Help Seeking Behavior in a Diverse Sample of Asian American Adults
![](https://ojsdergi.com/ojsicons/gor.png)
![](https://ojsdergi.com/ojsicons/pdf.png)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/124Keywords:
help-seeking, Asian AmericanAbstract
We sought to characterize the help-seeking behavior of Asian Americans living in a Southeastern community in the U.S. by examining different types of services sought, help-seeking preferences, and how demographic characteristics and mental health problems (including domestic violence) predicted these behaviors. 610 Asian Americans (mean age = 39.43 years; 59.6% female; 75% immigrants) completed an anonymous, community survey that included measures of different types of help-seeking behaviors and preferences, mental health symptoms, and exposure to domestic violence. The two most-frequently help-seeking behaviors included seeking advice from friends, family members, or relatives (66.7%), and visiting a medical doctor (46.4%). In logistic regression models, older age, sex, immigrant status and symptomatic depression predicted different types of help-seeking behaviors and preferences. Neither domestic violence experience or symptomatic anxiety significantly predicted help-seeking.Downloads
References
Abe-Kim, J., Takeuchi, D. T., Hong, S., Zane, N., Sue, S., Spencer, M. S., . . . Alegrı´a, M.(2007). Use of mental health-related services among immigrant and US-born Asian Americans: Results from the National Latino and Asian American Study. American Journal of Public Health, 97, 91–98. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2006.098541 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2006.098541
Abe-Kim, J., Takeuchi, D., & Hwang, W. (2002). Predictors of help seeking for emotional distress among Chinese Americans: Family matters. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70(5), 1186-1190. doi: 10.1037//0022-006X.70.5.1186 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.70.5.1186
Abdullah, T., & Brown, T. L. (2011). Mental illness stigma and ethnocultural beliefs, values, and norms: An integrative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 934-948.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.05.003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.05.003
Appel, H. B., Huang, B., Ai, A. L., & Lin, C. J. (2011). Physical, behavioral, and mental health issues in Asian American women: Results from the National Latino Asian American Study. Journal of Women’s Health, 20(11), 1703-1711. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2010.2726 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2010.2726
Atkinson, D. R., & Gim, R. H. (1989). Asian-American cultural identity and attitudes toward mental health services. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 36(2), 209-212. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.36.2.209 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.36.2.209
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. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-015-1191-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-015-1191-7
Barnett, M. L., Lau, A. S., & Miranda, J. (2018). Lay health worker involvement in evidence-based treatment delivery: A conceptual model to address disparities in care. Annual review of clinical psychology, 14, 185-208. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-050817- 084825 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-050817-084825
Bauer, A. M., Chen, C.-N., & Alegría, M. (2012). Associations of physical symptoms with perceived need for and use of mental health services among Latino and Asian Americans. Social Science & Medicine, 75(6), 1128–1133. doi:10.1016/j. socscimed.2012.05.004. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.05.004
Bridges, A. J., Andrews III, A. R., Villalobos, B. T., Pastrana, F. A., Cavell, T. A., & Gomez, D. (2014). Does integrated behavioral health care reduce mental health disparities for Latinos? Initial findings. Journal of Latina/o Psychology, 2(1), 37-53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/lat0000009 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/lat0000009
Chang, J., Natsuaki, M. N., & Chen, C. (2013). The importance of family factors and generation status: Mental health service use among Latino and Asian Americans. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 19(3), 236-247. doi: 10.1037/a0032901 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032901
Cheng, H. L., Wang, C., McDermott, R. C., Kridel, M., & Rislin, J. L. (2018). Self‐stigma, mental health literacy, and attitudes toward seeking psychological help. Journal of Counseling & Development, 96(1), 64-74. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12178 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12178
Chong, S. A., Abdin, E., Vaingankar, J. A., Kwok, K. W., & Subramaniam, M. (2012). Where do people with mental disorders in Singapore go to for help? Annals Academy of Medicine, 41(4), 154-160.
