Despite being deeply impacted by the nation’s mental health crisis, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) have largely been left out of the conversation on mental health. According to federal health data from 2018 through 2022, suicide was the leading cause of death among Asian Americans aged 15–24, and the second leading cause of death among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. Yet only 0.17% of National Institutes of Health funding since 1992 has gone toward clinical research focusing on Asian Americans, despite the fact that they make up 7% of the U.S. population. And data on AANHPI mental health is scarce at best.
The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) was founded in 2021 to address the historic underinvestment in AANHPI communities and lack of attention to the challenges they face. With AANHPI youth being underexamined and underserved, often navigating cultural stigma, marginalization, and barriers to accessing care, we decided it was time to conduct first-of-its-kind research on their needs and commissioned Beyond the Surface, one of the country’s most comprehensive studies exploring the mental health of AANHPI youth.
With this report, we sought to:
1. Inform parents, service providers, mental health professionals, researchers, funders, policymakers, and journalists about the struggles and strengths of AANHPI young people.
2. Spark open, constructive dialogue about the unique pressures AANHPI youth face.
3. Identify actionable ways to better support our community’s young people and find a path toward healing.
Beyond the Surface consists of qualitative findings from youth focus groups and quantitative data from a nationally representative survey of over 1,400 young people aged 14–25 years from all major AANHPI subgroups.
EXECUTION
With few direct precedents for this study, TAAF's data and research team developed a mixed-methods study methodology. In collaboration with experts at Child Trends, TAAF first conducted a qualitative research phase using focus group discussions with youth aged 14–18. Six focus groups were conducted with 29 participants across East Asian, Filipino, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and LGBTQ+ identities, co-facilitated and co-interpreted by trained youth researchers aged 18–21.
The second phase of the study was a survey, calibrated by the findings of the qualitative phase. TAAF partnered with BSP Research to conduct a nationally representative survey of 1,409 participants who identified as AANHPI between the ages of 14 to 25 on topics related to mental health. The survey was distributed through an online panel and offered in English between August 16 – September 7, 2024.
The study was designed to provide data disaggregated based on major Asian American ethnic subgroups (including East Asians, South Asians, Southeast Asians, and Filipinos). Data was also disaggregated to understand the experience of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders who have historical, social, and cultural contexts that are distinct from Asian American groups. This level of disaggregation is rare but deeply needed within AANHPI research.
At every phase of the study, from survey conceptualization to the development of recommendations, TAAF was guided by an academic advisory committee, a community advisory committee, and youth researchers. To ensure ethical and safe data collection, this project underwent rigorous review by independent Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), given the sensitivity of mental health topics. All participants (or their parents, for minors) reviewed a consent form detailing the study details and provided consent before proceeding.
TACTICS
To disseminate the survey, TAAF took a digital-first approach to ensure key findings could reach journalists, parents, policymakers, and young people.
Beyond the Surface was released on December 12, 2024, and helped to shed light on the unique mental health challenges faced by AANHPI youth while offering critical insights into their well-being.
HIGHLIGHTS
