Understanding Symptom-Based and Self-Rated Mental Health among Chinese Americans

• In Event: 343 - Section on Medical Sociology Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 10. Subjective Health Assessment

Abstract

Chinese Americans are the largest Asian subgroup in the U.S. (U.S. Census, 2012), and what we know in the literature about their mental health continues to be limited and mixed. In particular, there is evidence to suggest that psychiatric symptoms are less predictive of poorer self-rated mental health (SRMH) among Chinese Americans than for other racial/ethnic groups. In this paper, I describe some characteristics of four Chinese American groups: (1) Positive self-rated and positive symptom-based mental health, (2) Negative self-rated and negative symptom-based mental health, (3) Positive self-rated and negative symptom-based mental health, and (4) Negative self-rated and positive symptom-based mental health. Using data from the National Latino and Asian American Study(NLAAS), I find that the group with better SRMH and no disorders presents advantages in socioeconomic conditions and social support over the other groups. The worse SRMH-with disorders present poorer socioeconomic conditions and less social support than other groups. The better SRMH-with disorder group is the youngest, well educated, the most acculturated to the U.S., and least proficient in Chinese. The worse SRMH-no disorder are the oldest, least educated and least acculturated to the U.S. and best family relations. Overall, my findings suggest that there are various socio-cultural factors that may influence Chinese Americans’ measures of mental health. Some Chinese Americans may not assess their mental health based on psychiatric symptoms, which are more commonly embraced in the West. This paper is intended to guide future research on measures of mental health for Chinese Americans and other immigrant groups.

Author

• Kelly Kato, State University of New Jersey-Rutgers