2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
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Online Program

329783
Self-reported discrimination, psychosocial symptoms, and modifying factors among Asian Indians in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) Study


Monday, November 2, 2015 : 8:30 a.m. - 8:50 a.m.

Sarah Nadimpalli, RN, MA, PhD, Institute for Community Health Promotion, Brown University, Providence, RI
Namratha Kandula, MD, MPH, Department of General Internal Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
Thomas McDade, PhD, Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Alka Kanaya, MD, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Don Operario, PhD, Department of Behavior and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Background/Significance

The Asian Indian (AI) population has been underrepresented in a growing body of literature linking discrimination with health outcomes; studies that focus on the unique cultural and psychosocial experiences of the AI population are needed. 

 

Objective/Purpose

To examine the cross-sectional relationship between experiences of discrimination and mental health indicators among AIs living in the US; and to evaluate whether acculturation, coping style, and social support moderated these relationships.

Methods

AIs (N=757) were recruited from community-based sampling frames in San Francisco and Chicago between October 2010 and March 2013.  The Spielberger Anxiety, CES-D, Chronic Stress Burden, and anger scales were administered. Data on self-reported discrimination were collected using The Everyday Discrimination Scale.  Multiple linear regression analyses were used to evaluate relationships between discrimination and mental health indicators and modifying factors.  All variables were standardized for analyses.

 

Results

Participants (male = 54%) were on average 55 years old and had high levels of English proficiency, education, and income.  Higher levels of discrimination were significantly associated with higher depressive symptoms [B = .27 (.05) p = <.001].  The association between discrimination and stress (p = .04) and discrimination and anger (p = .03) was strongest among those most acculturated.  The association between discrimination and anxiety was stronger for those who accepted discrimination as a fact of life (p = .04) versus those who actively coped or did something about discrimination experienced.  Social support did not moderate relationships between discrimination and mental health indicators.         

Discussion/Conclusions

Despite having educational and economic resources, the influence of discrimination adversely impacted the mental health of AIs in this study.  Further, the impact of discrimination appears to lessen as AIs acculturate and among those who actively cope with discrimination.

Learning Areas:

Diversity and culture
Epidemiology
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Identify the specific mental health outcomes associated with experiences of discrimination among Asian Indians Identify how acculturation and coping style may be protective resources for Asian Indians who encounter discrimination

Keyword(s): Mental Health, Asian Americans

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have received NRSA F31 funding to conduct discrimination and health analyses among the South Asian community. The abstract presented is a continuation of my expertise in this research area.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3018.0: Mental Health and Asian Americans and/or Pacific Islander Americans