Indian and South Asian men and mental health - what the research shows and what it cannot yet tell us

If you are struggling right now

NIMH says: “If you or someone you know is struggling or having thoughts of suicide, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org . In life-threatening situations, call 911.” The 988 Lifeline says it is “available 24/7/365” and that conversations are “free and confidential.” For people who speak other languages, it says to call 988 and you will be provided translation in more than 240 additional languages, available through voice calling only. We did not find an official 988 option for any specific South Asian language other than that interpreter service.

Who we are talking about

The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020 to 2024 five-year estimates, tables B02015 and B02018) counts people who identify as Asian Indian. The figures below are republished from that release by Census Reporter and should be confirmed on data.census.gov before being quoted elsewhere.

• Texas: 551,305 Asian Indian alone (margin of error about 8,900), or 588,500 alone or in any combination.
• Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area: 272,886 Asian Indian alone (margin of error about 5,400), or 286,619 alone or in any combination.

These are five-year period estimates for a self-reported Census category, not a single-year count. They do not include people of Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan or Nepali origin, and they are not broken down by sex. “South Asian” in this guide means the wider region when a study uses that term, and “Asian Indian” or “Indian American” when a study or the Census does.

What the official data do and do not cover

HHS Office of Minority Health reports, from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, that “Asian American adults were 45% less likely than U.S. adults overall to have received mental health treatment in the past year.” Its table shows 12.5% of Asian adults compared with 22.9% of all U.S. adults. The page also reports that Asian American adults were 27% less likely to report having a mental illness in the past year. The table footnote says the Asian population in the data source is non-Hispanic.

12.5%

of non-Hispanic Asian adults received mental health treatment in the past year in 2024, compared with 22.9% of all U.S. adults. This is not a figure for Indian or South Asian men.

That is the closest official figure we found, and it covers many different communities at once. We found no official source reporting treatment use, suicide or alcohol use for Indian American or South Asian American men separately, so we do not offer one.

What the studies say, one at a time

Each study below is described with its sample, because who was asked matters as much as what they said.

• A national survey with no separate Asian Indian results. The National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) surveyed Asian Americans in 2002 and 2003. A 2007 analysis (Abe-Kim and colleagues) found that about 8.6% of the total sample (n=2,095) sought any mental health-related services and 34.1% of those with a probable diagnosis did, and that Asian Americans had lower rates of service use than the general population, although the authors note important exceptions by nativity and generation status. A later analysis of 1,637 foreign-born Asian adults, 770 of them men (Kim, 2021), says its sample was too small to analyze ethnic groups separately. Asian Indians were not reported as their own group, and the author notes that more recent data would be preferable.
• A Punjabi community in Central California. A mixed-methods study (Roberts and colleagues, 2015) surveyed 350 people, 133 of them men, with the survey participants recruited during community events at Gurdwaras. It reported women with elevated anxiety and depression levels while men indicated levels within the normal range (in the authors’ subgroup results, the elevated depression average was among women who took the survey in Punjabi), and the authors link differences in how people report depression in part to the highly stigmatized nature of mental health issues in their community. The authors state that this was one specific community and there may be differences elsewhere. The paper focuses mainly on women.
• A survey of attitudes across Asian groups. A 2020 analysis of the Asian American Quality of Life survey (Jung and colleagues), with 2,609 adults including Asian Indian respondents, found that age, gender, ethnicity and other factors were significantly associated with stigmatizing beliefs about depression, such as beliefs that depression is a sign of weakness, shame to the whole family, and family disappointment. We were able to read only the abstract, so we cannot report results for Asian Indian men.
• Indian American college students. A 2025 study (DeVitre and Gloria) surveyed 205 Indian American undergraduates, 96 of them male, and found that psychological, social and cultural factors collectively accounted for attitudes toward seeking mental health services. The abstract does not report results specific to men.
• Reviews pooling several countries. A 2025 scoping review (Menon and colleagues) of 25 qualitative or mixed-methods studies from the UK, Australia, the US and Canada reported challenges including stigma, difficult family dynamics and poor experiences of care. One passage says women were more likely to discuss mental health than men, who were “confined by masculinity and ingrained fears of negative societal perceptions of weakness.” That is the review’s qualitative synthesis across four countries, not a U.S. measurement. A 2025 systematic review (Pandey and colleagues) of 17 studies of South Asian migrants in industrialized countries, only six of them in the US, found wide ranges (stress 23% to 59%, anxiety 20% to 50%, depression 9% to 47%) and could not run a meta-analysis because the studies differed in their scales, data collection methods and variables.

