CAM Use for Mental Health Problems Among Chinese Americans: The Effect of Acculturation

• In Event: 115 - Section on Asia and Asian America Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 08. Social Determinants of Health and Well-being

Abstract

This study used data from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES) to investigate the 12-month prevalence and predictors of the use of CAM therapies relative to conventional Western medical services among Chinese Americans. The first part of the study examined the racial/ethnicity difference in the service utilization patterns between Chinese Americans and non-Hispanic whites, while the second part investigated the effects of acculturation-related factors within the population of Chinese Americans.

Multinomial logistic regression analyses revealed significant heterogeneity of exclusive CAM use by racial/ethnicity and generational status, as well as English proficiency, gender, age, marital status, education, employment status, having insurance, and having any probable psychiatric disorder. Specifically, first generation Chinese immigrants lagged behind second, third-or-higher generation Chinese Americans, and non-Hispanic whites in the likelihood of using exclusive CAM services, as well as any services in general. In addition, this study found that exclusive CAM service use was more popular than the use of only conventional Western medicine or a combination of both, among all Chinese Americans except for the second generations. The findings provided a more nuanced understanding of the pattern of mental health service use among Chinese Americans. Implications for health policy and future research were discussed.

Author

• Lin Zhu, Temple University