Asian American Outreach


Asian Americans comprise around 11% of the student population at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The purpose of this website is to provide information and resources on a variety of issues related to the psychological wellness of Asian American college students. Some of the resources apply only to University of Illinois students; however, most resources can be helpful to all Asian American college students and young adults.

Current Demographics

  • Asian Americans are among the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States. They currently make up nearly 5% of the U.S. population.
  • The state of Illinois is home to over half a million Asian Americans, or more than 4% of the state population.

Statistics about Psychological Well-being

Unfortunately, up-to-date statistics on the psychological well-being of Asian American communities is not yet available. However, this is what we know:

  • Epidemiological studies tend to show that Asian Americans have lower prevalence rates of mental disorders than other Americans; however, across all available studies, Asian Americans’ prevalence rates are not significantly different from that of other Americans.
  • Prevalence rates for different disorders vary among different Asian American ethnic groups. For example, Southeast Asian Americans have higher rates of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) than other Asian Americans.
  • When Asian Americans do have mental health concerns, they seek professional help for these problems at a lower rate than other Americans. When Asian Americans utilize mental health services, the severity of their problems is much higher than that of other Americans. What this means is that Asian Americans delay seeking help until problems get too difficult to manage rather than seeking help when problems arise.