ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2627-2739
Year
2025
Season
Spring
Paper Type
Master's Thesis
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Degree Name
Master of Science in Psychological Science (MSPS)
Department
Psychological and Brain Sciences
NACO controlled Corporate Body
University of North Florida. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
Committee Chairperson
Dr. Anita Fuglestad
Second Advisor
Dr. Angela Mann
Department Chair
Dr. Lori Lange
College Dean
Dr. Kaveri Subrahmanyam
Abstract
Asian Americans show hesitation seeking professional mental health services, as well as stigmatized attitudes towards help-seeking for mental health treatment in general. While the link between this stigma and lack of help-seeking is clear in past studies, there is a gap in the literature in looking at how various cultural mechanisms important to traditional Asian cultures interact with one another to contribute to mental health stigma. The goal of the current study was to examine intergenerational conflict, saving face, and temporal orientation to predict mental health stigma among Asian Americans. Participants (N = 208) were all second-generation Asian American immigrants. All were asked to self-report their temporal orientation, importance given to saving face, levels of intergenerational conflict with their families, and their ingroup mental health stigma attitudes. Two serial mediation analyses were conducted: one for the effect of past-future temporal orientation on mental health stigma through saving face and intergenerational conflict, and one for the effect of present temporal orientation through saving face and intergenerational conflict. Serial mediation effects were not found for either the past-future model or the present model, but both had a mediation effect of temporal orientation on mental health stigma through intergenerational conflict as the sole mediator. The present model also showed a significant direct positive effect of present orientation on mental health stigma. Intergenerational conflict appears to mediate the effect of temporal orientation on mental health stigma. Higher intergenerational conflict predicts lower mental health stigma, suggesting that intergenerational conflict may not discourage help-seeking attitudes for mental health. Present orientation's positive effect on mental health stigma may be connected to the increased salience of racial socialization among second generation Asian American immigrants. These results may help in constructing more culturally competent interventions in reducing mental health stigma among Asian American immigrants.
Suggested Citation
Suren, Vaishnavi, "The cultural mechanisms of mental health stigma in Asian Americans" (2025). UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 1333.
https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/etd/1333