Psychological Distress and Mental Health Service Utilization Disparities in Disaggregated Asian American Populations, 2006-2018

The recent prevalence of Asian American (AA) adults of disaggregated ethnic groups with psychological distress receiving professional mental health treatment is largely unknown. Using self-reports from 282,382 respondents in the National Health Interview Survey from 2006 to 2018, we found that AA ethnic subgroups (Asian Indians, Chinese, Filipino) reported half the severe psychological distress (Kessler-6 score > 12) than non-Hispanic Whites (NHW). AA ethnic subgroups were half as likely to visit mental health professionals than NHWs after controlling for psychological distress levels and sociodemographic variables: Asian Indian: AOR = 0.46 CI [0.32, 0.66], Chinese: 0.55 CI [0.41, 0.75], Filipino: 0.56 [0.43, 0.73]. Respondents who were born in the U.S.: 1.54 [1.39, 1.74] or college educated, 2.01 [1.83, 2.20] were more likely to visit a mental health professional than those who were not. Respondents over 65 were less likely to visit a mental health professional than any other age group, 0.31 [0.27, 0.35]. Overall, the lower prevalence of mental health service utilization for psychological distress among Asian Indian, Chinese, and Filipino American individuals (in comparison to NHWs) may indicate a need for culturally specific mental health education and outreach efforts.