Asian Americans: Personality Patterns, Identity, and Mental Health - Hardcover

Uba, Laura

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0898623723 ISBN 13: 9780898623727

Publisher: Guilford Press, 1994

Synopsis

This widely adopted text synthesizes an extensive body of research on Asian American personality development, identity, and mental health. Uba focuses on how ethnocultural factors interact with minority group status to shape the experiences of members of diverse Asian American groups. Cultural values and norms shared by many Asian Americans are examined and common sources of stress described, including racial discrimination and immigrant and refugee experiences. Rates of mental health problems in Asian American communities are reviewed, as are predictors and manifestations of specific disorders. The volume also explores patterns in usage of available mental health services and considers ways that service delivery models might be adapted to better meet the needs of Asian American clients.

About this title

Review

"The book makes an outstanding contribution to the literature. It is systematic, thorough, and attuned to important trends in theory and research. In tone, approach and substance, it marks the continuing maturation of minority mental health as a scholarly field." --Lonnie R. Snowden, Ph.D., Professor, University of California, Berkeley "Laura Uba's Asian Americans: Personality Patterns, Identity, and Mental Health is a worthy successor to Sue and Morishima's Mental Health of Asian Americans. It is comprehensive in scope, scholarly in coverage, and rich in clinical insights. It contains a wealth of relevant and up-to-date information and should be required reading for all clinical and counseling psychologists-in-training. It would also serve as an invaluable guide to all mental health professionals who work with Asian American clients. As a wonderful integrative resource in Asian American psychology, it will undoubtedly become a classic in the field." --Fred Leong, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology, The Ohio State University "This book is an excellent, highly readable compilation of existing research on Asian American psychology and represents a much-needed addition to the literature. Dr. Uba skillfully reviews a broad range of issues, pulling together studies on Asian and Asian American cultural values, family characteristics, personality patterns, ethnic identity, mental health needs, psychotherapy, and service utilization. Coverage includes material on more widely-researched groups such as Chinese Americans and Japanese Americans, but also includes information on less-researched Asian American ethnic groups such as Filipino Americans, Korean Americans, Samoan Americans, and Southeast Asian Americans. Equally important are Professor Uba's efforts to contextualize the presented empirical findings, her discussions of potential cultural biases in the interpretation of previous research, and her presentation of alternative interpretations that take into account the role of racism and Asian American cultural values. This volume will be a major resource for anyone interested in understanding the psychology of Asian Americans." --Donna K. Nagata, Ph.D., The University of Michigan "Dr. Uba's book will set a new standard in the teaching of Asian American studies. Her timely and critical presentation of psychological issues facing Asian and Pacific Americans is long overdue. Her book will be a primary resource for researchers and practitioners, as well as an important contribution to undergraduate education." --Kenyon S. Chan, Ph.D., California State University, Northridge "It addresses cross-cultural issues of importance to Asian and other immigrant groups in the U.S." --Maria Cecilla Zea, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, George Washington University, Washington, DC "An excellent resource for understanding the personality and mental health issues of Asian Americans. Dr. Uba's book is essential reading for undergraduate courses in Asian American Psychology." --Mary Ann Takemoto, Ph.D., University of California Irvine "This book is a godsend for our new course in the Caribbean-American family. It offers wonderful insights into a vitally important and until recently much neglected topic." --H.M. Sandstrom, University of Hartford, Connecticut ..".brings a scholarly approach to the field of Asian-American Studies. This is one of the best works I have seen on Asian-Americans.... Uba is to be complimented for her balanced perspective on the differences and similarities among Asian-Asians. This volume can be a critical tool in helping mental health providers gain better insight into Asian-americans. The book is appropriate in academic as well as professional practice arenas." --True Thao, M.S.W., John Hope Settlement House "Here is a good base that therapists and other professionals can use to overcome stereotypes and appreciate the humanity common across culture, ethnicity, and history." --"Readings" .,."a timely and needed addition to the study of the psychology of Asian Americans. Unlike others, this book examines differences along Asian Americans as well as differences between Asian Americans born in the United States and Asian immigrants and refugees. This book is appropriate for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students in the fields of psychology, sociology, or anthropology. Dr. Uba's knowledge and credentials are exemplary.""Students, practitioners, and academics interested in factors influencing the personality patterns, ethnic identity, and mental health of Asian Americans will find this book invaluable. This book is sure to be a classic." --"Doody's Annual" "This book is clearly a classic and is recommended for students and teachers alike. It offers encouragement to future investigators in the field." --"The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease" "This outstanding scholar has provided readers with a timely and relevant volume on understanding Asian Americans from the perspective of personality patterns, identity, and mental health." --"The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease" "This book is a major resource for an understanding of the psychology of Asian Americans. It broadens perspectives." --"American Journal of Psychotherapy" .,."a timely addition...a worthy successor to Sue and Morishima's "The Mental Health of Asian Americans" (1982). Uba's coverage of the topic is quite comprehensive. She has compiled into a single integrated volume information that spansnumerous decades and several different disciplines...Uba not only recognizes the importance of within-group(or intragroup) differences but actually delineates where, and how, subgroups, such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, and Vietnamese are different from each other...In updating Sue and Morishima's (1982) book, Uba has not only provided the latest information but also captured some important historical developments such as the large influx of Southeast Asian refugees...In summary, Uba's book is comprehensive in scope, scholarly in coverage, and rich in clinical insights. It contains a wealth of relevant and up-to-date infomation and should be required reading for all clinical and counceling psychologists in training. It would also serve as an invaluable guide to all mental health professionals who work with Asian American clients. As a wonderful intergrative resource in Asian American psychology, it will undoubtedly become a classic in the field. --"Contemporary Psychology" "This book is the benchmark for future writing about Asian Americans and is highly recommended." --"Psychotherapy in Private Practice" .,." an engaging book... a valuable resource for anyone working with this segment of the population... useful in alerting clinicians to common mistakes that can occur when dealing with Asian Americans." --Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic .,."a thoughtful review that proposes constructive new ways to construe the Asian American experience. This text is a needed addition to the field." --"International Migration Review" .,.".a comprehensive collection and analysis of studies and research that has been conducted on this population...." --"Disabilities StudiesQuarterly" "Seminal....Dr. Uba effectively describes the complexities of the various Asian American groups, the sources of others upon them, and their mental health needs...." -- "Journal of Child and Adolescent Group Therapy"

About the Author

Laura Uba, PhD, a lecturer in the Asian American Studies Department at California State University, Northridge, is the recipient of two postdoctoral fellowships dealing with issues in Asian American communities: One from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) at the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies, and the other from the Institute of American Cultures at the UCLA Asian American Studies Center.

Edition details

• Publisher: Guilford Press
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0898623723
• ISBN 13: 9780898623727
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 302