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Principal Investigator: YOONSUN CHOI
Organization: UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $861,532
Funding agency: National Institute of Mental Health
PROJECT SUMMARY: The high rates and upward trend of mental health (MH) problems among young
Asian Americans (AAs) are disturbing. Despite mounting evidence of MH crisis, AAs are severely understudied,
exacerbating health disparities. Spikes in sociopolitical tensions and racial hostility in recent years may explain
the upsurge of the problems. Young AAs are under great acculturative as well as minority stress, including
being the frequent victims of hate crimes, experiencing harmful objectification by the majority and other
minority groups, and having their American identities questioned. This stressful environment has been
aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has provoked an unprecedented surge in anti-Asian racism and
bigotry. There is a particularly pressing need for young AAs to identify ways to navigate these multifold
pressures. This proposed study will extend an existing, highly successful longitudinal study of young AAs. The
Midwest Longitudinal Study of Asian American Families (MLSAAF) is an ongoing survey of Filipino American
(FA) and Korean American (KA) families (786 youth and their parents; MAGE of youth = 15 at Wave 1 in 2014).
Wave 4 in 2021 collected data from 615 young adults (YAs) (MAGE=21.5; 78% retention). The MLSAAF has
substantiated a troubling upward trend in MH struggles from 2014 to 2021 as participants transitioned to early
young adulthood (YAH). We also uncovered racial discrimination and intergenerational cultural conflict (ICC)
in the family as the etiology of this upsurge of problems. Minority and acculturative stresses are expected to
amplify as YAs build careers and families of their own. AA families remain interdependent during YAH, with
unwavering expectations of familism, conceivably prolonging ICC among AA YAs. By adding 3 waves, the
proposed study will leverage the rich and rare MLSAAF data to follow the original samples from adolescence
(ADOL) into their twenties to disentangle the complex and dynamic effects of family process, minority stress,
and acculturation across the critical stages of YAH, including such pivotal outcomes as education, employment,
marriage, and parenthood. Biomarkers (cortisol, C-reactive protein, and sleep) are added to investigate
physiological damage of chronic stress from racial/cultural minority status. The inclusion of biomarkers will
significantly enhance our capacity to more accurately assess biological, physical, and psychological harms of
chronic stress that individuals may be unaware of. This study will (1) determine the trajectory and etiology of
MH and physical health among young AAs as they transition from early ADOL to YAH. We will test (a) how AA
family process (e.g., harmful vs. beneficial practices) is concurrently and longitudinally associated with ICC and
the MH/health outcomes and (b) how racial discriminations are concurrently and longitudinally associated
with poor outcomes, (2) investigate how bicultural competence mitigates the negativity of chronic psychosocial
stressors (i.e., ICC and discrimination) and (3) to examine the associations in Aims 1 and 2 with biomarkers as
outcome measures and to identify harms of chronic stress that self-report measures may not capture.
