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The Association Between Racial Stereotypes and Mental Health in Asian Women Bhavana Ganduri* Yvette Cozier Bhavana Ganduri Uyen-sa Nguyen Michael Tang Yifan Xie Hyeouk Ham
Asian Americans (AA) face atypical racial and cultural stereotypes, including the false narrative that all AAs are a high-achieving racial minority that has assimilated well into American society through hard work. We explored this so-called “model minority myth” in relation to mental health in a cohort of AA women. The Epidemiology of Asian Women’s Action for Resilience and Empowerment study is a follow-up of 157 AA women aged 18-59 years (median=26 years) conducted between December 2019 and September 2022. An online questionnaire assessed participant’s experiences of racial and cultural stereotypes using 26 self-report items measuring “negative” stereotypes (e.g., “Someone wanted to date me only because of my race”), and 11 items measuring “positive” stereotypes (e.g., “Asian Americans are harder workers”)”). A summary score was created for each measure and grouped into low, moderate, or high. Self-reported poor mental health was categorized as present (fair/poor) or absent (excellent/very good/good). Logistic regression was used to estimate RRs and 95% CIs controlling for age, education, and body mass index. Thirty-one percent of participants reported high negative stereotype scores (>10; range: 11-24); 35% reported high positive stereotype scores (≥10; range: 10-22); and 39 % reported poor mental health. Compared to women reporting low levels of negative stereotypes, those reporting high levels were more likely to report poor mental health: OR: 2.59 (95% CI:1.07-6.28). Compared to those reporting high positive stereotype scores, the estimates for those reporting moderate and low scores were 0.47 (0.18-1.19) and 1.15 (0.50-2.66), respectively. Our data suggest that racial stereotypes can adversely affect mental health in AAs, although the association between positive stereotype scores and mental health was less clear. Further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanism(s) contributing to this association and to identify needed resources.