Promoting mental and physical health of Vietnamese immigrants through a cultural movement intervention.

Objectives: Older Vietnamese adults are among the most underserved groups in the United States, despite being at high risk for stress and other negative experiences (e.g., access to same-language practitioners, transportation barriers, lack of health care).

Examining risk and protective predictors of substance use among low-income Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adolescents.

Substance use (SU) among adolescents is a critical public health concern that increases the risk for negative outcomes. Although Asian American (AA) adolescents tend to report low rates of SU, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NH/PI) adolescents often report significantly higher rates of use. Yet, NH/PI youth are seldom studied as a separate group.

Reducing mental health disparities by increasing the personal relevance of interventions.

One of the most persistent health disparities is the underutilization of mental health services by people of color. Neither evidence-based treatments (universal focus) nor culturally adapted treatments (group focus) have reduced these disparities. We propose the personal relevance of psychotherapy (PROP) model, which integrates universal, group, and individual dimensions to determine the personal relevance of interventions.

Dementia caregiver intervention development and adaptation in the Vietnamese American community: A qualitative study.

Objectives:: The purpose of this study was to obtain input and feedback on a proposed intervention to reduce stress and enhance the health of Vietnamese dementia caregivers.

Methods:: Sixteen semi-structured, in-depth interviews and two focus groups were conducted with a total of 21 key stakeholders (i.e.

Decreases in implicit self-esteem explain the racial impact of microaggressions among Asian Americans.

Asian Americans are commonly perceived as perpetual foreigners and, therefore, not "true" Americans. Asian Americans report inquiries about nationality and English abilities as the most common forms of racial microaggressions perpetrated by White Americans (Sue, 2015). Race theorists assert that these microaggressions are race-related and marginalize Asian Americans.

Cultural influences in mental health treatment.

Research on mental health treatments from 2010 to 2015 has continued to highlight the critical role of culture on treatment services, processes, and outcomes for racial/ethnic minority groups. Studies showed that factors such as acculturation and phenotypic appearance were associated with risk for psychopathology. Issues such as face concern and acculturation level were associated with the quality of client-therapist relationships and the amount of information clients disclosed in sessions.

Counseling services for Asian, Latino/a, and White American students: Initial severity, session attendance, and outcome.

Objective: The current study examined racial/ethnic differences in initial severity, session attendance, and counseling outcomes in a large and diverse sample of Asian American, Latino/a, and White student clients who utilized university counseling services between 2008 and 2012.

Method: We used archival data of 5,472 clients (62% female; M age = 23.1, SD = 4.

Help-seeking intentions among Asian American and White American students in psychological distress: Application of the health belief model.

Objective: Underutilization of needed mental health services continues to be the major mental health disparity affecting Asian Americans (Sue, Cheng, Saad, & Chu, 2012). The goal of this study was to apply a social psychological theoretical framework-the health belief model (Rosenstock, 1966)-to understand potential reasons why Asian Americans underutilize mental health services relative to White Americans.

Method: Using a cross-sectional online questionnaire, this study examined how perceived severity of symptoms, perceived susceptibility to mental health problems, perceived benefits of treatment, and perceived barriers to treatment influenced intentions to seek help among a sample of 395 Asian American and 261 White American students experiencing elevated levels of psychological distress.

The influence of psychological symptoms on mental health literacy of college students.

Psychological problems, such as depression and anxiety, are common among college students, but few receive treatment for it. Mental health literacy may partially account for low rates of mental health treatment utilization. We report 2 studies that investigated mental health literacy among individuals with varying degrees of psychological symptoms, using cross-sectional online survey methodology.

Domain identification moderates the effect of positive stereotypes on Chinese American women's math performance.

We examined whether an individual difference factor, math domain identification, moderated performance following positive stereotype activation. We hypothesized that positive stereotype activation would improve performance for those more math identified (compared to a control condition), but would hinder performance for those less math identified. We examined 116 Chinese American women (mean age = 19 years).

Therapist Ethnicity and Treatment Orientation Differences in Multicultural Counseling Competencies.

This study examined the relationship between therapist characteristics, therapeutic orientations, person-level and agency-level practices with cultural competency among 221 Los Angeles County community mental health clinicians. Results from an online survey indicated that compared to White therapists, ethnic minority therapists were more personally involved in communities of color, more likely to use a cultural framework in clinical practice, and perceived their agencies to be more culturally sensitive. Ethnic minority therapists also reported greater multicultural (MC) awareness and better MC counseling relationships with their clients than White therapists.

Patterns of Utilization and Outcomes of Inpatient Psychiatric Treatment in Asian Americans.

Most of the knowledge of racial/ethnic disparities in mental health treatment utilization comes from studies examining outpatient services, and less is known about these disparities in inpatient services. This empirical gap may limit our understanding of these disparities since inpatient treatment is the most intensive form of specialty mental health care for patients with psychological disorders. We conducted a systematic chart review of 129 Asian American and 198 White American psychiatric inpatients to examine patterns of inpatient psychiatric treatment utilization.

