Mental health and substance use disorders in the multi-cultural Asian community in Singapore: an interview with Mythily Subramaniam, PhD

The intersection of mental health and substance use disorder conditions is increasingly recognized in both the research and practice communities in this country, and is supported in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) study, reporting that the association between substance use disorders and independent mood and anxiety disorders is significant and positive (Grant et al., 2006). What we do not know as clearly is the strength of this intersection and how it affects prevention, assessment, and treatment in other cultures and countries. It has been reported that Asian Americans (AA), a fast growing minority culture group in the U.S., do not use mental health services (including substance use treatment) to the level of majority culture Americans Le Meyer et al. (2009). Some researchers have challenged this ‘model minority’ stereotype of Asian-American Pacific Islanders, noting that methamphetamine dependence, alcohol use disorders, and other addictive disorders are significant but remain hidden due to treatment barriers (Fong & Tsuang, 2007). Others have reported associations among heavy drinking, depression, and suicide rates for Asian Americans, and note specifically poorer mental health among female AA drinkers (Cheng et al., 2012). In creating and implementing treatment systems for Asian Americans, efforts to address these barriers to treatment stress acculturation, language, gender, and psychoeducational interventions, aligning traditional concepts of mental health with current models (Lui & Zamboanga, 2018; Pham & Lui, 2020; Yamada et al., 2019). Today we speak with Mythily Subramaniam, Associate Professor at Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University in Singapore. Dr. Subramaniam’s research has been at the intersection of substance use and mental health. In addition, she headed the Singapore Mental Health Study, a national epidemiological study of the mental health status of the local population.