“Prior research on suicidal ideation and its correlates among South Asian American individuals has been limited.”Lane and colleagues, Asian American Journal of Psychology, 2016 (a study of 204 undergraduates, 66% female)

What we can and cannot conclude

Taken together, there is a consistent thread in the qualitative work and small samples: authors describe stigma, shame, family dynamics and under-use of care in South Asian communities. But the numbers that would show how large any of this is for Indian American men are sparse and old. They come from small convenience or student samples, from pooled Asian groups, or from reviews that mix countries. Some authors note limits on who their samples represent: one study says it covers a specific community and there may be differences elsewhere, and another says its sample was too small to analyze ethnic groups separately.

That means we cannot say Indian or South Asian men are more or less likely than other men to have depression or anxiety, to use therapy, or to die by suicide. It also means a cultural explanation offered by an author is a suggestion from that study, not a measured cause. A sensible reading is that the question is under-studied, not that the answer is known.

If this is about you or someone you know

The evidence above is about groups. Your own situation is individual. NIMH says men and women can develop most of the same mental disorders and conditions, but they may experience different symptoms, and lists anger, irritability, or aggressiveness; misuse of alcohol, drugs, or both; and aches, headaches, or digestive problems without a clear cause among common symptoms. It also says a primary care provider is a good place to start. See men and mental health: signs to know and how to get help.

If bringing it up at home feels hard, see how to talk to your family about mental health, which includes conversation starters from SAMHSA. To find and prepare for a provider, see how to find a mental health provider, or low-cost mental health care in Dallas County. We have not verified which local providers have South Asian language or cultural expertise, so we do not list any.

Common questions

Do Indian American men use mental health services less?

We found no official source reporting this for Indian American men. HHS reports that non-Hispanic Asian American adults overall were less likely than U.S. adults to have received mental health treatment in 2024 (12.5% versus 22.9%). Smaller studies of Indian and South Asian communities describe stigma and family dynamics as barriers, but they use small or pooled samples.

How many Indian Americans live in Texas and Dallas-Fort Worth?

In the American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 five-year estimates, 551,305 people in Texas identified as Asian Indian alone and 272,886 in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area, with 588,500 and 286,619 alone or in any combination. These are estimates with margins of error.

Is there a 988 option in Hindi, Punjabi or other South Asian languages?

The 988 Lifeline says that for people who speak other languages, you can call 988 and be provided translation in more than 240 additional languages through voice calling only. We did not find an official option for a specific South Asian language beyond that interpreter service.

What if someone is having thoughts of suicide?

Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. In life-threatening situations, call 911.

Sources

• HHS Office of Minority Health: Mental and Behavioral Health, Asian Americans - no page date; cites 2022 to 2024 data
• American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 five-year estimates, tables B02015 and B02018 (via Census Reporter) - retrieved October 25, 2026
• Abe-Kim et al., Am J Public Health 2007 (PMID 17138905) - NLAAS 2002 to 2003
• Kim, SSM Population Health 2021 (PMID 33869722) - NLAAS, 1,637 foreign-born Asians
• Roberts et al., Int J Environ Res Public Health 2015 (PMID 26703654) - Punjabi community, Central California
• Lane et al., Asian Am J Psychol 2016 (PMID 27525054) - 204 South Asian American undergraduates
• Jung et al., Community Ment Health J 2020 (PMID 31578672) - abstract only
• DeVitre and Gloria, J Am Coll Health 2025 (PMID 38564775) - abstract only
• Menon et al., BMC Public Health 2025 (PMID 41184844) - scoping review, four countries
• Pandey et al., J Public Health 2025 (PMID 40795145) - systematic review, 17 studies
• NIMH: Men and Mental Health - last reviewed May 2024
• NIMH: Suicide Prevention - last reviewed August 2026
• 988 Lifeline FAQ: other languages - no page date
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline - no page date

Sources last checked October 25, 2026. This article is general education, not financial, legal or medical advice. Rules, fees and programs change, so confirm details with the organization before you act.