Last Updated: Thursday, September 10th, 2026
COVID-19 pandemic | Historical trauma | Assimilation/Acculturation
Social challenges | Resilience
Asian Americans are a growing segment of the population, but there has been a longstanding deficit of funding and research, creating a lack of inclusion and understanding of the health burden and heterogeneity of subgroups by culture, gender and sexuality.
During the COVID-19 pandemic existing xenophobia and racism magnified against Asian Americans, on top of long-standing struggles with historical trauma and the model minority myth.
Health information has not been tailored for Asian Americans and this translated to lack of coverage and access to health services. They are also least likely to seek mental health help.
Asian Americans carry acculturative stress and children may need to play the burdensome role of a language broker. While they can be resilient, there can be a myriad of challenges simultaneously, such as caregiving, depression, discrimination, unemployment and intersectional issues.
Below you will find a sample of articles that showcase these issues.
COVID-19 pandemic
Wang MT, Henry DA, Scanlon CL, Del Toro J, Voltin SE. Adolescent Psychosocial Adjustment during COVID-19: An Intensive Longitudinal Study. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2022 Jan 10:1-16. doi: 10.1080/15374416.2021.2007487. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35007446.
Anand S, Cao E, Kimura R, Guo W, Bassi N. Asian American Vaccination, Testing, and Other Healthcare Knowledge & Behaviors during COVID-19, A Systematic Review. Pathog Glob Health. 2022 Jul 26:1-14. doi: 10.1080/20477724.2022.2106110. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35892162.
Zhou S, Banawa R, Oh H. The Mental Health Impact of COVID-19 Racial and Ethnic Discrimination Against Asian American and Pacific Islanders. Front Psychiatry. 2021 Nov 17;12:708426. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.708426. PMID: 34867510; PMCID: PMC8637907.
Introduction to Asian Hate in Trumpian Era
Young JL, Kim H, Golojuch L. “Race was something we didn’t talk about”: Racial Socialization in Asian American Families. Fam Relat. 2021 Oct;70(4):1027-1039. doi: 10.1111/fare.12495. Epub 2020 Sep 12. PMID: 34707324; PMCID: PMC8547192.
Macro-economic issues in Employment
Kim AT, Kim C, Tuttle SE, Zhang Y. COVID-19 and the decline in Asian American employment. Res Soc Stratif Mobil. 2021 Feb;71:100563. doi: 10.1016/j.rssm.2020.100563. Epub 2020 Oct 8. PMID: 33052161; PMCID: PMC7543758.
Wang MT, Henry DA, Del Toro J, Scanlon CL, Schall JD. COVID-19 Employment Status, Dyadic Family Relationships, and Child Psychological Well-Being. J Adolesc Health. 2021 Nov;69(5):705-712. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.07.016. Epub 2021 Sep 14. PMID: 34531094; PMCID: PMC8437706.
Zhang M, Gurung A, Anglewicz P, Yun K. COVID-19 and Immigrant Essential Workers: Bhutanese and Burmese Refugees in the United States. Public Health Rep. 2021 Jan/Feb;136(1):117-123. doi: 10.1177/0033354920971720. Epub 2020 Nov 18. PMID: 33207130; PMCID: PMC7856376.
Nicholson HL Jr, Ahmmad Z, Anderson A, Doan TT. Unequal Returns of Employment on Self-Rated Health: Asian-White Differences. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2022 Aug;9(4):1106-1113. doi: 10.1007/s40615-021-01050-3. Epub 2021 May 11. PMID: 33977508.
Xenophobia and embodiment of disease
Tessler H, Choi M, Kao G. The Anxiety of Being Asian American: Hate Crimes and Negative Biases During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Am J Crim Justice. 2020;45(4):636-646. doi: 10.1007/s12103-020-09541-5. Epub 2020 Jun 10. PMID: 32837158; PMCID: PMC7286555.
