1890s to early

1900s. Most researchers have pointed out that the home country's challenges and the desire to seek

a better future motivated the early Japanese immigrants to shift to the United States. Although they

initially worked as laborers in the sugar plantations in Hawaii, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1888

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paved the way for Japanese immigrants to get other better jobs in mainland America, increasing

their population.

Today, Japanese immigrants reside mostly reside in California, Washington, and Oregon

states. According to the 2010 census, there were 1.3 million Japanese immigrants in the U.S. with

272,528 living in California, 185,502 in Hawaii, 37,780 in New York, and 35,008 in Washington

(Torimoto, 2017). The metropolitan areas occupied by the Japanese immigrants include Honolulu,

Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The median age among Japanese immigrants is 40 years. There

are more women Japanese immigrants than men with 52% and 48%, respectively. The average

household income is $60,000, and only 7% of the Japanese immigrant population does not have

health insurance health cover (Orgera & Tolbert, 2020). Concerning the family structure, Japanese

families are patriarchal, with the father as the breadwinner and must be accorded utmost respect.

However, there have been recent changes in gender roles as women among the Japanese

immigrants receive equal educational and employment opportunities.

Section 2: Brief History of Immigration in the U.S.

As noted in the first section above, the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the United

States in the 1880s. At this time, this group comprised less than 1000 individuals. They first settled

in Hawaii, working mainly as farm laborers in sugar plantations. By 1900, the number of Japanese

immigrants reached 25, 000 and apart from being farm laborers, these individuals also worked in

mining and mills camps (Torimoto, 2017). After a few years, the Japanese immigrants started

forming small communities within small towns and established restaurants, general stores, and

small hotels. By 1925, many Japanese immigrants flocked into the United States, comprising over

100,000 individuals. During this time, the Japanese immigrants established many of its

foundational institutions.

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Although many newcomers found their employment in migratory labor working in mines,

farms, and railroads, some became active in labor activism. Following constant agitation efforts,

many Japanese immigrants founded their businesses, such as restaurants and shops serving the

community needs. They also established cooperative societies that provided financial support to

farmers and businesses. By 1920, Japanese immigrant farmers owned about 450,000 acres of land

in California and generated about 10% of the total crop revenue (Torimoto, 2017). However,

despite the Japanese immigrant progress in the 19th century, this success story did not come on a

silver plate. The group encountered significant challenges and policy barriers. For instance, they

were excluded from employment, and most of them only worked as laborers regardless of their

qualifications. Several campaigns by the English-language press called for the exclusion of

Japanese immigrants from American life in the early 1990s.

The press labeled the Japanese as the enemies of the American workers and corrupt agents.

This influenced the Alien Land Law's passing in 1913 in California that barred all Asian

Americans from owning land. The policy aimed to discriminate Japanese immigrants from owning

property and competing with the natives. In 1924, the federal government enacted the Immigrant

Act of 1924 that ended Japanese immigration (Torimoto, 2017). Despite these challenges, the

Japanese demonstrated resilience through sticking together and speaking in one voice as a family.

They also learned to manure the restrictive system; for instance, the Japanese immigrants

registered their lands using European names following the Alien Land Law of 1913 enactment.

Section 3: Determinants of Health

Mental health is essential in every stage of individuals' lives beginning from childhood,

adolescence, through adulthood to older adulthood. Healthy People (2021) defined mental health

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as the emotional, psychological, and social well-being of a person. It often impacts how people

feel, thinks, and behave. A compromised mental health status entails a situation where individuals'

emotions, psychology, and overall social well-being are not good or unstable. In other words, the

person has a poor mental status, feels terrible, and cannot think properly. Mental health problems

can result from genetics, such as a history of mental illness running in the family, chronic medical

conditions, financial/economic situations (lacking money), and death or loss of loved ones.

Examples of mental health concerns include depression, stress, anxiety, sleep disorders, bipolar

disorder, and personality disorder.

In the United States, mental health illness is a massive problem. Current studies show that

about 20.6% of the U.S. adults experienced mental illness in 2019, constituting approximately one

in five adults. More females (49.7%) experienced mental health concerns than males (36.8%).

