University Honors

Limited data exists regarding the mental health and substance use rates of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) adults. This research capstone project utilized a large dataset of NHPI adults to investigate prevalence rates of mental health and substance use, the relationships between mental health and alcohol severity, and significant differences among age groups. NHPI adults across the United States completed surveys to assess their mental health and substance use behaviors. The participant sample was a balanced gender distribution between female and male (46% female, 44% male) with 10% identifying as another gender. Key findings from the data include high prevalence rates of depression, anxiety, and alcohol use disorder. However, despite this heavy mental health burden, there is a large treatment gap as almost half of NHPI participants reported delaying or avoiding care. Statistical analyses revealed a strong significant positive correlation between anxiety and depression (r = 0.81, p < 0.05) and multiple regression showed that depression significantly predicted risky alcohol use (? = 0.24, p < 0.05), indicating alcohol being a possible coping mechanism for depression. Furthermore, older adults and middle-aged adults had significantly lower depression scores than younger adults, suggesting age affecting depression. Addressing the sizable scope of NHPI mental health and substance use problems through disaggregated research data is necessary to illuminate NHPI disparities and meet the growing mental health needs of this understudied population group.