Cultural and Developmental Principles for Asian American Women’s Mental Health: Lessons From AWARE on College Campuses

Despite common perceptions of Asian Americans as a “model minority,” Asian American women have high rates of mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. However, they show low utilization of mental health services and may require culturally sensitive treatment approaches. Asian Women’s Action for Resilience and Empowerment (AWARE) is an eight-session, culturally grounded intervention designed for use on college campuses to address this unmet mental health need. Utilizing a group format, cognitive-behavioral strategies, and individual text messaging, AWARE provides strategies to address the mental health risks associated with Asian American women’s disempowerment at individual, interpersonal, community, and system (cultural) levels.