What does one’s social network say about one’s willingness to talk about mental health? The case of Chinese migrants in Montreal

Although East Asians in North America show a similar rate of distress compared to the general population, there is a severe underutilization of mental health services, partially due to anxiety in using a second language (L2) in healthcare settings. The level of inclusiveness and density of the L2 social network has been shown to foster communicative competence. The current study uses a mixed-method approach to examine the effect of social network features on Chinese migrant’s frequency to talk about personal emotional issues with friends. 40 Bilingual Chinese immigrants (Mage = 23.9, Myrs in Canada = 7.3) were recruited through social media, and completed an online survey and a follow up interview. Qualitative results indicated significant level of distress; however, most people never sought professional help, but dealt with the issues by themselves or with their parents. Multilevel regression results demonstrated that Chinese migrants talk more about mental health with: (a) friends who are less close (t=-8.95***); (b) friends with whom they talk more frequently in general (t=11.80***); (c) those with a Chinese background (t=2.04*); (d) and those known outside of work or school (t=4.32***). People with a more interconnected social circle have more personal emotional conversations with their friends (t = 3.44***), which in turn is related to higher eudaimonic well-being (t = 2.92**). Results highlighted the need to foster an interconnected social network with both heritage and mainstream friends outside of work and school.