Asian Indian Americans Research Articles

Perceptions of Dementia among Asian Indian Americans

We surveyed a convenience sample of 255 Asian Indian Americans (AIAs) aged 18-81 years assessing perceptions of dementia etiology, help-seeking, and treatment, and knowledge of symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In response to a vignette describing the early stages of AD, participants indicated a substantial willingness to seek help. Most participants knew that memory loss was the key symptom of dementia, yet most knowledge items were correctly answered by fewer than half of the sample. Participants who had more knowledge of AD were more likely than those with less knowledge of AD to state that they would seek help for an elderly relative showing symptoms of dementia. Relative to other psychosocial factors, loneliness was highly rated as an etiological factor and keeping mentally active was highly rated as a treatment. This study is the first to document dementia beliefs among AIAs, illustrating the need for culturally-tailored dementia education and care for the AIA population.

Perceptions of Dementia among Asian Indian Americans

We surveyed a convenience sample of 255 Asian Indian Americans (AIAs) aged eighteen to eighty-one years that assessed their perceptions of dementia etiology, help seeking, and treatment and their knowledge of symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In response to a vignette describing the early stages of AD, participants indicated a substantial willingness to seek help. Most participants knew that memory loss was the key symptom of dementia, yet most knowledge items were correctly answered by fewer than half of the sample. Participants who had more knowledge of AD were more likely than those with less knowledge of AD to state that they would seek help for an elderly relative showing symptoms of dementia. Relative to other psychosocial factors, loneliness was highly rated as an etiological factor and keeping mentally active was highly rated as a treatment. This study is the first to document dementia beliefs among AIAs, illustrating the need for culturally tailored dementia education and care for the AIA pop...

Government Risk Management Priorities: A Comparison of the Preferences of Asian Indian Americans and Other Americans

A survey was conducted of approximately 200 Asian Indian Americans and 200 other residents of New Jersey in order to understand the risk management priorities that they want government to have. We found that Asian Indian Americans, especially younger women, focused on personal/family risks, such as alcohol and drug abuse, sexual abuse, and domestic violence. The New Jersey comparison group, in contrast, placed war/terrorism and loss of health care services and insurance at the top of their priorities for government. These results suggest stressful acculturation-related issues within the Asian Indian community. Both populations want more risk management from government than they believe government is currently providing. Respondents who wanted more from government tended to dread the risk, be fearful of the consequences, trust government, and have a feeling of personal efficacy. Within the Asian Indian American sample, wide variations were observed by language spoken at home and religious affiliation. Notably, Muslims and Hindi language speakers tended not to trust government and hence wanted less government involvement. This study supports our call for studies of recent migrant populations and Johnson's for testing ethnic identity and acculturation as factors in risk judgments.

Coronary heart disease mortality for six ethnic groups in California, 1990-2000.

To investigate ethnic variations in coronary heart disease death in California, the authors examined total and CHD-specific mortality among non-Hispanic white (white), Hispanic, non-Hispanic black (black), Chinese, Japanese, and Asian Indian Americans. Deaths were identified in the California Mortality Database and population information was derived from the 1990 and 2000 censuses. Age-standardized death rates per 100,000 population were calculated for ages 25 to 84 years from 1990 to 2000. Proportional mortality ratios (PMRs) for each sex and age group were calculated by dividing the proportion of deaths due to CHD in each ethnic group by the proportion of deaths due to CHD in the total population. Blacks had the highest all-cause age-standardized death rates among men (1614) and women (1014). Blacks had the highest CHD death rates among men (272) and women (190). PMRs for CHD were highest in Asian Indian men (161) and women (144), reflective of the higher percentage of CHD deaths compared with all cause deaths in this group. All sex-ethnic groups showed a decline in all cause and CHD mortality compared with the period between 1985 and 1990, except Asian Indian women, who experienced a 16% increase in all cause mortality and 5% increase in CHD mortality. There is considerable heterogeneity in CHD mortality among ethnic subgroups, and additional research is needed to guide treatment and prevention efforts. Blacks and Asian Indians in California are identified as particularly high risk populations.

Ethnocultural factors in substance abuse treatment

Part I: Introduction. Straussner, Ehtnocultural Issues in Substance Abuse Treatment: An Overview. Part II: Working with Clients of African Background. Wright, Substance Abuse in African American Communities. Harris-Hastick, Substance Abuse Issues among English-Speaking Caribbean People of African Ancestry. Part III: Working with Clients of Native American and Latino Backgrounds. Weaver, Native Americans and Substance Abuse. Rothe, Ruiz, Substance Abuse among Cuban Americans. Alvarez, Ruiz, Substance Abuse in the Mexican American Population. Medina, Toward an Understanding of Puerto Rican Ethnicity and Substance Abuse. Part IV: Working with Clients of European Background. van Wormer, Substance Abuse among Americans of British Descent. Abbott, Substance Abuse Treatment with Clients of French Background. O'Dwyer, The Irish and Substance Abuse. Marinangeli, Italian Culture and Its Impact on Addiction. Gilbert, Langrod, Polish Identity and Substance Abuse. Kagan, Shafer, Russian-speaking Substance Abusers in Transition: New Country, Old Problems. Part V: Working with Clients of Middle Eastern Background. Abudabbeh, Hamid, Substance Use among Arabs and Arab Americans. Straussner, Jewish Substance Abusers: Existing but Invisible. Part VI: Working with Clients of Asian Background. Bromley, Sip, Substance Abuse Treatment Issues with Cambodian Americans. Lai, Ethnocultural Background and Substance Abuse Treatment of Chinese Americans. Sandhu, Malik, Ethnocultural Background and Substance Abuse Treatment of Asian Indian Americans. Matsuyoshi, Substance Abuse Interventions for Japanese and Japanese American Clients. Kwon-Ahn, Substance Abuse among Korean Americans: A Sociocultural Perspective and Framework for Intervention.