Historical Trauma/ Early life events
Cai J, Lee RM. Intergenerational Communication about Historical Trauma in Asian American Families. Advers Resil Sci. 2022 Jun 7:1-13. doi: 10.1007/s42844-022-00064-y. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35692379; PMCID: PMC9170877.
Assimilation/ acculturation
Choi Y, Park M, Lee JP, Yasui M, Kim TY. Explicating Acculturation Strategies among Asian American Youth: Subtypes and Correlates across Filipino and Korean Americans. J Youth Adolesc. 2018 Oct;47(10):2181-2205. doi: 10.1007/s10964-018-0862-1. Epub 2018 Jun 7. PMID: 29881910; PMCID: PMC6286232.
Wang-Schweig M, Miller BA. Examining the Interdependence of Parent-adolescent Acculturation Gaps on Acculturation-based Conflict: Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model. J Youth Adolesc. 2021 Feb;50(2):367-377. doi: 10.1007/s10964-018-0948-9. Epub 2018 Oct 16. Erratum in: J Youth Adolesc. 2018 Dec 29;: PMID: 30328076; PMCID: PMC6467742.
Lui PP. Rethinking the acculturation gap-distress theory among Asian Americans: Testing bidirectional indirect relations. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2019;89(6):627-639. doi: 10.1037/ort0000322. Epub 2018 Feb 19. PMID: 29461073.
Immigrants and refugees (immigrant health paradox)
Argueza BR, Sokal-Gutierrez K, Madsen KA. Obesity and Obesogenic Behaviors in Asian American Children with Immigrant and US-Born Mothers. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Mar 10;17(5):1786. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17051786. PMID: 32164148; PMCID: PMC7084370.
Sharif MZ, Biegler K, Mollica R, Sim SE, Nicholas E, Chandler M, Ngo-Metzger Q, Paigne K, Paigne S, Sorkin DH. A Health Profile and Overview of Healthcare Experiences of Cambodian American Refugees and Immigrants Residing in Southern California. J Immigr Minor Health. 2019 Apr;21(2):346-355. doi: 10.1007/s10903-018-0736-3. PMID: 29705910; PMCID: PMC6275140.
Adjustment
Del Toro J, Hughes D. Trajectories of Discrimination across the College Years: Associations with Academic, Psychological, and Physical Adjustment Outcomes. J Youth Adolesc. 2020 Apr;49(4):772-789. doi: 10.1007/s10964-019-01147-3. Epub 2019 Oct 24. PMID: 31650443.
Wong CCY, Warmoth K, Ivy S, Cheung B, Lu Q. Relation of social constraints on disclosure to adjustment among Chinese American cancer survivors: A multiprocesses approach. Psychooncology. 2018 Mar;27(3):977-982. doi: 10.1002/pon.4604. Epub 2018 Jan 4. PMID: 29232487.
Language Brokering
Nguyen NP, Kim SY, Sanchez MR, Morales A. Internalizing symptoms among Asian American language brokers: The moderating role of values enculturation. J Am Coll Health. 2022 Mar 29:1-9. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2022.2055433. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35348431.
Code switching
Williams A, Srinivasan M, Liu C, Lee P, Zhou Q. Why do bilinguals code-switch when emotional? Insights from immigrant parent-child interactions. Emotion. 2020 Aug;20(5):830-841. doi: 10.1037/emo0000568. Epub 2019 Mar 14. PMID: 30869940; PMCID: PMC6745004.
Acculturative stress
Waldman K, Koyanagi A, Wang JS, Ko J, DeVylder J, Oh H. Acculturative stress, disability, and health treatment utilization among Asian and Latin American immigrants in the United States. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2019 Oct;54(10):1275-1284. doi: 10.1007/s00127-019-01691-0. Epub 2019 Mar 20. PMID: 30895354.
Interracial marriage
Han B. Race, gender, and power in Asian American interracial marriages. Soc Sci Res. 2021 May;96:102542. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2021.102542. Epub 2021 Mar 2. PMID: 33867013.
