Abstract
Purpose. This study examined the relationships of acculturation levels, generational status, education, age, gender, having sought help for personal issues, knowing someone who has a mental illness, perceptions of mental illness, and willingness to seek psychological help among 292 Vietnamese Americans. Method. The sample was a convenience sample gathered throughout Southern California from public places. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire composed of scales that measure: (1) acculturation levels and generational status (The Suin-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale [SL-ASIA] developed by Suinn, Richard-Figueroa, Lew, & Vigil [1987]); (2) attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help (the shortened version of the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale [ATSPPHS] developed by Fischer and Farina [1995]); and (3) perceptions of mental illness (Opinions about Mental Illness [OMI] developed by Cohen & Struening [1962]). Findings. The results indicated that acculturation levels, gender, age, generational status, education, personally knowing someone who has a mental illness, having sought help for personal issues, and various perceptions of mental illness did not predict willingness to seek professional psychological help among Vietnamese Americans. However, when the language variable was introduced, the results showed interaction between language and age, income, having sought help for personal issues, knowing someone who has a mental illness on acculturation and perceptions of mental illness regarding Authoritarianism, Benevolence, Mental Hygiene, Social Restrictiveness, and Interpersonal Etiology. Knowing someone who has mental illness affected attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. English language respondents who knew someone who had a mental illness tended to be more willing to seek professional psychological help.