Attitudes Based on Gender towards Mental Health and Treatment in the Asian-Indian Culture
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Authors
Sandhu, Harroop
Issue Date
2011
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the role gender plays in determining if an Asian Indian will recognize mental health problems and seek treatment for these problems. Research shows that Asian Indians are reluctant to access mental health services, primarily because there is a cultural taboo around talking about one's personal and intimate problems with anyone other than a family member (Che & Rizvi, 2009; Das & Kemp). Gender is also a factor that shapes attitudes towards health and treatment in the Indian population, although there has been little research that explores how gender affects mental health beliefs and behaviors within the Asian-Indian sub-group. In this study, twenty-seven Asian Indians completed surveys, including answering questions about two clinical vignettes. Hypotheses were explored that Asian-Indian women would be more likely to recognize symptoms of mental health and seek treatment for these than Asian-Indian men. The rationale behind these hypotheses was that women place a greater value on emotional well-being than men do. The tendency to value the emotional domain is within their gender role; therefore, women might be more likely to value mental health services and distinguish mental health symptoms from medical or physical health symptoms because of their concern for emotional well-being. The data was analyzed quantitatively through t-tests, which compared the means of the two groups, females and males. There were also some open-ended questions regarding the causes of mental health, which were analyzed through content analysis. The findings regarding gender showed that females were more likely than males to recognize mental health symptoms even though these findings were not significant. Females showed a deeper understanding of the problem and of its severity. They also seemed to more accurately pinpoint the causes of mental health problems. Many more males than females thought that mental health issues were the result of a lack of willpower. However, females were less likely than males to report they would seek treatment for these issues. This may be due to their being less willing to do something that their family would disapprove of This finding is very similar to Sudhartha (2005) whose participants were women and answered similarly to the question, "I rarely make decision my family will disapprove of or that will bring shame to my family." Women in this study, regardless of acculturation level, were more likely to endorse that statement than men. These Indian women may be even more unwilling to shame their families due to their gender. Asian-Indian families often have strict gender roles, as hypothesized by this study. Based on these findings, more research is needed in order to adequately serve the Asian-Indian community. Future research should replicate the study with a much larger sample size. In order to get the numbers needed, especially in terms of Asian-Indians who have accessed services, a much larger sample is needed. Also, this study could be replicated by posting the survey online to draw from a sample from throughout the United States.