Stereotypes On Mental Wellbeing Among Asian Americans

We are always told that we, people in America, are completely free, from speech to freedom of choices. A common known fact by all sociologists is that that way of thinking is completely false. The reason for this is the way we act, from the way we do our hair to the way we treat others, is hugely influenced by our society. To be more specific, the urge to fit in is fueled by the leadership, and crowds we consider “cool” in our society.

Jahnke interviews Chris Ham, a School of Social Work professor and the chair of social research, about the issue where Ham explains that Asians aren’t receiving proper mental health care because of the model minority stereotype. The mental health obstacles that Asian students encounter “[go] back to the model minority issue, the belief that [Asians] don’t have problems, so why should we do research on Asian Americans or look for treatments for [them]” (qtd. in Jahnke. The model minority stereotype causes the problems of Asian Americans to be omitted. Seemingly, society sees Asians as “perfect” because most have exceptional academic performance. Though, in truth, these Asians are suffering from mental health issues that they are not getting help for because of the misconception that they do not have problems.

This may seem beneficial for Asian Americans at first; however, the model minority myth is actually detrimental to many segments of the population. This is especially true of recent immigrant Asian Americans. These individuals become deprived of resources because they are expected to have the same level of success as Asian Americans who have already lived in the U.S. for generations. Even in academia, the model minority myth causes Asian Americans to be understudied and misunderstood. Because Asian Americans are perceived to be successful and well-integrated individuals, Lee et al. (2001) show how there is “not enough research” that investigates Asian American mental health (160). In other words, even though some current data show higher rates of mental illness among Asian Americans, the model minority myth has distracted scholars from studying Asian American mental health. Thus, to ensure that Asian

Asian culture has been slandered throughout America's history by the term 'Model Minority', and through it's toxic ideals has lead to outstanding rates of depression, and the inhumane backlash has proven fatal to the Asian-American population. The term 'Model Minority' was coined to categorize Asian-Americans in 1966, during the United States civil liberties movement. During this time period white politicians were in a state of agitation because African-Americans were demanding their civil rights(Chin). The stereotype associated with the term 'model minority' is a suffocating archetype that has been pushed onto Asian-Americans; this degrading term has a harsh history that has led to heinous social pressures and implications, along with detrimental

A 2006 Today/Gallup poll found that 44% of Americans had the perception that all Muslims were too extreme in their religious beliefs and 22% of the respondents would not want a Muslim as a neighbor. Islamophobia in America skyrocketed as a result of the 9/11 attacks and changed the way that Muslim-Americans and other Americans were able to interact with one another. These statistics show that there was significant fear of Muslims in the years after 9/11. In the years following the attacks, the number of hate crimes against Muslims in America spiked and have not dropped to pre-attack levels since. As Graph 1 shows, in 2001, there were a reported 481 hate crimes and majority of these would have occurred in the months following September. Although

Stereotype’s in the United States is something that is an unconscious effort, and many people explain it to be natural. Gay’s is something many people do not agree on. It has through the country for a spin, the hate, violence, and eventually equality. John a good man, works a 9-5 factory job, goes to church every Sunday with his family, and enjoys time with his kids doesn’t agree with gay people and believes they shouldn’t have the right to get married. Stacey a women that has raised three kids by herself, loves her children unconditionally and works three jobs to support herself and her kids sits in the back of the church, when the pastor asks if anybody has any confessions or anything anybody would like to get off their mind, the

The eastern world culture is often incompatible with that of the United States. Asian American values are family and group focused, unlike that of the individual-centered western value system. Loss of face is a key ethnic-cultural factor that describes the danger to, or loss of social standing, especially among the Asian American social group. Perceived loss of face can seriously impact the Asian American’s behavior within this group. Asian American children are reared to bring pride to their family through academic and financial efforts. A lack of ability to maintain such standards and the perception of failure can interfere with seeking professional mental help. Feelings of shame and fear of stigmatization inside their family and community often lead to depression, isolation, and other mental issues (Jacob, Gray, & Johnson, 2013). Customarily, the Asian principles hold self-control and adherence to the customs of the family and community in high regards. Mental illness in an individual is viewed as an expression of a failure to both the immediate and extended

