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Psychological well-being of Filipino Americans

Psychological well-being is the overall positive mental state of an individual. There are many factors that determine a person's psychological well-being such as an individual's positive or negative attitude towards one's personal experiences, individual ideas, and life events. This factors include six domains such as self-acceptance, continuing growth and development as a person, ability to adjust in complex environments and situations to accommodate ones personal needs and ideas, formation of quality relationships to others, and the desire of accomplishing meaningful goals. These factors differ not only among individuals as a whole, but throughout difference racial groups.

The psychological well-being of Filipino Americans is influenced by a number of factors that separate them from the contributors to the well-being of other races. Along with the elements of the Philippine culture, history, education, and economical lifestyle, there have been theories and models constructed to reflect the well-being of Filipino Americans in comparison to others. These theories include the Identity Development Model, colonial mentality, Model Minority Myth. These contributors are the cause for the possible psychological health concerns among Filipino Americans.

Identity Development Model

Filipino Americans experience racial and ethnic identity development in a different way than other Asian American groups. The Philippines, being a country that was colonized by Spain for over 300 years, became an Asian country that could classify itself with Spain. However, Filipino Americans also identify with Asian and/or Pacific Islander, leaving Filipino Americans with the idea of developing conflicting racial and ethnic identities. The identity development model contains six individual stages that Filipino Americans may go through throughout their lifetime in order to develop one's own identity as a Filipino American. These stages include the following: ethnic awareness, assimilation to White American culture, awareness of social political differences, Panethnic Asian American consciousness, ethnocentric realization, and introspection or acceptance.

Ethnic Awareness

This stage occurs when a Filipino American individual is aware of their culture in response to the people and environments that they are exposed to on an every day basis. This includes the languages that are spoken around the individual, social environments, such as parties and get togethers, as well as the exposure to Filipino food, music, and traditions. Typically this stage is lived in through childhood.

Assimilation to White American Culture

During the assimilation stage of the Identity Development Model, a Filipino American individual comes to the realization of the differences between the Filipino culture in comparison to more dominant cultures. This stage can occur in any setting throughout a Filipino American's lifetime through exposure or lack thereof of Filipino American representation through media or experiencing an act of isolation based on race in the individual's every day life. This type of experience is what forces Filipino Americans to assimilate to the more dominant culture, often White America.

Based on the history of Filipino American immigrants, American values and traits are portrayed to them as the superior lifestyle leading them to such assimilation to the culture. Throughout the Philippines there are numerous advertisements promoting the heavy use of skin-whitening and bleaching products publicizing the beauty of the American culture.

Awareness of Social Political Differences

Through this stage, Filipino Americans become actively aware of the differences that separate them from the dominant culture based on racial and cultural injustices and experiences. This stage is often a negative experience, such as being placed in an environment where discrimination is being taken place. However, this can also be a positive experience in terms of the individual learning and/or teaching about Filipino American history on one's own.

Panethnic Asian American Consciousness

During this specific stage, Filipino American individuals begin to associate with individuals of other Asian American groups in order to feel a sense of community and understanding of cultural discrimination. When this occurs, all individuals are able to relate and communicate about similar experiences regarding acculturation.

Ethnocentric Identity and Introspection

The fifth stage of this model is when a Filipino American chooses to reject an Asian American identity and accepts an ethnocentricity for their Filipino identity on its own. This stage is influenced mainly by experience of discrimination of an Asian American identity in general. Introspection being the final stage is when a Filipino American accepts their identity as an Asian American while showing a strong sense of Filipino American pride.

Colonial Mentality

Colonial mentality among Filipino Americans is a form of internalized oppression within an individual in which the Filipino American feels inferior based on cultural and ethnic beliefs and values because of the history of their culture. This mentality makes the Filipino American individual feel the need to associate more towards the American and/or Spanish values and traditions rather than there own, seeing as their colonizer is more superior than the Philippine culture.

Colonial mentality has been shown to create major impacts on the psychological well-being of Filipino Americans. Those who posses high levels of this type of mentality are more likely to have low levels of self-esteem and could develop symptoms of depression more often than those who do not practice colonial mentality. This type of There are four levels of impact on a Filipino American individual in the presence of colonial mentality: denigration of oneself, the Filipino culture, discrimination of individuals less cultured, and tolerance and acceptance of oppression by superior ethnic group.

Denigration of Individual

This level of impact is similar to assimilation to White American culture of the Identity Development Model. During this type of impact, Filipino Americans who experience colonial mentality often acquire low levels of self-esteem based on the comparison of characteristics between the individual and the existence of other ethnic groups.

Denigration of Individual's Culture

This level of impact involves the individual's attitude towards the Filipino culture itself. Filipino Americans experiencing this degree of impact look to their culture, traditions, and lifestyle with a negative outlook based on the idea that they do not compare to those of American culture. This can include areas such as food, television, politics, etc.

Discrimination of Lesser Cultured

This level of impact takes place when a Filipino American individual discriminates against another Filipino American who is less accustomed to the superior culture. This type of action targets areas such as language and diction.

Tolerance & Acceptance of Oppression

During this level of impact, a Filipino American will disregard negative experiences of colonialism and express major appreciativeness for the American and/or Spanish country. The individual develops feelings of forgiveness and thankfulness for the colonizing country based on the idea that they are most superior.

Model Minority Myth

Model Minority among Filipino Americans, similar to other Asian American ethnicities, is a stereotypical assumption that the ethnic group must excel in areas of education, career, and beliefs.

Some socioeconomic stereotypes that take place specifically for Filipino Americans include: Filipino American families having little divorce rate compared to American families, Filipino Americans being more likely to speak English better than other Asian American ethnic groups, and having the lowest poverty rate out of the Asian American groups of the American population. In addition to socioeconomic stereotypes, Filipino Americans are known to show major success academically but tend to be based on gender. The model minority among Filipina Americans show that they will excel where Filipino Americans tend to fall short.

Model Minority myth stereotypes have a major affect on a Filipino American individual's well-being based on the fact that these individuals feel they have to live up to what they're believed to be even if they are not. Students tend to question whether or not they are actually Asian if they are unable to excel highly in academics like they grow up believing. This type of feeling has a big affect on an individual's self-esteem and well-being.