Evaluation of the Virtual Youth Mental Health First Aid Training for Asian Americans During COVID-19

ABSTRACT Asian American youth experience high rates of racism and mental health difficulties, yet are less likely to seek mental health services compared to their non-Asian peers. Due to restrictions on in-person interactions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, many mental health services have been delivered virtually since March 2020. Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) virtual training is a manualized program designed to educate adults on recognizing signs and symptoms of common adolescent mental health challenges, and how they could effectively intervene. However, there is no published research on the effectiveness of the YMHFA-virtual version. Also, there is limited research on the effectiveness of YMHFA among Asian Americans, a vulnerable population. Utilizing a pre-post design, we evaluated the effects of the virtual YMHFA that we adapted for Asian Americans. Thirty-five Asian/American adults (Mage = 47.0, SDage = 8.98) participated in the YMHFA-virtual training and completed pre- and post- surveys. Significant increases were found in participants’ mental health literacy (MHL), mental health knowledge, confidence in using the mental health first aid skills, help-seeking intentions, and help-seeking attitudes, while a significant decrease was found in their stigma toward mental illnesses. The effect sizes varied from small (e.g., attitudes) to large (MHL and confidence in using MHFA skills). These promising findings have several implications. The culturally adapted YMHFA-virtual version may be an effective way to reach Asian Americans and promote mental health awareness, helpful attitudes, and confidence in supporting youth with mental health challenges in a culturally sensitive and non-threatening manner among this population.