Stereotyping is one of the most common and dangerous issues that happens in America. The activity we did and the video we watched showed the same fact. During the activity we get to write one thing and the rest class got to put down something stereotypical based on that one fact about the person. For instance one person wrote saying that she always been a fashion member and people said things like she cares about people’s opinions, she’s dumb and so on. People tend to take one story line and come up with their own conclusion. Like how everyone assume that all black guys are good in sports or that they are marijuana or cocaine addicts, or that every single of them never had any relations with their father. Although number of black men had left

The Asian American population is a major facet of American life; beginning their lives as immigrants they have worked their way to become integral members of society. In 2010 there were 14.7 million Asian Americans living in the United States and in 2011 that number increased to 18.2 million.1 Culturally, Asian American people have traditions and beliefs that contradict those of the Western world.2 “Culture molds people’s values, attitudes, and beliefs; influences their perceptions of self and others; and determines the way they experience their environment.”10 As a result there are certain barriers that exist when communicating with Asian Americans due to their cultural background. Additionally, Asians living in America suffer from the Model Minority Myth, which typecasts these people as being financially and educationally well off in comparison to other ethnic groups.2 Due to this Asian Americans aren’t considered more at risk for many health risks compared to other ethnicities; cultural and physical barriers act as a hindrance to Asian Americans receiving healthcare services, primarily mental health related services.

“Model minority” is a term first used by sociologist William Petersen in a 1966 New York Times article that applauded Asian-Americans as an example that other minorities should follow based on their academic and economic success. 8 Although there are numerous Asians that achieve great success in the United States, the term and concept of “model minority” is a myth because as mentioned before, there are many Asian immigrants that live under poverty line, especially lowest success rate in Southeast Asians. 1 The stereotype of model minority has a detrimental effect on health of the Asian immigrant children because it encourages Asian American students to be silent and discrete about their mental problems. This is because they are afraid to be seen as failures to the society and disappoint their parents. Asian American children are known to succeed academically but parents and health providers must attend to and properly assess them for their mental health needs,

One of the most critical stereotypes or perceptions of the Asian culture or minority is that they are not associated with crime and violence. Those are the more significant traits that this minority group has or does not have. However, the Asian minority is linked to attributes such as hard-working, disciplined, mathematical, smart, motivated, and gifted. White American views this minority group as more fitted for education, driven, with the possibilities for achieving greater success than themselves. This perspective was also echoed in the Black, Native American, and Hispanic communities concurring that the Asian race was, in fact, the model minority and the acceptance stretched across racial/ethnic lines(Franklin & Fearn, 2010). The Immigration

America consists of a melting pot when it comes to races and cultures. However, society tends to fall back onto stereotypes to distinguish each racial community. In the case of the Asian community, there are a vast number of common stereotypes that are used to label Asians. For example, one common stereotype is Asians who are foreigners. There are countless Asian people who have resided in the United States for all of their lives, yet Asian Americans are often seen as perpetual foreigners. This kind of representation disregards the fact that America is home to generations of Asian Americans who have also been a part of building America from the ground up. This stereotype is frequently mirrored in film and television with Asian characters who

I think the types of stereotypes about Americans would depend on who/what group is being asked. For example, if the same Iranians in this week’s study were asked about their beliefs regarding America, many of the same stereotypes applied to Canadians would probably be similar to the stereotypes they would place on American (Tavakoli et. Al). Stereotypes such as America being a nation of Christians with weak family ties and loose morals are some stereotypes that would likely be brought up. However, if one were to ask the Canadians about their opinion of Americans, their responses likely would be more positive since both cultures are much more similar than they are to the Iranian culture.

“America” is closely intertwined with the idea of freedom, the right to determine what we yearn to be, and contented people. Moreover, the standard of living in America is higher than developing countries such as India (D’Souza 340). Even, the poorest American has a television, microwave, and car (D’Souza 340). If we consider these facts, Americans should be among the most delighted people in the world. However, Americans are not as joyful as we thought they are, as a result of not being truly free, even though they are not being oppressed (Samuelson 24). Their freedom is limited by a set of unwritten laws, appointed by their community. This unwritten law is commonly called “stereotypes”, which looming around their social lives around their society.

Stereotyping, I learned this word when I was a freshman. Americans are all not good at math and Chinese are good at math. This is a stereotype. In my view, both American and Chinese know the basis of math so that they can apply math and get benefit in the daily life, like buying things in the convenient stores. It’s certain that some Americans learn math well.