Self-Identified 1.5/2nd Generation Chinese New Zealander's Perspectives and Attitudes Towards Mental Health

Abstract

Past literature conducted regarding mental health in New Zealand often fails to include how Chinese immigrants feel about this topic. Furthermore, most of the past literature is conducted on the general Asian population. However, very little research is conducted on the 1.5 and 2nd generation Chinese New Zealanders. There is a gap in research for this population where their perspectives and attitudes towards mental health are not investigated. This current study focuses on bridging this gap by investigating the perspectives and attitudes of these 1.5 and 2nd generation Chinese New Zealanders by conducting two studies. The first study involved conducting a multiple regression using the data from NZAVS (The New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study) Time-8 to investigate the association between ethnic identity, perceived discrimination, country of birth and psychological distress. The results suggested there was a positive association between perceived discrimination and psychological stress which supported previous literature. Furthermore, the results suggested that for NZ born participants, higher ethnic identity centrality led to lower psychological distress. Study 2 involved a semi-structured interview where participants’ thoughts and experiences were discussed to gain insight into their perspectives and attitudes. Thematic analysis was then conducted to identify the key themes. The findings of this study provide novel information regarding the perspectives and attitudes of the 1.5 and 2nd generation Chinese NZ population towards mental health and mental health services in NZ. Furthermore, it provides direction for future research so that mental health services in NZ can be improved to become more service-user friendly for individuals of different cultural backgrounds.