中華心理衛生協會

Purpose: Racial, ethnic, and cultural disparities have been documented in mental health studies and in application of mental health care. However, comparisons between Taiwan and the U.S. are lacking. The purpose of this study is to compare the mental health of youth in Taiwan and the U.S. to identify differences in the structure of mental health. Methods: Indicators of mental health in this study included emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, and peer-relation problems. Data were collected in 2001 through 2 research projects: the Taiwan Education Panel Survey (TEPS) and the America National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), and the total sample included 6228 (TEPS=3166, NHIS=3062) adolescents of the age between 12 to 17 years. The TEPS and NHIS data were linked and equated with single-group design and linear transformation, and then analyzed with a MANOVA. Results: Mental health and type of mental problems differed between youth in Taiwan and the United States. Taiwanese youths presented emotional symptoms, but Americans presented with hyperactivity and peer-relation problems. Taiwanese mental health differed by gender (females were worse than males) and age (seniors were worse than juniors), although American results did not. Conclusions: Nationality is an important factor in mental health and interacted with gender and age. The Taiwan results differed from the U.S. sample as well as from results represented in the related Western literature. Further research is needed to explore the reasons behind these differences. Implications of this research for policy in Taiwan include the suggestion that the relevant welfare organizations should provide more mental health services for girls and older youth, especially services promoting social skills for emotion regulation.