The American Community: 2004 - Feb. 15 - These three reports present a portrait of racial and ethnic population groups in the United States based on data from the 2004 American Community Survey. Each report provides information on a number of characteristics (e.g., education, household type, income, commuting, etc.). Data are presented in tables, figures, and maps. In addition, the Asian and Hispanic reports present data for selected detailed groups (Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino,
Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese for Asians; Guatemalans, Hondurans, Salvadorans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, and Peruvians for Hispanics). Two additional reports on the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
population and the American Indian and Alaska Native population will be released later this year. Internet address:
The American Community - Hispanics: 2004
http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/acs-03.pdf
The American Community - Blacks: 2004
http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/acs-04.pdf
The American Community - Asians: 2004
http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/acs-05.pdf |
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While Asian American/Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing
ethnic minority group in the country, there remains a serious lack
of data that offers an accurate picture of the issues.1
Primary health, housing, employment, education, economic status,
acculturation, immigration, legal issues, etc. all impact one's
emotional well being, yet hard data on the mental health status
of AAPIs are difficult to find. Stigma, limited English proficiency
and different cultural norms about what constitutes appropriate
mental health interventions make it difficult to ascertain the prevalence
of mental illness among AAPIs.2
This Fact Sheet provides a sample of available data in an effort
to offer a brief overview of issues facing AAPIs in this country.
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 To
see the numbered items detail, click
here. |
| ISSUE I: |
| AAPI youth are at risk for emotional and
behavioral problems. |
| • |
API females consistently have the highest suicide rate
of females between the ages of 15-24. 3
|
| • |
30% of Asian American girls in grade 5 through 12 reported
depressive symptoms as compared to Non-Hispanic White (22%), Africa
American (17%) or Hispanic (27%). 4 |
| • |
Every 7 hours an Asian American child is arrested for
a violent crime. 5 |
| • |
In the City of Westminster in Orange county, CA approximately
17% of all juvenile delinquency and 48% of all Asian delinquency involve
Asian gangs.6 |
| ISSUE II: |
| Pacific Islanders are at increased risk
for serious emotional problems and other related problems. |
| • |
Native Hawaiian youth have significantly higher rates
of suicide attempts than other adolescents in Hawaii. 7 |
| • |
Six-month prevalence rate of major depression among
Hawaiian youth was found to be 8.5%. 7 |
| • |
Methamphetamine smoking in Guam is now generally accepted
as an epidemic. 8 |
| ISSUE III: |
| Southeast Asians are at particular risk
for serious emotional/behavioral problems. |
| • |
40% of Southeast Asian refugees suffer from depression,
35% from anxiety, and 14% from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
9 |
| • |
53.1% of Hmongs, 40.8% of Cambodians and 32.6% of Laotians
have household incomes of less than $15,000 compared to Non-Hispanic
Whites at 21.6%. 10 |
| • |
There are approximately 15,000 Asian street gang members
in California, mostly Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian or Hmong, with
an increase in Asian females. 11 |
| ISSUE IV: |
| Domestic violence is an increasingly serious
problem in the AAPI communities affecting both woman and children. |
| • |
In a report on domestic violence in Massachusetts, 39%
of the Vietnamese respondents and 47% of Cambodian respondents reported
that they know a woman who has been physically abused or injured by
her partner. 12 |
| ISSUE V: |
| Asian American elderly experience serious
mental health problems. |
| • |
Asian American elders show a greater prevalence of dementia
than the general population. 13 |
| • |
The suicide rate among Chinese American elderly women
has been found to be 10 times higher than for White elderly women.
13 |
| ISSUE VI: |
| Utilization rates for mental health services
among AAPIs are low. |
| • |
Controlling for lifetime prevalence of mental illness,
Asian Americans are less likely to use mental health services than
White Americans. 14 |
| • |
AAPIs frequently somatize their problems, preferring
to go to their primary care physician rather than seek help from a
mental health clinician. In Seattle, up to one half of all visits
to primary care physicians are due to conditions caused by or exacerbated
by mental or emotional problems. 14 |
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Challenges to the field
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| FACT I: |
| There continues to be a lack of accurate
data, evaluation and research on AAPIs. |
| • |
Collect and disaggregate data that will give an accurate
account of differences between the various ethnic groups. |
| • |
Conduct evaluation and research specific to AAIP populations
utilizing appropriate outcome measures and evaluation instruments. |
| FACT II: |
| There is a lack of trained bi-lingual/bi-cultural
personnel. |
| Challenge: |
| • |
Increase the number of trained bi-lingual paraprofessionals.
|
| • |
Train human service professionals and others working
with AAPI populations on providing culturally appropriate mental health
services. |
| FACT III: |
| AAPIs are a diverse population requiring
culturally appropriate intervention strategies. |
| Challenge: |
| • |
Identify, develop and implement intervention strategies
which appropriately address gender, ethnicity, age, regional and generational
differences. This includes looking at Pacific Islanders, Southeast
Asians, youth, elders, females and those living in areas with limited
AAPI resources. |
| • |
Integrate mental health and primary health care services |
| FACT IV: |
| AAPIs remain a silent voice in the mental
health arena. |
| Challenge: |
| • |
Increase involvement of consumers and family members
at all levels of program design, implementation, evaluation, training
and advocacy efforts. |
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Download
Fact Sheet (PDF format - requires
Adobe(TM)
Acrobat(TM) Reader)
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