AARP Hearing Center
Drawing on data from the Amplify AAPI Panel, the nation’s first multilingual, probability-based survey panel designed to represent AAPI adults, this report provides nationally representative insights into mental well-being, support networks, trust in mental health professionals, barriers to care, and unmet mental health needs across AAPI communities. Findings highlight opportunities to strengthen access to care, reduce barriers to treatment, advance mental health parity, and develop culturally responsive approaches that support the mental well-being of diverse AAPI communities.
Key insights
- Mental well-being is generally positive, especially among older adults. Four in 10 AAPI adults (42%) rate their mental well-being as excellent or very good, rising to 55% among adults age 50-plus, compared with 33% among adults ages 18 to 49.
- Family remains the foundation of mental health support. Family is the most common source of support during significant mental health challenges (60%), followed by friends (48%) and counselors or therapists (41%). Support preferences vary by age and nativity, underscoring the importance of culturally responsive, family- and community-centered approaches to mental health outreach.
- Use of professional mental health care remains limited despite ongoing need. Only 22% of AAPI adults report receiving professional mental health care in the past two years, while nearly 1 in 5 (19%) report needing mental health care but not receiving it. Unmet need is twice as common among adults ages 18 to 49 as among adults age 50-plus (24% vs. 12%).
- Cost, access, and mental health parity remain challenges. Cost is the most frequently cited barrier to receiving needed mental health care (43%), followed by difficulty obtaining appointments (26%). In addition, only 35% of AAPI adults believe mental health is treated with the same importance as physical health, highlighting opportunities to improve access and integrate mental health more fully into overall health and well-being.
- Differences by nativity highlight the need for culturally responsive approaches. Immigrant AAPI adults are less likely than U.S.-born adults to trust mental health professionals (49% vs. 59%) or to have received professional mental health care in the past two years (20% vs. 25%), while being more likely to cite cost as a barrier to care (50% vs. 34%). These findings underscore the importance of affordable, culturally and linguistically responsive services, trust-building efforts, and community-informed outreach strategies.
Methodology
These findings are based on a nationally representative survey of 1,197 AAPI adults age 18 and older, conducted February 2 to 9, 2026, using NORC’s Amplify AAPI, a probability-based survey panel designed to represent AAPI adults and collect data in multiple Asian languages. Data were weighted to align with population benchmarks from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey (ACS) five-year estimates, including age, sex, education, nativity, region, and Asian origin.
For more information, please contact Matrika Chapagain at mchapagain@aarp.org. For media inquiries, contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.
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