Racial discrimination, Intergenerational Cultural

Professor Yoonsun Choi’s grant, which entails $3.6 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will support research that examines an upward trend of mental health problems among young Asian Americans (AAs). This trend, largely understudied, has been aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, increased racial tensions, and a surge in anti-Asian hate crimes. NIH funding will build on Choi’s current, highly successful Midwest Longitudinal Study of Asian American Families (MLSAAF), which substantiated a troubling increase in mental health struggles as participants transitioned to early young adulthood. 

By expanding this research, Choi’s research team will leverage the existing MLSAAF data to follow the original samples from adolescence into their twenties. Their work will investigate family dynamics, minority stress, and cultural factors across life events, and more accurately assess and test the biological, physical, and psychological harms of chronic stress experienced among AAs.