Citation

Yeh CJ, Inman AC, Kim AB, Okubo Y. Cultur. Divers. Ethnic Minor. Psychol. 2006; 12(1): 134-148.

Affiliation

Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA. cy101@columbia.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues; American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/1099-9809.12.1.134

PMID

16594860

Abstract

Our study investigated the use of individualistic and collectivistic coping strategies among Asian American family members of victims of the World Trade Center (WTC) attacks on September 11th, 2001. Interviews were conducted with 11 Asian Americans who had lost a member of their family in the WTC attacks. Using the Discovery-Oriented Research analysis (Mahrer, 1988), results indicated that Asian Americans utilized the following collectivistic coping methods to deal with their losses: individualistic coping, familial coping, intracultural coping, relational universality, forbearance, fatalism/ spirituality, and indigenous healing methods. Additionally, our research found that cultural stigmata, privacy issues, and lack of culturally responsive counselors were factors in participants not utilizing available mental health services. Implications for culturally appropriate services, counseling, and research are discussed.

Language: en