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Immigration has consequences for both immigrants and the host society. For society, the rapid population growth of Asians in American society has created the need for appropriate and meaningful social and mental health services. For the individual, immigration to the highly technological society of the United States requires many life changes. Immigrants must adjust to new values, norms, and patterns of interaction that may conflict with the social patterns of their country of origin. Often immigrants must also contend with loss of familial and interpersonal supports in addition to learning a new language and finding employment and housing (Sauna, 1970; Warhiet, Vega, William, Auth, & Meinhardt, 1985). Regardless of the impetus for immigration, the immigrant is vulnerable to extreme stress as a consequence of the immigration experience. Research on immigrant stress has shown a relationship between the immigration experience and psychopathology (Warhiet et al., 1985) and between the acculturative process and stress (Padilla, Wagatsuma, & Lindholm, 1985).
The Philippines provides the United States with the second largest number of immigrants annually, after Mexico. Most Filipinos in the United States are immigrants (66%) (Gardner, Robey, & Smith, 1985). Furthermore, the majority of Filipino immigrants have entered the country since 1965. Considering the stress associated with immigration and adaptation to a new country, the fact that more than half of all Filipinos are immigrants and more than 40,000 new Filipino immigrants enter the United States annually suggests that Filipino Americans as a group are at risk for various psychosocial problems. Ironically, although Filipino Americans make up the largest of the Asian American subgroups in the United States today, they are one of the least understood and researched groups (Kitano, 1980; Yu, 1980; Wagner, 1973).
Empirical research on Filipino American mental health and psychological well-being lags behind research on other Asian American groups (Kitano, 1980; Okamura & Agbayani, 1991; Wagner, 1973; Yu, 1980). Although research on Chinese, Japanese, and, now, Koreans has moved beyond historical and illustrative descriptions to empirical studies and the development of conceptually valid instruments and theories, research on Filipino Americans has not maintained the same pace and remains largely focused on historical accounts. Although these nonempirical studies are valuable in providing information about the background and experiences of early Filipino immigrants, they contribute little...