Apart from mental illness affects virtually everyone in the United States, several factors

impact/influence how immigrants (Japanese immigrants) experience this condition. These factors

are often known as the social determinants of health. Healthy People (2021) defined the social

determinants of health as situations in which individuals are born, live, play, worship, work, or

learn that impact people's and community's health outcomes and quality of life. Such conditions

include economic stability, neighborhood and physical environment, education, food, community

and social context, and health care system.

Economic Stability

According to the Healthy People 2020 campaign, economic stability comprises the pillar of

the social determinants of health. One of the significant indicators in the economic stability domain

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is employment. Employment is directly linked to an individual’s health outcomes (Teruya &

Bazargan-Hejazi, 2013). For instance, employed individuals can earn income to consume healthy

foods, access better healthcare, and live in better housing. In the case of Japanese immigrants,

employment influences mental health among this group negatively.

Recent statistics show that about 58% of Japanese immigrants are employed, and about

39% are out of the labor force. Although 58% seems like a considerable number, a significant

percentage of Japanese immigrants are still out of the labor force or doing less paying jobs.

Lacking employment makes many of them go through financial difficulties compared to the whites

with similar qualifications, therefore subjected to an array of mental health problems. Assari and

Kumar (2018) stated that most Japanese immigrants have mental illness due to poor or low paying

jobs. Due to a lack of employment, most Japanese immigrants cannot access or afford better

mental health care services, worsening their conditions.

Neighborhood and Physical Environment

The neighborhoods and physical environment where individuals live tend to impact their

health outcomes and overall well-being directly. For instance, people can live in communities with

high violence rates and unsafe water and air, which negatively affects their physical and mental

health. Most Japanese immigrants live in New York and Honolulu, which are among cities with

the highest violence rate, thus harming their mental health. Research by John et al. (2012)

established that immigrants living in places with high crime/violence rates are likely to experience

mental health illness such as stress, anxiety, and depression for fear of being mugged, killed, or

robbed. Another study by Cabral and Cuevas (2020) also indicated that most immigrants live in

areas with high safety and health risks because of their minority status, which harms their mental

health.

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Education

Education is a major social health determinant because it enables individuals to make

informed decisions about their health and maneuver the healthcare system (John et al., 2012). For

instance, highly educated people can prioritize diagnosis or know which facility to visit before a

health condition worsens. According to recent reports, about 32% of the Japanese immigrants have

attained a bachelor’s degree. This number is still low and means that a considerable percentage of

the population only has basic education. Because of the massive population of individuals without

tertiary education, most do not have the appropriate health literacy to seek mental health treatment.

Alegría et al. (2008) pointed out that most immigrants have low education levels to make informed

decisions about their health. Some even die without knowing their ailments due to a lack of

information for a diagnosis or treatment. The author suggested that improving education and health

literacy among immigrants can help boost health outcomes since these groups will make informed

health decisions, preventing specific health conditions.

Food

Typically, food is linked to economic stability indicators like employment and income

(John et al., 2012). As noted earlier, a significant percentage of Japanese immigrants are

unemployed, thus lack money to access nutritious food, which affects their health outcomes. For

example, due to a lack of healthy and adequate food, most Japanese immigrants are often forced to

starve and subjected to mental illness such as stress and depression. A study by Castañeda et al.

(2012) showed that immigrant parents who cannot provide enough food to their children or family

are likely to suffer from various mental health problems such as depression, panic disorders,

personality disorders, and eating disorders.

Community and Social Context

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The community and social context domains comprise indicators like social support

networks and resources (Artiga & Hinton, 2019). These domains can influence health outcomes

positively or negatively. Japanese immigrants entail one of the most socially knit ethnic

communities in the United States. Their culture is defined by living together, helping each other,

and visiting one another frequently. Because of this, Japanese immigrants have robust

social/family support networks that release the impacts of mental illness. Those with mental health

concerns receive adequate family support, speeding their recoveries. An article by Butkus et al.

(2020) established that Japanese immigrants have a culture that embraces togetherness, ensuring

that individuals with mental illness, especially among the elderly population, receive sufficient

social support. This influences better health outcomes.

