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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 15(1)

Capitalising on the social resources within culturally and linguistically diverse communities for mental health promotion: stories of Australian Chinese people

Bibiana Chan
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School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Australia. Email: bibi.chan@unsw.edu.au

Australian Journal of Primary Health 15(1) 29-36 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY08058
Published: 19 March 2009

Abstract

Social capital, generally observed in Chinese cultures, can be considered as the glue that holds together all the norms, trust and social networks that enhance mutual benefit of a collectivistic society. The aim of this paper is to explore the best way to tap into these social resources in mental health promotion. A mixed-method study, consisting of 16 community focus groups and a quantitative survey (n = 528), was conducted among Chinese Australians (recruited from general practices) in metropolitan Sydney. Although the focus groups explored help-seeking behaviours during emotional distress, the survey assessed the prevalence of such episodes. Chinese informants identified ‘family and friends’, ‘cultural values’, ‘spirituality’ and ‘self’ as common ‘helpers’ for managing depressive episodes before professionals were consulted. These ‘helpers’ function as the ‘social capital’ within the Chinese community. Focus group narratives of the low-acculturated Chinese revealed that they turned to close friends and family for help during crises. Highly acculturated Chinese found ‘family values’ most helpful when facing adversity. Survey findings indicated that the self-report rate of lifetime depression in low-acculturated Chinese was significantly lower than that of Australians. These results resonate with Cullen and Whiteford’s (2001) proposition that a higher level of social capital decreases the incidence of depression. Although the links between social capital and mental health require further investigation, the current findings support its role in counteracting emotional distress. There are implications of the current research findings to wider culturally and linguistically diverse communities.


Acknowledgement

The author would like to thank the National Health and Medical Research Council for funding and all the informants who participated in this research. Special thanks also go to Professor Gordon Parker, Professor Maurice Eisenbruch and Associate Professor Jan Ritchie for their invaluable input throughout the study.


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1 ‘Lifetime depression’ was determined by the self-report of the answer to the following prompt question, ‘Over their lifetime, everyone experiences some degree of stress. Some people may feel significantly depressed, easily cross and feel lost. Some may feel worthless and hopeless, lose motivation in doing things and loss of energy and not be able to cope as well as usual. Have you ever experienced something similar for a period of at least 2 weeks?’