Social challenges
Discrimination
Cho YJ, Lee WJ, Oh H, Lee JO, Kim BE, Jang Y. Perceived Racial Discrimination and Mental Health in Diverse Groups of Asian Americans: The Differing Impacts by Age, Education, and Ethnicity. J Immigr Minor Health. 2022 Aug;24(4):970-976. doi: 10.1007/s10903-021-01271-y. Epub 2021 Sep 20. PMID: 34542777; PMCID: PMC8450913.
Chae DH, Yip T, Martz CD, Chung K, Richeson JA, Hajat A, Curtis DS, Rogers LO, LaVeist TA. Vicarious Racism and Vigilance During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mental Health Implications Among Asian and Black Americans. Public Health Rep. 2021 Jul-Aug;136(4):508-517. doi: 10.1177/00333549211018675. Epub 2021 May 25. PMID: 34034574; PMCID: PMC8203039.
Model Minority Myth
Weerakoon SM, Keeton JM, Vidot DC, Arheart KL, Messiah SE. Relationship between risky behaviors and non-prescription opioid use among Asian American youth. J Ethn Subst Abuse. 2022 Jan-Mar;21(1):377-386. doi: 10.1080/15332640.2020.1772931. Epub 2020 Jun 4. PMID: 32497460.
Karia PS, Tehranifar P, Visvanathan K, Wright JD, Genkinger JM. Cancer-Specific Mortality in Asian American Women Diagnosed with Gynecologic Cancer: A Nationwide Population-Based Analysis. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2022 Mar 1;31(3):578-587. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-21-0829. PMID: 34933960; PMCID: PMC8901555.
Funding and data inequity
Yi SS, Ðoàn LN, Choi JK, Wong JA, Russo R, Chin M, Islam NS, Taher MD, Wyatt L, Chong SK, Trinh-Shevrin C, Kwon SC. With No Data, There’s No Equity: Addressing the Lack of Data on COVID-19 for Asian American Communities. EClinicalMedicine. 2021 Oct 23;41:101165. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101165. PMID: 34746722; PMCID: PMC8554483.
Ðoàn LN, Takata Y, Sakuma KK, Irvin VL. Trends in Clinical Research Including Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Participants Funded by the US National Institutes of Health, 1992 to 2018. JAMA Netw Open. 2019 Jul 3;2(7):e197432. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.743
Racial Socialization
Young JL, Kim H, Golojuch L. “Race was something we didn’t talk about”: Racial Socialization in Asian American Families. Fam Relat. 2021 Oct;70(4):1027-1039. doi: 10.1111/fare.12495. Epub 2020 Sep 12. PMID: 34707324; PMCID: PMC8547192.
Sexual Violence
Lim S, Ali SH, Mohaimin S, Dhar R, Dhar M, Rahman F, Roychowdhury L, Islam T, Islam N. Help seeking and mental health outcomes among South Asian young adult survivors of sexual violence in the New York State Region. BMC Public Health. 2022 Jun 8;22(1):1147. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13489-y. PMID: 35676672; PMCID: PMC9174918.
Microaggression
Keum BT, Wong MJ, Salim-Eissa R. Gendered racial microaggressions, internalized racism, and suicidal ideation among emerging adult Asian American women. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2022 Apr 12:207640221089536. doi: 10.1177/00207640221089536. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35411802.
Invisibility
Cooc N, Kim GM. Beyond STEM: The invisible career expectations of Asian American high school students. Am Psychol. 2021 May-Jun;76(4):658-672. doi: 10.1037/amp0000806. PMID: 34410741.
Medical sociology
Ko M. Racism In My Medical Education. Health Aff (Millwood). 2020 Jun;39(6):1087-1091. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00743. PMID: 32479239.
Le TK, Vongsachang H, Pang S, Zhang GQ, Li T, Lee JTC, Lawson SM. US medical student perspectives on asian american patient inclusion in medical education: a qualitative Study. BMC Med Educ. 2022 Jun 22;22(1):482. doi: 10.1186/s12909-022-03550-0. PMID: 35729562; PMCID: PMC9213094.