Asian American Interracial and Interethnic Marriages: Differences by Education and Nativity

Using the 1990 U.S. census data, we apply log-linear models to examine Asian Americans' interracial marriage with whites and interethnic marriages between Asian ethnic groups. Japanese and Filipino Americans are most likely to marry whites, followed by Chinese and Korean Americans. Southeast Asian and Asian Indian Americans are least likely to marry whites. We further explore how interracial marriage differs by couples' educational and nativity combinations. The impact of educational attainment, generally, is very strong but is modest for Japanese Americans, the most assimilated group, and for Southeast Asian Americans, the least assimilated group. Interracial marriage is more likely for native than for immigrant couples, but immigrants marrying natives are more likely to marry whites than persons of their own ethnic group. Interethnic marriage between Asian ethnic groups is limited to several ethnic groups, but is much more frequent among natives than among immigrants. Japanese and Chinese Americans, who have lived in the United States for several generations, have the highest rate of interethnic marriage. We have shown two forms of integration for Asian Americans – integration into mainstream society through interracial marriage for both immigrants and natives and integration into Asian American pan-ethnicity through interethnic marriage for later-generation natives.

Asian Indian Americans in the Bay Area and the Glass Ceiling

Using the 1990 5% PUMS census data, this paper explores the glass ceiling experiences of college educated Asian Indian Americans in the Bay Area. Theoretical assumptions derived from human capital, assimilation, labor market structures, size discrimination, and cost of race perspectives are used to predict glass ceiling experiences. Separate analyses are conducted for males and females. U.S. born white males and females are used as benchmarks in the male and female models respectively. As predicted by the cost of race assumption, educated Asian Indian American males experience a net disadvantage in rising to management levels. The relative success of immigrant white males in management provides additional support for the cost of race assumption. Once Asian Indian males become managers, their economic returns are better than or commensurate with that of comparable white male managers in some sectors but not in others. Immigrant and U.S. born Asian Indian females face the glass ceiling at both levels: they are disadvantaged in becoming managers and earn less than comparable U.S. born white females once they become managers. There is no conclusive evidence to support the size discrimination hypothesis for males and females. The glass ceiling findings are interpreted using qualitative interview data from Asian Indian Americans in the Bay Area.

Training Multiculturally Competent Counselors to Work With Asian Indian Americans

Studies continue to reveal that Asian Indian Americans tend to underuse counseling or terminate counseling process prematurely. Sociocultural differences and the implications for training counselors are presented.

Epidemiology of type II diabetes: an international perspective.

Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM, type II diabetes) is present in nearly all of the countries of the world, and represents a significant disease burden in most developed countries. Type II diabetes is fairly common among Caucasoid populations in the United States and Europe and, more importantly, among Native Americans, Pacific Island populations, persons of Asian Indian origin, Hispanics and African Americans. Our current understanding is that type II diabetes probably results from an interaction of genetic and environmental factors. While a genetic link is most likely a precursor to type II diabetes, a number of lifestyle behaviours, including obesity, lack of physical activity, and diet, also influence the development of the disease. Lifestyle changes and westernization that accompany economic development in developing countries have been followed in the past by substantial increases in the prevalence of type II diabetes. Thus, further increases in type II diabetes might be expected in the Third World as the economic advancement of these countries continues.

Infant feeding beliefs: A cross cultural perspective

The purpose of this study was to compare the infant feeding beliefs of Anglo Americans [AA], Asian Indian Americans [AIA], living in Knoxville, Tennessee and Asian Indians [AI] in Coimbatore, India. Belief statements were generated from personal interviews and literature reports. The 19 item Likert scale format Infant Feeding Belief Questionnaire [IFBQ] was mailed to 530 mothers; the response rate was 88%; n = 166 AA, 170 AIA, and 149 AI. All three groups were middle income and had one to three children. Over 70% of the mothers had a baccalaureate degree. There were differences [p ≤ .05] in the mean agree/disagree scores on 17 belief statements between AA and the two groups of Indians and differences between AI and AIA on 7 statements. Responses were not related to mother's age or number of children but were related to length of years in the U.S. and parents' education and occupation. AIA responses generally were intermediate between the AA and AI mothers, suggesting a cultural transition period. AIA and AI responses differed on several items about the timing of introduction of supplemental foods. AA mothers were less likely to believe that infant feeding practices were related to specific illnesses, such as diarrhea or indigestion, than were AIA or AI mothers. Results indicate the existence of culture-based differences in infant feeding beliefs which may influence adherence to recommended practices.

Racial and Ethnic Relations

I. THE RACIAL AND ETHNIC MOSAIC. 1. Basic Concepts in the Study of Racial and Ethnic Relations. 2. Adaptation and Conflict: Racial and Ethnic Relations in Theoretical Perspective. II. A NATION OF IMMIGRANTS: AN OVERVIEW OF THE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS OF SPECIFIC RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS. 3. English Americans and the Anglo-Protestant Culture. 4. Irish Americans. 5. Italian Americans. 6. Jewish Americans. 7. Native Americans. 8. African Americans. 9. Mexican Americans. 10. Puerto Rican and Cuban Americans. 11. Japanese Americans. 12. Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese and Asian-Indian Americans. 13. The Future of Racial and Ethnic Relations in the United States. 14. Colonialism and Post-Colonialism: The Global Expansion of Racism. Glossary. Index.