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The authors examined the extent to which Asian American adolescents who were living in Hawaii adhered to Asian and European American cultural values in relation to mental health variables including collective self-esteem (membership, private, public, importance to identity), cognitive flexibility, general self-efficacy, and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Results and implications for counselors are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides a psychocultural profile for persons of Filipino ancestry, discusses the implications of these cultural factors, and presents suggestions for counseling this diverse population. The term Filipino, identifies "the larger, more inclusive concept based upon ethnicity." Filipino culture is derived from and developed through an integrated mixture of Malaysian, Chinese, Indonesian, Spanish, and American cultural influences. This has important significance for the stereotypical characteristics and within-group diversity shared among Filipinos. The indigenous personality theory, "Sikolohiyang Pilipino," states that shared identity and strong equivalence with one's fellow Filipinos is the basic core value of all Filipino values. The encompassing foundation value for the Filipino psychosocial character is known as Kapwa. The Filipino population was projected to surpass the Chinese as the largest Asian American group in the United States by 1994. School counselors are in a unique position to advocate and enact change within society. They, and the methodologies and interventions they use, can have a lasting effect on people's lives.