Health/ Lifestyle
Mental health burden/ Stigma in seeking help
Huang YH, Nagao CA, Santos KMB, Werchowsky MI. Impact of Culture, Spirituality, and Mental Health Attitudes on Intergenerational Asian-American Caregivers: A Pilot Study. Am J Occup Ther. 2022 Mar 1;76(2):7602205030. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2022.046912. PMID: 35143608.
Hails K, Madu A, Kim DJH, Hahm HC, Cook B, Chen J, Chang T, Yeung A, Trinh NH. Exploring Asian American attitudes regarding mental health treatment in primary care: A qualitative study. Ann Clin Psychiatry. 2018 May;30(2):133-139. PMID: 29697714.
Suicide and sexual identity
Bersani BE, Morabito MS. Immigrant Disparities in Suicide Ideation: Variation Across Age of Migration, Gender, and Nativity. J Immigr Minor Health. 2020 Oct;22(5):881-887. doi: 10.1007/s10903-020-00993-9. PMID: 32162190.
Xiao Y, Lu W. Temporal Trends and Disparities in Suicidal Behaviors by Sex and Sexual Identity Among Asian American Adolescents. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Apr 1;4(4):e214498. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.4498. PMID: 33861331; PMCID: PMC8052595.
Health Literacy, communication, coverage, and access
Yang HH, Chwa WJ, Yuen SB, Huynh JD, Chan JS, Kumar A, Dhanjani SA, Gee GC, Cowgill BO. APA Health CARE: A Student-Led Initiative Addressing Health Care Barriers Faced by the Asian and Pacific Islander American Immigrant Population in Los Angeles. J Community Health. 2021 Apr;46(2):367-379. doi: 10.1007/s10900-020-00915-8. PMID: 32909155.
Lee H, Kim D, Kiang PN, Cooley ME, Shi L, Thiem L, Kan P, Chea P, Allison J, Kim M. Awareness, knowledge, social norms, and vaccination intentions among Khmer mother-daughter pairs. Ethn Health. 2021 Apr;26(3):379-391. doi: 10.1080/13557858.2018.1514455. Epub 2018 Aug 24. PMID: 30141338.
Helsel D, Thao KS, Whitney R. Their Last Breath: Death and Dying in a Hmong American Community. J Hosp Palliat Nurs. 2020 Feb;22(1):68-74. doi: 10.1097/NJH.0000000000000616. PMID: 31804278.
Substance abuse
Keum BT, Choi AY. Gendered racism, family and external shame, depressive symptoms, and alcohol use severity among Asian American men. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2021 Dec 2. doi: 10.1037/cdp0000505. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34855414.
Health (mis-)information
Chong SK, Ali SH, Ðoàn LN, Yi SS, Trinh-Shevrin C, Kwon SC. Social Media Use and Misinformation Among Asian Americans During COVID-19. Front Public Health. 2022 Jan 14;9:764681. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.764681. PMID: 35096736; PMCID: PMC8795661.
Jang Y, Yoon J, Park NS. Source of Health Information and Unmet Healthcare Needs in Asian Americans. J Health Commun. 2018;23(7):652-660. doi: 10.1080/10810730.2018.1500660. Epub 2018 Aug 10. PMID: 30095372; PMCID: PMC6419743.
Resilience
Liu SR, Sandman CA, Davis EP, Glynn LM. Intergenerational risk and resilience pathways from discrimination and acculturative stress to infant mental health. Dev Psychopathol. 2022 Mar 8:1-13. doi: 10.1017/S0954579422000141. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35256027.
Doan SN, Yu SH, Wright B, Fung J, Saleem F, Lau AS. Resilience and Family Socialization Processes in Ethnic Minority Youth: Illuminating the Achievement-Health Paradox. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2022 Mar;25(1):75-92. doi: 10.1007/s10567-022-00389-1. Epub 2022 Feb 24. PMID: 35201542; PMCID: PMC8867687.