Cifti, A., Jones, N., & Corrigan, P. W. (2013). Mental health stigma in the Muslim community. Journal of Muslim Mental Health, 7(1), 17-32. doi: 10.3998/jmmh.10381607.0007.102 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3998/jmmh.10381607.0007.102
Clement, S., Schauman, O., Graham, T., Maggioni, F., Evans-Lacko, S., Bezborodovs, N., ... & Thornicroft, G. (2015). What is the impact of mental health-related stigma on help-seeking? A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies. Psychological medicine, 45(1), 11-27. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291714000129 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291714000129
El-Khoury, M. Y., Dutton, M. A., Goodman, L. A., Engel, L., Belamaric, R. J., & Murphy, M. (2004). Ethnic differences in battered women’s formal help-seeking strategies: A focus on health, mental health, and spirituality. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 10(4), 383-393. doi: 10.1037/1099-9809.10.4.383 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/1099-9809.10.4.383
Hamby, S., Sugarman, D. B., & Boney-McCoy, S. (2006) ‘Does Questionnaire Format Impact Reported Partner Violence Rates? An Experimental Study’, Violence and Victims 21(4):507–18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.21.4.507
Han, M., & Pong, H. (2015). Mental health help-seeking behaviors among Asian American community college students: The effect of stigma, cultural barriers, and acculturation. Journal of College Student Development, 56(1), 1-14. doi:10.1353/csd.2015.0001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2015.0001
Henderson, C., Evans-Lacko, S., & Thornicroft, G. (2013). Mental illness stigma, help seeking, and public health programs. American Journal of Public Health, 103(5), 777-780. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301056 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2012.301056
Hoeft, T. J., Fortney, J. C., Patel, V., & Unützer, J. (2018). Task‐sharing approaches to improve mental health care in rural and other low‐resource settings: a systematic review. The Journal of rural health, 34(1), 48-62. https://doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12229 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12229
Hunt, J. B., Eisenberg, D., Lu, L., & Gathright, M. (2015). Racial/ethnic disparities in mental health care utilization among US college students: applying the Institution of Medicine definition of health care disparities. Academic Psychiatry, 39(5), 520-526. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-014-0148-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-014-0148-1
Hyman, I., Forte, T., Du Mont, J., Romans, S., & Cohen, M. M. (2009). Help-seeking behavior for intimate partner violence among racial minority women in Canada. Women’s Health Issues, 19, 101-108. doi:10.1016/j.whi.2008.10.002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2008.10.002
Jimenez, D. E., Cook, B., Bartels, S. J., & Alegria, M. (2013). Disparities in mental health service use of racial and ethnic minority elderly adults. Journal of American Geriatrics, 61(1), 18-25. doi: 10.1111/jgs.12063 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.12063
Kam, B., Mendoza, H., & Masuda, A. (2018). Mental health help-seeking experience and attitudes in Latina/o American, Asian American, Black American, and White American college students. Advance online: International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-018-9365-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-018-9365-8
Kayaalp, A . (2016). The Impact of “Temporal Personality” on Individuals’ Organizational Citizenship Behaviors. Journal of Management and Information Science, 4 (2), 79-86. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17858/jmisci.05093
Kenna, J., & Russell III, W. (2018). The Culture and History of Standards-Based Educational Reform and Social Studies in America. Journal of Culture and Values in Education, 1(1), 26-49. Retrieved from http://cultureandvalues.org/index.php/JCV/article/view/2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.46303/jcve.01.01.3
Kenna, J. L., & Poole, C. M. (2017). Social science pre-service teachers’ preparation to teach about asia: A research study. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 8(1), 93-114.
Kim, B. S. K., & Omizo, M. M. (2003). Asian cultural values, attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, and willingness to see a counselor. The Counseling Psychologist, 31(3), 343-361. doi: 10.1177/0011000003252268 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000003031003008
Kim, J. E., & Zane, N. (2016). Help-seeking intentions among Asian American and White American students in psychological distress: Application of the health belief model. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 22(3), 311-321. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000056 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000056
Kratt, D. (2018). Teachers’ perspectives on educator mental health competencies: A qualitative case study. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 2(1), 22-40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/5792
Krishnan, S. P., Hilbert, J. C., & VanLeeuwen, D. (2001). Domestic violence and help-seeking behaviors among rural women: Results from a shelter-based study. Family Community Health, 24(1), 28-38. doi:10.1097/00003727-200104000-00006 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00003727-200104000-00006
Lanoye, A., Stewart, K. E., Rybarczyk, B. D., Auerbach, S. M., Sadock, E., Aggarwal, A., ... & Austin, K. (2017). The impact of integrated psychological services in a safety net primary care clinic on medical utilization. Journal of clinical psychology, 73(6), 681-692. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22367 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22367
Lee, S., Juon, H. S., Martinez, G., Hsu, C. E., Robinson, E. S., Bawa, J., & Ma, G. X. (2009). Model minority at risk: Expressed needs of mental health by Asian American young adults. Journal of community health, 34(2), 144-152. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-008-9137-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-008-9137-1
Leong, F. T. L., & Lau, A. S. L. (2001). Barriers to providing effective mental health services to Asian Americans. Mental Health Services Research, 3(4), 201-214. doi:10.1023/A:1013177014788 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013177014788
Le Meyer, O., Zane, N., Cho, Y., & Takeuchi, D. T. (2009). Use of specialty mental health services by Asian Americans with psychiatric disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77, 1000–1005. doi:10.1037/a0017065 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017065
Leung, P., Cheung, M., & Tsui, V. (2012, 01). Help-Seeking Behaviors among Chinese Americans with Depressive Symptoms. Social Work, 57(1), 61-71. doi:10.1093/sw/swr009 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swr009