THE INFLUENCE OF RACE AND ETHNICITY IN CLIENTS' EXPERIENCES OF MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT.

Clinicians and researchers have pointed to the need for culturally sensitive mental health interventions. Yet it has not been determined if the inclusion of cultural elements affects the way mental health clients experience services. This study examined 102 clients who had received mental health treatment from outpatient mental health clinics to investigate whether culturally related elements involving race and ethnicity were important to clients and whether they were related to client satisfaction and perceived treatment outcomes.

Personal gambling expectancies among Asian American and White American college students.

Many college students are involved in gambling behavior as a recreational activity. Their involvement could potentially develop into problem gambling, an issue of increasing concern to student health. At the same time, evidence suggests that Asian Americans are overrepresented amongst problem gamblers in this age period.

Client predictors of short-term psychotherapy outcomes among Asian and white American outpatients.

Purpose: To examine predictors of psychotherapy outcomes, focusing on client characteristics that are especially salient for culturally diverse clients.

Method: Sixty clients (31 women; 27 White Americans, 33 Asian Americans) participated in this treatment study. Client characteristics were measured at pretreatment, and outcomes were measured postfourth session via therapist ratings of functioning and symptomatology.

Examining gender differences for gambling engagement and gambling problems among emerging adults.

Gambling is fast becoming a public health problem in the United States, especially among emerging adults (18-25 year olds). Since 1995, rates have recently doubled with around 7-11 % of the emerging adult population having problems with gambling (Shaffer et al. in Am J Public Health 89(9):1369-1376, 1999; Cyders and Smith in Pers Individ Diff 45(6):503-508, 2008).

Patients' reports about medical doctors' inquiries on their mental health: do generational status, ethnicity and mental health/substance use disorders matter?

Immigrants are less likely than others to use mental health (MH) services. Physicians' limited time often precludes inquiry about MH. This study investigated the influence of generational status, ethnicity, and mental/substance use disorders on physicians' inquiries about Asian American (AA) MH.

Culturally-Competent Treatments for Asian Americans: The Relevance of Mindfulness and Acceptance-Based Psychotherapies.

The development of effective treatments for Asian Americans is important because treatment disparities continue to exist for this population. Because of their theoretical grounding in East Asian philosophies, mindfulness and acceptance-based psychotherapies appear to constitute promising ways to provide culturally responsive mental health care to Asian Americans. However, in practice these approaches often reflect conceptions of mental health that are more consistent with Western world views.

Understanding the psychological processes of the racial match effect in Asian Americans.

Some studies on mental health outcomes research have found that when clients and therapists are ethnically or racially matched, this tends to be related to greater satisfaction and better outcomes. However, the precise underlying mechanism for the match effect has not been extensively examined. In this experimental study, we tested the effect of racial match on critical counseling processes (i.

Use of specialty mental health services by Asian Americans with psychiatric disorders.

Research suggests that Asian Americans underutilize mental health services but an understanding of the multiple factors involved in utilization has not been examined in a nationally representative sample. The current study analyzed data from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) and examined 368 individuals with disorders to understand utilization and what factors were related to the utilization of specialty mental health services. Significant underutilization was found for Asian Americans; moreover, underutilization was especially acute among Asian American immigrants.

The case for cultural competency in psychotherapeutic interventions.

Cultural competency practices have been widely adopted in the mental health field because of the disparities in the quality of services delivered to ethnic minority groups. In this review, we examine the meaning of cultural competency, positions that have been taken in favor of and against it, and the guidelines for its practice in the mental health field. Empirical research that tests the benefits of cultural competency is discussed.

Using mediators and moderators to test assumptions underlying culturally sensitive therapies: an exploratory example.

Factors hypothesized to impact Asian American responses to counseling were tested as mediators and moderators of perceived counselor credibility and working alliance. Asian and European American college students (N = 182) were assigned randomly to view simulated directive or nondirective therapy approaches. Mediation analyses examined whether ethnic group differences in initial perceptions were accounted for by therapist understandability and previous therapy experiences.

Immigration-related factors and mental disorders among Asian Americans.

Objectives: We examined lifetime and 12-month rates of any depressive, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders in a national sample of Asian Americans. We focused on factors related to nativity and immigration as possible correlates of mental disorders.

Methods: Data were derived from the National Latino and Asian American Study, the first national epidemiological survey of Asian Americans in the United States.

Use of mental health-related services among immigrant and US-born Asian Americans: results from the National Latino and Asian American Study.

Objectives: We examined rates of mental health-related service use (i.e., any, general medical, and specialty mental health services) as well as subjective satisfaction with and perceived helpfulness of care in a national sample of Asian Americans, with a particular focus on immigration-related factors.