The mental health and

sexual health crisis

among API women
Hyeouk Chris Hahm, Ph.D., LCSW
Associate Professor, Boston University School of Social Work
Supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grant (NIMH, 1 K01
MH086366-01A1)
Presented at the State of the Asian Womens Health, May 29, 2013

1.Mental Health/substance use

High prevalence of complete suicides

Asian-American women aged 15-24:
Alarming increase in suicide mortality rate, rising
from 2.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2000 to 5.3 deaths
per 100,000 in 2009 (CDC, 2012. Health United States, 2011. Table 39.)

Most rapidly rising rates of completed suicide of all

races and both genders in the same age group,
increasing by 96.3% from 2000-2009. Native American
women had the second largest increase (81.1%)(National
Center for Health Statistics, 2012)

High Prevalence of Suicidality

(higher than the national average)

High Prevalence of Substance Use

(Hahm et al, 2013, n=720)
n

Prevalence (%)

Soft Drug Use

250

34.7%

Hard Drug Use (alone or combined with soft drug)

76

10.6%

History of cigarette use only

33

10.12%

History of cigarette plus marijuana use

103

31.60%

History of marijuana only

114

34.97%

Hard Drug Use

History of hard drug use only

10

3.07%

Legal Drug Use

Illegal Drug Use

History of hard drug, cigarette, and marijuana use 52

15.95%

2. Sexual Health

Rising incidence of HIV/AIDS among API

women (2004-2007, CDC)

Heterosexual contacts, the greatest reason

for HIV transmission (2001-2008, CDC)

Complex intersection bet mental

health and sexual health
Forced sex history 2-8 times more likely to use
alcohol/drugs, cope with problems by drinking
alcohol, get pregnant, and engage in HIV risk
behaviors, compared to their counterparts
API women who experienced multiple types of
childhood maltreatment had 3-12 times greater
odds of reporting depression (Hahm, 2012)

3. Patterns of service utilization

a. HIV testing: the lowest proportion

(Hahm et al., 2009)

b. Underutilization of mental health

services (Abe-Kim, 2007)

c. Lowest use of services among API sexual abuse children

(Rau & Dicremente, 1992)

Where Do We Go from Here?

API women should not suffer alone-- Design
culturally specific intervention
Community mobilization to raise awareness
Increase presence of Asian Americans in research
Focus on prevention, early intervention
Educate providers about Asian American mental
health issues

Thank you from Asian-American Sexual Health

Initiative Project (AWSHIP)

Intersectionality Framework