A study of Chinese Americans, acculturation, and gender in willingness to seek professional psychological help

The components of acculturation, gender, and willingness to seek professional psychological help were examined in a group of Chinese Americans. In addition, references groups of European Americans and native-born Chinese were also used as comparisons. The Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale (SL-ASIA) was used to measure acculturation (Suinn et al, 1987). A shortened form of the Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale (ATSSPHS) was used to assess the willingness to seek professional psychological help (Fischer & Farina, 1995). The sample for this study consisted of 100 participants drawn from two classes in Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology, the East Tennessee chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans, the Chinese Student and Scholars Association, and the Hong Kong Student Association. In order to examine the three null hypotheses, Pearson's product-moment correlations, t-tests, ANOVAs, and Chi-square tests of independence were used in the study. Analyses found differences in attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help based on European-American and Chinese ethnic origin. Analyses, however, also found no gender differences in attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help within the European-American and Chinese ethnic group. In addition, the analyses also found no interaction between the level of acculturation, gender and the attitudes toward seeking psychological professional help among the participants of Chinese ethnicity. Results were interpreted cautiously due to the sample sizes. Limitations of the study, directions for future research, and practical implications were also discussed.