{"id":361,"date":"2022-06-25T11:12:16","date_gmt":"2022-06-25T18:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devpsyc\/?p=361"},"modified":"2022-06-27T14:48:32","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T21:48:32","slug":"the-relationship-between-mood-disorder-diagnosis-and-the-chinese-population-of-vancouver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devpsyc\/2022\/06\/25\/the-relationship-between-mood-disorder-diagnosis-and-the-chinese-population-of-vancouver\/","title":{"rendered":"The Relationship between Mood Disorder Diagnosis and the Chinese Population of Vancouver"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Aiden Macklin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Data<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

While researching the relationship between \u201cStress\u201d and \u201cMood or Anxiety Disorder Diagnosis\u201d among low income areas in the Vancouver region, I noticed a stark contrast between the two lowest earning areas; Strathcona and Victoria-Fraserview. Despite being comparable in terms of income, they are polar opposites regarding mood disorder diagnosis. Strathcona has an average mood disorder diagnosis of 26%, the highest out of the Vancouver areas. Conversely, Victoria-Fraserview has an average mood disorder diagnosis of 9% (My Health My Community, 2014). But what does Victoria-Fraserview have that accounts for this significantly lower mood disorder diagnosis? Upon comparing the data regarding ethnicity, I may have found an answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Victoria-Fraserview has the highest Chinese (53%) to Caucasian (23%) population difference when compared to any other region (My Health My Community, 2014). To verify whether there\u2019s a correlation between mood disorder diagnosis and the Chinese population, I created a graph comparing these two variables using the eight lowest income areas in Vancouver, Strathcona and Victoria-Fraserview included.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Figure 1: Lowest Income Areas of Vancouver<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

With the exception of Sunset and Kensington-Cedar Cottage, the higher the Chinese population (orange) is in a given area, the lower the diagnosis is for a mood or anxiety disorders (blue). This is particularly emphasized when comparing the ends of the spectrum, in this case being Victoria-Fraserview and Grandview-Woodland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet this phenomenon isn\u2019t unique to low-income areas.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Figure 2: Highest Income Areas of Vancouver<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

This second graph compares the six wealthiest areas in the Vancouver region. As demonstrated with the low-income areas, the greater the Chinese representation in a population, the lower the reportability of mood or anxiety disorder diagnosis tends to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This then raises the question; Why is the Chinese population underrepresented regarding mood or anxiety disorder diagnosis? Are they simply less likely to experience a mood or anxiety disorder, or are there other factors preventing them from receiving a diagnosis?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cultural Sensitivity Surrounding Mental Illness<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Based on the research, it\u2019s doubtful that the Chinese population of the Vancouver region are less likely to experience a mood or anxiety disorder. Instead, this discrepancy is likely due to the interaction between Chinese and Canadian culture, within the framework of mental health. The \u201cwestern\u201d method of mental health typically involves interacting with some variety of health care professional, who then provides a diagnosis based on the symptoms that the patient experiences. While this methodology may seem reasonable, there are a number of problems that can prevent Chinese individuals from receiving a diagnosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the most obvious of these problems is the language barrier. Studies have shown that as many as 80% of older Chinese adults living in Canada exclusively spoke Chinese when at home. Furthermore, the language barrier has been reported as a risk factor for the underutilization of mental health services (Tieu & Konnert, 2014).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Typically, the first step to receiving a diagnosis for a mental illness is communicating that you\u2019re experiencing symptoms. While this prosect may seem embarrassing for some, this hurdle can be quite problematic for a Chinese individual. Within Chinese culture there is the concept of Guanxi, which represents the personalized network of relationships that exchange support, resources and benefits. An important part of Guanxi is to preserve the family\u2019s \u201cface\u201d, which is done by each family member upholding their reputation as a good and moral human (Chen et al., 2013). Unfortunately, this often comes at the expense of individuals that experience mental illness, who are often stereotyped as having unpredictability, incompetence, and a failure to achieve full moral standing in adulthood. Further issues arise when exclusively looking at the older Chinese population. Research indicates that the 65+ Chinese demographic is less able to correctly identify depression, more likely to favour traditional Chinese remedies over psychiatric services, and to attribute traits of depression to failures of character, rather than as a medical problem (Tieu et al., 2010).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese culture, and its values that include Guanxi, fall under the umbrella of the \u201cCollectivist Culture.\u201d  These cultures, when compared to individualistic cultures, tend to value compliance to the social norm, interdependence, and group harmony. Because symptoms of mental illness typically fall outside the social norm, it is subsequently devalued and stigmatized (Papadopoulos et al., 2012).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chinese demographic probably isn\u2019t exceptionally resistant to mood or anxiety disorders. Instead, they may just not feel as comfortable as other ethnic groups to disclose mental health problems due to cultural norms and expectations. Or, in the case of older adults, a lack of understanding as to how we define and treat mood disorders, which is further compounded by language barriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
References<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Chen, Lai, G. Y.-C., & Yang, L. (2013). Mental illness disclosure in Chinese immigrant\u00a0communities.\u00a0Journal of Counseling Psychology<\/em>,\u00a060<\/em>(3), 379\u2013391.\u00a0https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1037\/a0032620<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Papadopoulos, C., Foster, J., & Caldwell, K. (2012). \u2018individualism-collectivism\u2019 as an explanatory device for mental illness stigma. Community Mental Health Journal<\/em>, 49<\/em>(3), 270\u2013280. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s10597-012-9534-x<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Health My Community. (n.d.). My Health My Community Atlas<\/em>. My Health My Community. Retrieved June 6, 2022, from https:\/\/myhealthmycommunity.org\/explore-results\/results-by-community\/dashboard\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tieu, & Konnert, C. A. (2014). Mental health help-seeking attitudes, utilization, and\u00a0intentions among older Chinese immigrants in Canada.\u00a0Aging & Mental\u00a0Health<\/em>,\u00a018<\/em>(2), 140\u2013147. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/13607863.2013.814104<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tieu, Konnert, C., & Quigley, L. (2018). Psychometric Properties of the Inventory of\u00a0Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services (Chinese Version).\u00a0Canadian\u00a0Journal on Aging<\/em>,\u00a037<\/em>(2), 234\u2013244. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/S0714980818000041<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tieu, Konnert, C., & Wang, J. (2010). Depression literacy among older Chinese\u00a0immigrants in Canada: a comparison with a population-based\u00a0survey.\u00a0International Psychogeriatrics<\/em>,\u00a022<\/em>(8), 1318\u20131326. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/S1041610210001511<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Aiden Macklin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13095,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,28,25,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adulthood-aging","category-culture","category-mental-health","category-social"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devpsyc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devpsyc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devpsyc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devpsyc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13095"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devpsyc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devpsyc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":420,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devpsyc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361\/revisions\/420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devpsyc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devpsyc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devpsyc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}