Culture and Mental Health: Risk, Prevention and Treatment for Asian Americans

Abstract

Although the number of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) has grown from three million to over sixteen million in the past thirty years (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010), there are still major limitations to our basic understanding about the mental health and service needs of AANHPI groups in the United States. This is unfortunate, as nearly a decade has passed since the Surgeon General's landmark report on culture, race, and mental health (Department of Health and Human Services [DHSS], 2001). The report acknowledged the contributions of many important scholars, but also indicated that the knowledge base remained insufficient and required immediate attention.