Psychosocial Factors and Mental Health among Asian Americans

Background/Significance
Because Asian Americans have become the fastest growing racial group in the United States, it becomes essential to understand their health profiles, especially those of mental health, which are often viewed as least concerning and yet their heterogeneity and severity greatly underestimated.

Objective/Purpose
We examined lifetime and 12-month prevalence rates of affective disorder and anxiety disorder along with self-rated health and the K-10 Kessler scale for psychological distress using data from a national sample of Asian Americans. We looked at and compared the effects of major socio-demographic and psychosocial factors on measures of mental disorders.

Methods
We used data from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), one of the largest and most comprehensive epidemiologic study of the Asian American community as of today, to address our research questions.

Results
Multifold findings were yielded from this study. First and foremost, socio-demographic characteristics, such as education and household income, unsurprisingly were powerful predictors of mental health status. Second, psychosocial characteristics, including marital status and social support, affect measures of mental health differently.

Discussion/Conclusions
While similar patterns are often found between socio-demographic factors, psychosocial characteristics, and mental health outcomes, careful analyses and replications uncovered nuances in the relationships between these commonly used variables and different mental health outcomes. Such findings can have important implications for coping strategies and public health policies to improve the health of the Asian American communities.