The consistent findings of this study indicated that people with elevated perceptions of social support are more likely to recover from depression than those with lower perceptions of support. Furthermore, in a study conducted by Alton Barbour, impaired or "dysfunctional" communication was shown to impede the attainment of social support (Barbour, 1994)
Defining and Evaluating Mental Health and Mental Health Services According to researchers Jang, Chariboga and Okazaki, authors of "Attitudes toward mental health services: Age-group differences in Korean-American adults," Asian-Americans -- and Korean-American Adults in particular -- do not typically identify depression as a medical condition, but rather as a state of mind that can be avoided or changed by thinking positively. For this reason, the vast majority of Korean-Americans are inclined to think negatively about people who seek mental health services for depression, as the overwhelming opinion -- particular among Korean-Americans over the age of 60 -- is that depression is the result of mental or emotional weakness and a lack of willpower (Jang et al
The primary concerns of the articles include: What cultural differences inform the reluctance to seek social support in general? What cultural differences inform the reluctance to seek support for depression specifically? How do attitudes regarding mental health and mental health services affect the likelihood of seeking social support for depression? What are the barriers to providing effective social support for depression to Asian-Americans? Are certain types support more beneficial for Asian-Americans than others? How can mental health services be customized to better support Asian-American depressives? Explicit vs. Implicit Social Support For the purposes of this paper, social support is defined as that validation that one is esteemed, cared for, and valued as a component of the social communication system (Kim et al
Barriers to Providing Mental Health Services for Asian-Americans That many Asian-Americans do not consider depression a medical condition is one of several barriers to providing effective mental health treatment for depression among Asian-Americans. Even Asian-Americans who seek social support for depression typically terminate treatment prematurely for a number of reasons (Leong & Lau, 2001)
In order to effectively treat depression in Asian-Americans as a group, therefore, Leong & Lau suggest an implicit approach to treatment with highly limited disclosure requirements. Perceived Social Support and Depression Recovery According to researchers Nasser, Overholser and Barbour, the likeliness of recovery from depression is directly related to the perception of social support (Nasser & Overholser, 2004; Barbour, 1994)
Thus, the film suggests that if the heart is the force guiding the individual, then one should not reject the sexual expression that accompanies that guidance, and vice versa. In this way, the family of Viv is more "hyper-assimilated" (Dhingra, Rodriguez 96) into the progressive cultures of New York and Paris than is Wil's family (though she and her mother both arrive at the "assimilated" stage by the end of the film)