Promising Results from the Use of a Korean Drama to Address Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors on School Bullying and Mental Health among Asian American College-Aged Students

Park Van My Ta, Joyce Suen Diwata, Nolee Win, Vy Ton, Bora Nam, Waleed Rajabally and Vanya C. Jones
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Park Van My Ta: Department of Community Health Systems, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Joyce Suen Diwata: Department of Public Health and Recreation, San José State University, San Jose, CA 95192, USA
Nolee Win: Department of Nutrition, Food Science, and Packaging, San José State University, San Jose, CA 95192, USA
Vy Ton: Department of Public Health and Recreation, San José State University, San Jose, CA 95192, USA
Bora Nam: Department of Community Health Systems, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Waleed Rajabally: Department of Sociology, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA 95343, USA
Vanya C. Jones: Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 5, 1-17

Abstract: The limited research on bullying, mental health (MH), and help-seeking for Asian American (ASA) college students is concerning due to the public health importance. Korean drama (K-Drama) television shows may be an innovative approach to improve knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors (KAB) on bullying. This study examined whether the KAB about school bullying improved after watching a K-Drama and asked participants about their perspectives of using a K-Drama as an intervention. A convenience sample of college students ( n = 118) watched a K-Drama portraying school bullying and MH issues. Pre-/post-tests on KAB on bullying were conducted. Interviews ( n = 16) were used to understand their experiences with K-Dramas. The mean age was 22.1 years (1.6 SD), 83.9% were female, and 77.1% were ASAs. Many reported experiences with anxiety (67.8%), depression (38.1%), and school bullying victim experience (40.8%). Post-test scores revealed significant differences in knowledge by most school bullying variables (e.g., victim; witness) and MH issues. There were varying significant findings in post-test scores in attitudes and behaviors by these variables. Participants reported that they “love” the drama, felt an emotional connection, and thought that K-Dramas can be an educational tool for ASAs. K-Dramas may be an effective population-level tool to improve health outcomes among ASAs.

Keywords: mental health; intervention; Asian Americans; school bullying; Korean drama; health education; health disparities; help-seeking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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