CORRELATES OF AFFECTIVE DISTRESS AMONG ASIAN AMERICANS

University Of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign IL

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION (Applicant's Abstract): The purpose of this MSDA/NMF application is to provide the candidate with training in theory and methods for assessing non-self-report measures of affective distress (i.e., third person reports, clinicians ratings, facial expressions, and psychophysiological activities) to complement her existing expertise in Asian American mental health. Secondarily, the application will also allow the applicant to expand her theoretical knowledge of cultural theories within the emerging interdisciplinary framework of cultural psychology. This application is designed to provide the candidate with the necessary knowledge and research skills to pursue her immediate career goal of developing a program of research that examines cross-cultural validity of depression and social anxiety among Asian Americans. The research program will build a series of studies to examine ethnic and cultural variations between Asian Americans and White Americans in (a) their beliefs and meaning associated with items in the common self-report measures of depression and social anxiety, (b) the severity of dysfunctions and clinical syndromes associated with high score on the self-report measures of depression and social anxiety, (c) the psychophysiological and facial behavioral correlates of depression and social anxiety, and (d) the relationship between culturally-derived personality factors and affective regulation patterns that occur among the three levels of affective distress (verbal self-report of subjective experience, facial behavior, and psychophysiological response). The proposed program incorporates course work, research training, and consultation with experts in psychophysiology, behavioral observation, clinical interviewing, and cultural psychology to provide the candidate with the requisite knowledge to implement proposed studies. With respect to long term career goals, the proposed MSDA training provides the applicant with a unique combination of expertise in laboratory-based methods for examining cultural variables in affective regulation and psychopathology. The applicant's institution is strongly supportive of these goals. The proposed MSDA training would contribute substantially to the candidate's development as an independent and leading investigator in these areas of research.