“I Was Determined to Fulfill This Image of Myself That I Wanted of a ‘Good Asian Student’”: A Photovoice Study of Asian American College Student Mental Health

Abstract

Asian American (AsA) youth and emerging adults are growing at a faster rate than all other racial and ethnic populations in the United States. Burgeoning empirical evidence shows that they are experiencing increased adverse mental health outcomes since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, trends in AsA youth and emerging adults’ utilization and help-seeking behaviors remain low. Health equity scholars posit that the model minority stereotype continues to obscure and minimize these mental health disparities. The current study aims to contribute to this vital research through a Photovoice study with AsA emerging adults. Fourteen AsA undergraduate students (M age = 19.77 years old; SD = 1.12) produced photographs and captions and participated in semi-structured interviews to describe mental health. Four themes were developed: (1) mind–body health connection and the belief that mental health is about the synchronization of one’s mind and body; (2) environmental connectedness and the view that mental health is connected to nature; (3) social connectedness and how interpersonal relationships influence mental health; and (4) the internalization of the “good Asian student” stereotype and its impact on mental health. Implications for culturally tailored prevention and intervention strategies are discussed to ultimately improve health equity.

Keywords

• Asian Americans
• emerging adults
• mental health
• culture
• health equity
• Photovoice