Citation

Ta Park VM, Suen Diwata J, Win N, Ton V, Nam B, Rajabally W, Jones VC. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020; 17(5): e1637.

Affiliation

Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph17051637

PMID

32182641

Abstract

The limited research on bullying, mental health (MH), and help-seeking for Asian American (ASA) college students is concerning due to the public health importance. Korean drama (K-Drama) television shows may be an innovative approach to improve knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors (KAB) on bullying. This study examined whether the KAB about school bullying improved after watching a K-Drama and asked participants about their perspectives of using a K-Drama as an intervention. A convenience sample of college students (n = 118) watched a K-Drama portraying school bullying and MH issues. Pre-/post-tests on KAB on bullying were conducted. Interviews (n = 16) were used to understand their experiences with K-Dramas. The mean age was 22.1 years (1.6 SD), 83.9% were female, and 77.1% were ASAs. Many reported experiences with anxiety (67.8%), depression (38.1%), and school bullying victim experience (40.8%). Post-test scores revealed significant differences in knowledge by most school bullying variables (e.g., victim; witness) and MH issues. There were varying significant findings in post-test scores in attitudes and behaviors by these variables. Participants reported that they "love" the drama, felt an emotional connection, and thought that K-Dramas can be an educational tool for ASAs. K-Dramas may be an effective population-level tool to improve health outcomes among ASAs.

Language: en

Keywords

Asian Americans; Korean drama; health disparities; health education; help-seeking; intervention; mental health; school bullying