The Mental Health of Asian Americans: An Empirical Study of Their Mental Health Trends, Influenced by both Internal and External Forces

Phaik L. Kee, The College of Wooster

Abstract

The main purpose of the study is examine and to understand the mental health trends of Asian Americans and to disprove the "myth" that they are relatively mentally healthier than others. It is assumed that an underlying factor, Asian I Pacific cultural values influences their mental health trends . Data from mental health agencies in Colorado are used to examine the mental health trends of Asian Americans. The sample size of this study consists of 171 Asian Americans out of an overall base size of 48,219 cases. After some preliminary analyses, only seven variables were used to test the hypotheses; Diagnostics Categories, Ethnicity, Sex, Income Levels, Educational Levels and Marital Status. Findings indicate that Asian Americans are vulnerable to mental illness and certain external factors do exert a considerable amount of impact on their perception of mental illness. It would enhance the validity of this type of study if other communities with large Asian American populations were studied in the future, in terms of overall mental health trends.