Health Care Systems

Health care systems and policies comprise significant health determinants since they

impact the type and health care available to an individual or community (John et al., 2012).

Generally, the U.S. health care system is expensive compared to other developed nations. In 2019,

the U.S. government spent about $3.8 trillion or 17.7% of the GDP on health care. Because of the

enormous health care costs and the high unemployment rate among Japanese immigrants, most of

them cannot access better health care services, affecting the health outcomes negatively. Teruya

and Bazargan-Hejazi (2013) pointed out that the costly health care system of the United States is a

massive problem to many immigrants’ health since they cannot afford better health care services.

This is why the Healthy People 2020 campaigns suggest reducing care costs and expanding

insurance coverage to ensure health equity in the United States.

Immigration as a Social Determinant of Health

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Immigration status and policy plays a significant role in the health of Japanese immigrants.

For instance, in states with restrictive immigrant policies such as Arizona, access to employment

and health services for mental health concerns affects immigrants' health outcomes adversely

(Castañeda et al., 2012). In other words, the restrictive regulations prevent Japanese immigrants

from accessing better mental health care services, jeopardizing the health outcomes (Teruya &

Bazargan-Hejazi, 2013). Also, most immigrants encounter discrimination in employment,

education, social support, and health care access, which influences their mental health outcomes

negatively because of the immigration status. For instance, due to constant racial discrimination,

immigrants can experience anxiety, stress, or depressive disorders, reducing the quality of life or

well-being.

Japanese immigrants moved to the United States as early as the 1880s. They have since

settled to become among the powerful communities of Asian origin. The group faced significant

challenges but demonstrated resilience to become what they are today. Besides, mental health is a

massive concern among Japanese immigrants, and this condition is influenced by several social

determinants of health including economic stability, neighborhood and physical environment,

education, food, community and social context, and health care system. The factors have positive

and negative effects on the mental health outcomes of Japanese immigrants. Lastly, the

immigration status and policies also impact the health outcomes of this ethnic group negatively.

References

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Alegría, M., Canino, G., Shrout, P. E., Woo, M., Duan, N., Vila, D., & Meng, X. L. (2008).

Prevalence of mental illness in immigrant and non-immigrant US Latino groups. American

Journal of psychiatry, 165(3), 359-369.

Artiga, S., & Hinton, E. (2019). Beyond health care: the role of social determinants in promoting

health and health equity. Health, 20(10), 1-13. http://files.kff.org/attachment/issue-brief-

beyond-health-care

Assari, S., & Kumar, A. (2018). Social determinants of physical self-rated health among Asian

Americans; comparison of six ethnic groups. Societies, 8(2), 24.

Butkus, R., Rapp, K., Cooney, T. G., & Engel, L. S. (2020). Envisioning a better US Health Care

System for all: reducing barriers to care and addressing social determinants of

health. Annals of internal medicine, 172(2_Supplement), S50-S59.

Cabral, J., & Cuevas, A. G. (2020). Health inequities among latinos/hispanics: documentation

status as a determinant of health. Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities, 1-6.

Castañeda, H., Holmes, S. M., Madrigal, D. S., Young, M. E. D., Beyeler, N., & Quesada, J.

(2015). Immigration as a social determinant of health. Annual review of public health, 36,

375-392.

Healthy People (2021). Social Determinants of Health.

https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-of-health

John, D. A., De Castro, A. B., Martin, D. P., Duran, B., & Takeuchi, D. T. (2012). Does an

immigrant health paradox exist among Asian Americans? Associations of nativity and

occupational class with self-rated health and mental disorders. Social science &

medicine, 75(12), 2085-2098.

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Orgera, K., & Tolbert, J. (2020). Key Facts about the Uninsured Population.

https://www.kff.org/uninsured/issue-brief/key-facts-about-the-uninsured-population/

Teruya, S. A., & Bazargan-Hejazi, S. (2013). The immigrant and Hispanic paradoxes: A

systematic review of their predictions and effects. Hispanic journal of behavioral

sciences, 35(4), 486-509.

Torimoto, I. (2017). Okina Kyūin and the Politics of Early Japanese Immigration to the United

States, 1868-1924. McFarland.

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