ABSTRACT
Asian American adults endorse more symptoms of social anxiety (SA) on self-report measures than European Americans, but demonstrate lower prevalence rates of SA disorder in epidemiological studies. These divergent results create ambiguity concerning the mental health needs of Asian Americans. The present study is the first to investigate this issue in adolescents through assessment of self-reported SA in Asian American high school students. Parent and self-ratings of impairment related to SA and self-reported mental health service use for SA were also measured. Asian American students endorsed a greater number of SA symptoms and scored in the clinical range more frequently than other ethnic groups. Also, Asian American and Latino students endorsed more school impairment related to SA than other ethnic groups. No differences in parent-reported impairment or service utilization were identified. Implications for future research and treatment for SA among Asian American adolescents are discussed.
Subject(s)
Anxiety/ethnology , Asian/psychology , Black or African American/psychology , Hispanic or Latino/psychology , Mental Health Services/statistics & numerical data , Phobic Disorders/ethnology , Students/psychology , White People/psychology , Adolescent , Female , Humans , Male , Mass Screening , Mental Health/ethnology , Schools , Self Report , Young AdultABSTRACT
When immigrant youth come to the United States, they must learn to interact with dominant and cultural groups as part of the adjustment process. The current study investigated whether the association between Chinese immigrant high school students' (N = 286) English fluency, academic and career/ college help-seeking, multidimensional acculturation, family responsibilities, and social support, predicted their intercultural competence concerns (their interactions across dominant and cultural groups). Results indicate that this was the case. Implications for research and practice with immigrant youth in a high school context are discussed.
