Abstract
Limited research has investigated how culture impacts expressions of social support, which is crucial in developing culturally sensitive care. Using a classification based on theories of social support, we examined the social support experiences of 49 Chinese immigrant mental health consumers with psychosis, paying particular attention to frequency and sources. We found that the most common forms of social support were belonging and companionship, perceived emotional support, social control, and perceived instrumental support, while self-esteem and sense of mastery were the least common forms. Family and friends were the main sources of support. These results demonstrate the influence of Confucian values of renqing (or fulfillment of relational obligations) and guanxi (or social networks) and the negative effects of stigma in diminishing the social standing of these consumers by compromising ‘personhood.’ Clinical implications for increasing the cultural competency of clinicians and improving the mental health outcomes of Chinese immigrants are discussed.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express gratitude to Dr. Yuwen Chou and the staff at Bellevue and Elmhurst inpatient units (in particular, Dr. Angelina DeCastro, Dr. Guilin Zhou, and Ms. Diana Han) for their assistance in data collection. They also thank Melinda Mui for her help in the coding process. The study was supported by National Institutes of Mental Health Grant K01 MH73034-01, which was awarded to the corresponding author. This study was also supported, in part, by the Asian American Center on Disparities Research (National Institute of Mental Health Grant P50MH073511).
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Zhen Hadassah Cheng and Ming-Che Tu shares first co-authorship.
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Cheng, Z.H., Tu, MC. & Yang, L.H. Experiences of Social Support Among Chinese Immigrant Mental Health Consumers with Psychosis. Community Ment Health J 52, 643–650 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-016-0008-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-016-0008-4