Growing multiculturalism in the U.S. increases the need for appropriate and effective mental health treatment for diverse groups of people. Cultural psychology approaches provide evidence for unique conceptualizations of well-being and distress within cultures that might be more practically and clinically useful and meaningful than Western interpretations. Thus, for diverse groups, relevant frameworks of psychopathology and interventions must first be based on understanding how well-being and distress are construed for different people. This qualitative study examined conceptualizations of loss, trauma, anxiety, and well-being with 12 South Asian, U.S. international college students. Participants were asked to tell stories of community members who had suffered an event and were now either functioning well or not well. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyze interview data, and nine broader themes were identified (along with 37 subthemes): contextual conceptualizations of well-being and distress, distress leads to learning and appreciation, gender and generational differences, factors that lead to well-being, factors that lead to distress, responses to distress, factors that lead to well vs. poor functioning after a distressing event, indicators of functioning, and experiences of well-being and distress as international students. Findings highlighted that conceptualizations of well-being and distress not only included intrapsychic states but were grounded in social contexts of the individual, and included relational support or difficulties, material resources or lack thereof, good or poor physical health, academic and career achievement or stagnation. Having social connections with family, friends, and community were considered vital to well-being, and disruptions in these relationships were thought to lead to distress, among other factors. Participants also reported that after experiencing a distressing event, continuing to withdraw from social relationships was an indicator of poor functioning, while reengaging with people and with one's social roles was an indicator of better functioning. Overall, these findings may inform the development of culturally sensitive models of psychopathology that include diverse viewpoints regarding etiology and conceptualization of, and responses to psychological distress in various cultural communities. The findings also have practical implications for the fields of counseling, mental health, and higher education in developing educational and intervention programs for diverse individuals.
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