Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community

Almost 1.8 million Texans are Asian American (AA) and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (NHOPI) in 2023, making up 5.2 percent of the state’s residents.1 Stigma is often a leading barrier to seeking mental health care in AA and NHOPI communities. Asian Americans are 50 percent less likely to seek mental health services than other racial groups.2 In some Asian cultures, mental health needs are viewed as an individual problem or weakness, and talking openly about sadness, disappointment or depression is not openly encouraged.3 Further, a national survey found that one in three Asian Americans with depression did not see a provider due to cost.4

AA and NHOPI face other unique challenges related to mental health and substance use, including:

  • Language barriers make it difficult to access services;
  • Mental health stigma and cultural conceptualizations of behavioral health within communities can reduce help-seeking;
  • Perceived lower need of mental health care among AA and NHOPI compared to other communities;
  • Provider shortage of clinicals with diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds; and
  • Lack of culturally competent providers to meet cultural, social, and language-related needs.5

Anti-Asian rhetoric and incidents have been on the rise in recent years, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic.6 Experiences of COVID-19-related discrimination increase the likelihood of mental disorders for all Americans, yet have a disproportionate mental health impact on Asians.7 Asian Americans and Asian immigrants are twice as likely as whites to report instances of COVID-10 related discrimination.8 According to the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Asian Americans’ reports of discrimination and unfair treatment have been linked to major depressive disorders, clinical anxiety disorders and mood disorders.9 This has contributed to Asian Americans experiencing higher levels of mental health conditions than whites.10

Recommendations to better meet the needs of the AA and NHOPI communities include:

  • Expansion of insurance coverage and free access to mental health and substance use treatment; and
  • Hiring more AA and NHOPI providers to lessen stigma and cultural barriers.11

References

  1. Harper, K.B. (2023, November 20). More than two-thirds of Texas’ 30.3 million residents live in four largest metro areas. Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/20/texas-2023-population-growth-demographics/ ↩︎
  2. Schlossberg, J.A. (2023, May 9). Confronting mental health barriers in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. UCLA Health. https://www.uclahealth.org/news/confronting-mental-health-barriers-asian-american-and-2 ↩︎
  3. Ibid. ↩︎
  4. Ibid. ↩︎
  5. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2023). Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI). https://www.samhsa.gov/behavioral-health-equity/aa-nhpi ↩︎
  6. Schlossberg, J.A. (May 9, 2023). Confronting mental health barriers in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. UCLA Health. https://www.uclahealth.org/news/confronting-mental-health-barriers-asian-american-and-2 ↩︎
  7. Ibid. ↩︎
  8. Ibid. ↩︎
  9. Ibid. ↩︎
  10. Wu, C., Qian, Y. & Wilkes, R. (2021) Anti-Asian discrimination and the Asian-white mental health gap during COVID-19. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 44(5), 819-835. doi: 10.1080/01419870.2020.1851739 ↩︎
  11. Ibid. ↩︎

Updated on December 12th, 2024



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