Asian American And Pacific Islanders - 2310 Words

Introduction Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are one of the fastest growing minorities in the United States. Despite their mainstream success academically and financially, hence the model minority myth that has been associated with AAPIs, they continue to face many challenges in seeking mental health services in their communities. Although the exact number of AAPI youth with mental illness is not known, research suggests that Asian American youth are at high risk. †¢ Asian American adolescent boys are twice as likely as Non-Hispanic whites to be physically abused. †¢ AAPI females have the highest rates of suicidal ideation of any ethnic group between the ages of 15-24 †¢ 30 percent of Asian American females in 5th through 12th†¦show more content†¦Since parents are not likely to identify mental health symptoms in their children, teachers and staff members at schools may be more likely to identify symptoms and refer children to mental health treatment. Therefore, the research question that is being examined is whether school-based mental health (SBMH) services are effective for treating depression and anxiety in Asian American adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18. Evaluation of Evidence Most of the articles were found under the social services abstract from ProQuest Databases. Some keywords that were used in the search bar included a variation of Asian American mental health, mental health treatment, Asian American adolescents, school based mental health intervention, SBMH, and depression. Articles worth reading needed to be relevant to the research question, peer-reviewed, and published within the last 10 years. Articles that were meta-analytic reviews were excluded. Author(s) Sample Size Intervention Outcome Findings Anyon, Ong, Whitaker 8,466 SBMH a)Asian students report significantly lower risk factors for poor mental health compared to other racial minority adolescents, with the exception of depressive symptoms. Self-reports of depressive symptoms did not associate with higher service use for Asian students. Asian students underutilize SBMH