Terms: <0-11 years old><12-20 years old><19 year old><19 years of age><Acculturation><Adolescence><Adolescent><Adolescent Youth><Aeroseb-HC><American><Anxiety><Area><Asian><Asian Americans><Biological><Biological Markers><C-reactive protein><COVID crisis><COVID epidemic><COVID pandemic><COVID-19 crisis><COVID-19 epidemic><COVID-19 era><COVID-19 global health crisis><COVID-19 global pandemic><COVID-19 health crisis><COVID-19 pandemic><COVID-19 period><COVID-19 public health crisis><COVID-19 years><Causality><Cause of Death><Cetacort><Chicago><Child><Child Youth><Children (0-21)><Chronic><Chronic stress><Cognitive Discrimination><Complex><Conflict><Conflict (Psychology)><Cort-Dome><Cortef><Cortenema><Cortisol><Cortispray><Cortril><Cultural Assimilation><Data><Data Bases><Data Set><Databases><Dermacort><Development><Diagnosis><Discrimination><Distress><Education><Educational aspects><Eldecort><Employment><Environment><Ethnic Origin><Ethnicity><Etiology><Evidence based intervention><Family><Family Process><Feeling suicidal><Filipino American><Foundations><Funding><Gender><Health><Home><Hostility><Hydrocortisone><Hydrocortone><Hytone><Immigrant family><Individual><Individuals from minority><Individuals of minority><Intervention><Intervention Strategies><Jobs><Korean American><Longitudinal Studies><Major Depressive Disorder><Major Mental Illness><Marriage><Measures><Mental Depression><Mental Health><Mental Hygiene><Midwest><Midwest U.S.><Midwest US><Midwestern United States><Minority><Minority Groups><Minority People><Minority Population><Minority Status><Minority individual><NICHD><National Institute of Child Health and Human Development><National Institute of Children's Health and Human Development><Nutracort><Occupations><Onset of illness><Outcome><Outcome Measure><Parents><Participant><Pattern><Personal Satisfaction><Persons><Physiologic><Physiological><Politics><Position><Positioning Attribute><Proctocort><Professional Positions><Proteins, specific or class, C-reactive><Psyche structure><Psychological Health><Public Health><Race><Races><Racial Group><Reporting><Risk Behaviors><Risky Behavior><SARS-CoV-2 epidemic><SARS-CoV-2 global health crisis><SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic><SARS-CoV-2 pandemic><SARS-coronavirus-2 epidemic><SARS-coronavirus-2 pandemic><Sampling><Secure><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2 epidemic><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2 pandemic><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 epidemic><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic><Sleep><Socialization><Stereotyping><Stress><Suicidal thoughts><Suicide><Survey Instrument><Surveys><Testing><Violence><Youth><Youth 10-21><adolescence (12-20)><adult youth><affection><age 19 years><age group><anti-Asian><at risk behavior><bio-markers><biologic><biologic marker><biomarker><build resilience><build resiliency><career><causation><clinical depression><coronavirus disease 2019 crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic><coronavirus disease 2019 global health crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 global pandemic><coronavirus disease 2019 health crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic><coronavirus disease 2019 public health crisis><coronavirus disease crisis><coronavirus disease epidemic><coronavirus disease pandemic><coronavirus disease-19 global pandemic><coronavirus disease-19 pandemic><cultural competence><culturally competent><data base><depression><develop resilience><develop resiliency><developmental><discrimination based on race><discrimination due to race><disease causation><disease onset><disorder onset><disparity in health><early adolescence><enhance resilience><enhance resiliency><ethnic identity><evidence base><expectation><experience><experienced discrimination><fatal attempt><fatal suicide><hate crimes><health disparity><homes><improve resilience><improve resiliency><improved><increase resilience><increase resiliency><intent to die><intergenerational><interventional strategy><juvenile><juvenile human><kids><long-term study><longitudinal outcome studies><longterm study><major depression><major depression disorder><measurable outcome><mental><metropolitan><minority stress><minority stresses><minority stressor><nineteen year old><nineteen years old><outcome measurement><pandemic><pandemic disease><parent><perceived discrimination><perceived stress><perception of discrimination><perception of stress><physical conditioning><physical health><post-COVID><post-COVID-19><post-coronavirus disease 2019><pressure><promote resilience><promote resiliency><psychologic><psychological><psychosocial stresses><psychosocial stressors><public health relevance><race discrimination><race-based discrimination><race-related discrimination><racial><racial background><racial discrimination><racial minority><racial origin><racial population><racial subgroup><racism><resilience development><response><self-reported discrimination><self-reported stress><severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 global health crisis><severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 global pandemic><stress among minorities><stress in minorities><stress perception><stress to minorities><stressor><suicidal><suicidal ideation><suicidal thinking><suicidality><suicide ideation><suicides><thoughts about suicide><trend><violent><violent behavior><well-being><wellbeing><young adult><young adulthood><youngster>