Logan, S., Steel, Z., & Hunt, C. (2017). Ethnic status and engagement with health services: Attitudes toward help-seeking and intercultural willingness to interact among South East Asian students in Australia. Transcultural psychiatry, 54(2), 192-210. doi: 10.1177/1363461517696437j DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461517696437
Lu, S. H., Dear, B. F., Johnston, L., Wootton, B. M., & Titov, N. (2014). An internet survey of emotional health, treatment seeking and barriers to accessing mental health treatment among Chinese-speaking international students in Australia. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 27(1), 96-108. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2013.824408 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2013.824408
Luu, T. D., Leung, P., & Nash, S. G. (2009). Help-seeking attitudes among Vietnamese Americans: The impact of acculturation, cultural barriers, and spiritual beliefs. Social Work in Mental Health, 7, 476–493. doi:10.1080/15332980802467456 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15332980802467456
Mirza, S. (2018). Impact of Mentoring on At-Risk Youth. Research in Social Sciences and Technology, 3(1), 36-53. Retrieved from http://ressat.org/index.php/ressat/article/view/341 DOI: https://doi.org/10.46303/ressat.03.01.3
Mutamba, B. B., van Ginneken, N., Paintain, L. S., Wandiembe, S., & Schellenberg, D. (2013). Roles and effectiveness of lay community health workers in the prevention of mental, neurological and substance use disorders in low and middle income countries: a systematic review. BMC health services research, 13(1), 412. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-13-412 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-13-412
Nam, S. K., Chu, H. J., Lee, M. K., Lee, J. H., Kim, N., & Lee, S. M. (2010). A meta-analysis of gender differences in attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Journal of American College Health, 59(2), 110-116. doi:10.1080/07448481.2010.483714 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2010.483714
Nguyen, P., Leung, P., & Cheung, M. (2011). Bridging help-seeking options to Vietnamese Americans with parent-child conflict and depressive symptoms. Child & Youth Services Review, 33(2011), 1842-1846. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.05.009 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.05.009
Park, S. Y., Cho, S., Park, Y., Bernstein, K. S., & Shin, J. K. (2013). Factors associated with mental health service utilization among Korean American immigrants. Community mental health journal, 49(6), 765-773. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-013-9604-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-013-9604-8
Roh, S., Burnette, C. E., Lee, K. H., Lee, Y. S., Martin, J. I., & Lawler, M. J. (2017). Predicting help-seeking attitudes toward mental health services among American Indian older adults: Is Andersen’s behavioral model a good fit? Journal of Applied Gerontology, 36(1), 94-115. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464814558875 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464814558875
Sadock, E., Perrin, P. B., Grinnell, R. M., Rybarczyk, B., & Auerbach, S. M. (2017). Initial and follow‐up evaluations of integrated psychological services for anxiety and depression in a safety net primary care clinic. Journal of clinical psychology, 73(10), 1462-1481. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22459 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22459
Sandanger, I., Moum, T., Ingebrigtsen, G., Dalgard, O. S., Sørensen, T., & Bruusgaard, D. (1998). Concordance between symptom screening and diagnostic procedure: The Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 and the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 33(7), 345-354. doi:10.1007/s001270050064 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s001270050064
Shea, M., & Yeh, C. J. (2008). Asian American students’ cultural values, stigma, and relational self-construal: Correlates of attitudes toward professional help seeking. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 30(2), 157-172. doi:10.17744/mehc.30.2.g662g5l2r1352198 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17744/mehc.30.2.g662g5l2r1352198
Spencer, M. S., Chen, J., Gee, G., Fabian, C. G., & Takeuchi, D. T. (2010). Discrimination and mental health – Related service use in a national study of Asian Americans. American Journal of Public Health, 100(12), 2410-2417. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2009.176321 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2009.176321
Straus, M. A. (1979). Measuring intramarital conflict and violence: The Conflict Tactics Scale. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 41(7), 5-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/351733
Sue, S., Cheng, J. K. Y., Saad, C. S., & Chu, J. P. (2012). Asian American mental health. American Psychologist, 67(7), 532-544. doi: 10.1037/a0028900 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028900
Tata, S. P., & Leong, F. T. L. (1994). Individualism-collectivism, social-network orientation, and acculturation as predictors of attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among Chinese Americans. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 41(3), 280-287. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.41.3.280 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.41.3.280
Wang, T. (2015). Marginality of rural migrant students in eleven Chinese high schools. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 2(2), 21-32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/30
Wu, I. H., Bathje, G. J., Kalibatseva, Z., Sung, D., Leong, F. T., & Collins-Eaglin, J. (2017). Stigma, mental health, and counseling service use: A person-centered approach to mental health stigma profiles. Psychological services, 14(4), 490-501. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ser0000165 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000165
Yigit, I. H., & Tatch, A. (2017). Syrian refugees and Americans: Perceptions, attitudes and insights. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 1(1), 13-31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/5789
Ying, Y. W., & Miller, L. S. (1992). Help-seeking behavior and attitude of Chinese Americans regarding psychological problems. American Journal of Community Psychology, 20(4), 549-556. doi: 10.1007/BF00937758 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00937758
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2018 Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
By submitting a manuscript to JECS, authors agree to transfer without charge the following rights to JECS upon acceptance of the manuscript: first worldwide publication rights and the right for JECS to grant permissions as JECS editors judge appropriate for the redistribution of the article, its abstract, and its metadata in professional indexing and reference services. Any revenues from such redistribution are used solely to support the continued publication and distribution of articles.
Accepted 2018-11-11
Published 2018-12-09