Liu J, Lou Y, Wu B, Mui ACY. “I’ve been always strong to conquer any suffering:” challenges and resilience of Chinese American dementia caregivers in a life course perspective. Aging Ment Health. 2021 Sep;25(9):1716-1724. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2020.1793900. Epub 2020 Jul 20. PMID: 32687392; PMCID: PMC7855650.
Protective Factors
Marraccini ME, Griffin D, O’Neill JC, Martinez RR Jr, Chin AJ, Toole EN, Grapin SL, Naser SC. School Risk and Protective Factors of Suicide: A Cultural Model of Suicide Risk and Protective Factors in Schools. School Psych Rev. 2022;51(3):266-289. doi: 10.1080/2372966X.2020.1871305. Epub 2021 Apr 7. PMID: 35935591; PMCID: PMC9354860.
Xue X, Cheah CSL, Hart CH. Risk and protective processes in the link between racial discrimination and Chinese American mothers’ psychologically controlling parenting. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2022 May 19. doi: 10.1037/cdp0000545. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35588074.
Cheah CSL, Zong X, Cho HS, Ren H, Wang S, Xue X, Wang C. Chinese American adolescents’ experiences of COVID-19 racial discrimination: Risk and protective factors for internalizing difficulties. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2021 Oct;27(4):559-568. doi: 10.1037/cdp0000498. Epub 2021 Aug 26. PMID: 34435791.
Identity construction in hip hop
Nguyen J, Ferguson GM. A Global Cypher: The Role of Hip Hop in Cultural Identity Construction and Navigation for Southeast Asian American Youth. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2019 Mar;2019(164):99-115. doi: 10.1002/cad.20279. Epub 2019 Mar 19. PMID: 30891925; PMCID: PMC6849809.
Intersectionality
Thomsen PS. Coming-Out in the Intersections: Examining Relationality in How Korean Gay Men in Seattle Navigate Church, Culture and Family through a Pacific Lens. J Homosex. 2021 May 12;68(6):1015-1036. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2019.1695423. Epub 2019 Dec 4. PMID: 31799898.
Support
Huynh J. “Family Is the Beginning but Not the End”: Intergenerational LGBTQ Chosen Family, Social Support, and Health in a Vietnamese American Community Organization. J Homosex. 2022 Jan 10:1-23. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2021.2018879. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35007487.
Liu J, Lou Y, Cheung ESL, Wu B. Use of tangible, educational and psychological support services among Chinese American dementia caregivers. Dementia (London). 2022 Aug;21(6):1914-1932. doi: 10.1177/14713012221099781. Epub 2022 May 5. PMID: 35511805.
Huang F, Chen WT, Shiu C, Sun W, Candelario J, Luu BV, Ah-Yune J. Experiences and needs of family support for HIV-infected Asian Americans: A qualitative dyadic analysis. Appl Nurs Res. 2021 Apr;58:151395. doi: 10.1016/j.apnr.2021.151395. Epub 2021 Jan 7. PMID: 33745550; PMCID: PMC7985294.
Therapy
Kodish T, Weiss B, Duong J, Rodriguez A, Anderson G, Nguyen H, Olaya C, Lau AS. Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training With Youth From Asian American and Immigrant Families: Cultural Considerations and Intervention Process. Cogn Behav Pract. 2021 May;28(2):147-166. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpra.2020.05.009. Epub 2020 Oct 17. PMID: 35422577; PMCID: PMC9004715.
Hahm HC, Hsi JH, Petersen JM, Xu J, Lee EA, Chen SH, Liu CH. Preliminary efficacy of AWARE in college health service centers: A group psychotherapy intervention for Asian American women. J Am Coll Health. 2022 Apr;70(3):665-669. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2020.1777135. Epub 2020 Jul 1. PMID: 32610035; PMCID: PMC7872434.
CShell Health 