Mental Health Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Asian American Community College Students: The Effect of Stigma, Cultural Barriers, and Acculturation

According to the 2008 U.S. Census, there are 15.5 million Asian Americans in the United States, and 17% are students enrolled in a university (Shea Breaux, Matsuoka, Lee et al., 2009; Mallinckrodt, Shigeoka, Nguyen Kim Lee et al., 2009; Nguyen Umemoto, 2004). These studies have found that acculturation, cultural barriers, and stigma attached to mental health problems are common factors that significantly contribute to Asian American college students’ low mental-health-seeking behaviors. However, based on the authors’ knowledge, these studies have focused on Asian American students who attend 4-year colleges. There is very little known about Asian American students attending 2-year community colleges, who comprise over 40% of Asian American undergraduates enrolled in higher education (Park, 2010).