EFFECTS OF COMBINING DISPARATE GROUPS IN THE ANALYSIS OF ETHNIC-DIFFERENCES - VARIATIONS AMONG ASIAN-AMERICAN MENTAL-HEALTH-SERVICE CONSUMERS IN LEVEL OF COMMUNITY FUNCTIONING

The Asian American population comprises historically, socially, and cu lturally diverse ethnic groups. Given this diversity, investigators ca ution that combining disparate ethnic groups together may lead to erro neous conclusions. Whether by choice or necessity, however, mental hea lth studies still typically consider Asian Americans as a single ethni c category rather than as separate ethnic groups. Few investigations h ave addressed the consequences of this practice. This paper examines t he implications of conceptualizing Asian Americans as an ethnic catego ry versus ethnic groups, in an investigation of the community function ing status of clients in publicly funded mental health programs in Kin g County, Washington. When treated as a single ethnic category in a mu ltivariate linear regression model, Asian Americans are found to have a lower level of functioning difficulty than their white counterparts. However, when treated as separate ethnic groups (eg., Vietnamese, Jap anese), only one of five Asian ethnic groups has a significantly lower level of difficulty. In a separate analysis of the Asian American sub sample, groups are found to differ significantly from one another with respect to functional status. Several factors, including refugee stat us, account for this difference.