Mental illness stigmas in South Asian Americans: A cross-cultural investigation.

Abstract

The present investigation first compared endorsement of stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes toward mental illness (onset responsibility and courtesy stigma) among South Asian Americans (n = 52), East Asian Americans (n = 52), and European Americans (n = 64), then tested associations between cultural mechanisms, education in psychology, and endorsement of mental illness stigma. Although South Asian Americans showed greater endorsement of courtesy stigma compared with European Americans, endorsement of onset responsibility did not vary across the three ethnic-cultural groups. Further, although higher endorsement of traditional Asian values was associated with both higher onset responsibility and courtesy stigma, these associations were moderated by ethnic group, and were significant only for European Americans. On the other hand, higher endorsement of interdependent self-construals was associated with lower courtesy stigma, but these associations were also moderated by ethnic group, and were significant only for South Asian Americans. Finally, education in psychology was associated with negative onset responsibility, but not courtesy stigma.

Engaging South Asian youth and families: A clinical review

“…In a study comparing three ethnic groups, SA were significantly more likely to endorse courtesy stigma than European Americans. This study showed that collectivist values were associated with higher stigmatizing attitudes (Chaudhry & Chen, 2019). This is consistent with Thara and Srinivasan (2000) who demonstrate that caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia in India often experienced grief or depression because of the illness of their relative and worried that people would find out about the relative's illness, and that neighbors would consequently treat them differently or avoid them.…”

Loneliness and mental health outcomes among South Asian older adult immigrants in the United States: a cross‐sectional study

“…A statistically higher proportion of older adults noted not talking to anyone if they experienced mental health issues, which may reinforce past findings regarding stigma associated with mental health in South Asian communities 40–42 . Although participant perceptions of mental health help‐seeking behaviors among community members was also assessed, their interpretation of “community” may be subjective and thus, likely to differ across the study.…”

Systematic Review of Cultural Aspects of Stigma and Mental Illness among Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups in the United States: Implications for Interventions

“…For Asian Americans, all comparative studies showed higher levels for some stigma types than White Americans (Chaudhry & Chen, 2019; Cheng, 2015; Loya et al., 2010; Masuda et al., 2009; Pedersen & Paves, 2014; Thapar‐Olmos & Myers, 2017; WonPat‐Borja et al., 2012; Yang et al., 2013), although a few found no differences or lower levels on other types. For example, two studies reported higher self‐stigma but not public stigma (Loya et al., 2010; Pedersen & Paves, 2014).…”

“…However, explicit use of genetic explanations of mental illness was mixed; one study found higher stigma (Cheng, 2015) and another lower stigma (WonPat‐Borja et al., 2012) than White Americans. Meanwhile, South Asian Americans were more likely than both East Asian Americans and White Americans to endorse stigma toward the family of people with mental illness (Chaudhry & Chen, 2019), and toward South Asian versus White characters with mental illness (Thapar‐Olmos & Myers, 2017).…”