Cultural factors influencing the mental health of Asian Americans.

Abstract

Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the United States.They are also one of the most diverse, including at least 43 different ethnicgroups who speak more than 100 languages and dialects(box 1). The Asian Americanpopulation in the United States has grown from fewer than 1 million (0.5% ofthe total US population) in 1960 to 7.2 million (2.9%) in 1990, to 10,242,998(3.7%) in 2000. This number is expected to double by 2025. Approximately 7.2million (70.7%) Asian Americans are foreign born, and Asian immigrants accountfor 2.6% of the total USpopulation.3 Box 1 Distribution of the Asian American/Pacific Islander population bysubgroup reporting only one race in2000*