This past week, I traveled down to New Orleans for the Asian American Psychological Association National Convention. Even though I'm not a psychologist by training, I have enough of a background in psychology to be utterly fascinated by some of the research that people out there are doing.
It makes me a little frustrated, because some of this stuff has really important policy implications, or just plain ole important implications, and people who aren't psychologists never hear about this stuff.
It got me thinking too. I wonder if anyone has started to study the benefits of blogging. Typcially, Asian Americans under utilize mental health services - and while I don't think that blogging is a substitute for therapy or counseling, it can provide another layer of support that can have a huge impact on a person's life. Are Asian Americans who blog healthier than those who don't? I don't know. I would think that there are some huge impacts of on-line communities for Asian Americans - when you live somewhere where there's no one else like you, connecting on the internet can be soooo important. I wonder also, about what the internet does for the "quiet Asians" who then have a space to be LOUD! So, maybe I am a nerd, because I would love to do some of this research.
Anyway, here are some interesting things I learned this past week:
- Asian American men who believe in stereotypes of Asian men, have lower self-esteem and less positive associations with their ethnic identity. (I'm not surprised).
- The more Asian Americans are "Americanized" the more likely they are to be depressed. (Again, I'm not surprised.)
- Asian American women between the ages of 18 - 24 have one of the highest suicide rates (attempts and completion) in the country.
Psychology lesson over.
~ eliaday