The Relationships between Experiences of Racism, Internalized Racism, and the
Mental Health of East Asians in the U.S.
A Dissertation
Presented to
The Graduate Faculty of the University of Akron
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Soyeong Kim
August 2017 The Relationships between Experiences of Racism, Internalized Racism, and the
Mental Health of East Asians in the U.S.
Soyeong Kim
August 2017
Approved: Accepted:
______Advisor Department Chair Dr. Suzette L. Speight Dr. Paul E. Levy
______Committee Member Dean of the College Dr. Ingrid K. Weigold Dr. John Green
______Committee Member Dean of the Graduate School Dr. John Queener Dr. Chand Midha
______Committee Member Date Dr. Varunee Faii Sangganjanavanich
______Committee Member Dr. Toni L. Bisconti
ii ABSTRACT
Race scholars acknowledge that racism shapes the attitudes and subjectivities of everyone living in a society including that of the oppressed (Feagin, 2000). Given the high prevalence of racism experienced by Asian Americans in the U.S., this study sought to investigate the relationship between experiences of racism and psychological outcomes and the mediating role of internalized racism in defining this relationship with a community sample of 104 East Asians. The study examined two variables – internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization – as mechanisms through which experiences of racism influence the psychological outcomes of East Asians. The results indicated that experiences of racism have a significant relationship with a level of psychological distress and heightened awareness of stigmatized identity. Adherence to two prevailing
Asian stereotypes – Expected Academic Success and Emotional Reservation – was found to have a significant association with increased psychological distress. Despite the high frequency of experiences of subtle racism reported by the current sample, adherence to
Asian stereotypes and perceived stigmatization did not mediate the relationship between racism experiences and mental health outcomes. Overall, the findings highlight the need for further research regarding the impact of racism and internalized racism. The study includes implications for clinical interventions and directions for future research.
Keywords: racism, internalized racism, stereotypes, perceived stigmatization,
East Asians, mental health, well-being.
iii DEDICATION
이 박사논문을 늘 가슴에 품은 꿈을 쫓아 살아가라고 격려해주신 저희 가족에게
바칩니다.
This dissertation is dedicated to my family, who has always encouraged me to follow my heart to reach my goals. TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………..1
Population of Interest………………………………………………………………….2
Racism and the Psychological Outcomes of Asians in the U.S……………………….4
Internalized Racism and Asian Americans……………………………………………6
Critical Issues in the Current Literature……………………………………………….8
The Purpose of the Present Study……………………………………………………11
II. A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE………………………………………………..15
Racism and the Mental Health of Asian Americans…………………………………15
Asian Americans’ Experiences of Racism………………………………………..15
The Impact of Racism on the Mental Health of Asian Americans……………….19
Internalized Racism………………………………………………………………….26
Internalized Stereotypes………………………………………………………….29
Perceived Stigmatization…………………………………………………………33
Control Variables…………………………………………………………………….41
Summary……………………………………………………………………………..43
III. METHODS………………………………………………………………………….46
Participants…………………………………………………………………………...46
Procedures……………………………………………………………………………48
Measures……………………………………………………………………………..50
ii Statistical Analyses…………………………………………………………………..62
IV. RESULTS …………………………………………………………………………..65
Data Cleaning and Screening………………………………………………………....65
Preliminary Analyses…………………………………………………………………67
Correlation Analyses……………………………………………………………….…69
Medication Analyses………………………………………………………………….71
Post-hoc Analyses…………………………………………………………………….72
V. DISCUSSION ……………………………………………………………………….75
Experiences of Racism and Psychological Outcomes.…………………………….....75
Internalized Racism and Psychological Outcomes...………...…...…………………..79
Acculturative Stress and Psychological Outcomes...……………...……………….…83
Mediating Role of Internalized Stereotypes and Perceived Stigmatization...………...85
Implications for Interventions………………………………………………………...88
Limitations…………………………………………………………………………....92
Directions for Future Research and Training…………………………...…………….94
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………97
REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………..99
APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………….124
APPENDIX A. DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONNAIRE……………………………125
iii APPENDIX B. SUBTLE RACISM SCALE FOR ASIAN AMERICAN COLLEGE SUTDNETS………………………………………………………………...127
APPENDIX C. THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL ACCULTURATIVE STRESS INVENTORY………………………………………………………………128
APPENDIX D. THE INTERNALIZATION OF ASIAN AMERICAN STEREOTYPE SCALE……………………………………………………………………...130
APPENDIX E. STIGMATIZATION SCALE……………………………………....132
APPENDIX F. THE KESSLER PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS SCALE………..134
APPENDIX G. SCHWARTZ OUTCOME SCALE……………………………..…135
APPENDIX H. INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD APPROVAL FOR HUMAN SUBJECTS…………………………………………………………………136
APPENDIX I. INSTITUTIONS WITH THE LARGEST ENROLLMENT OF ASIAN STUDENTS……………………………………………………………...…137
iv LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1 Participant Demographic Information………………………………………..116
2 Means, Standard Deviations, Skewness and Kurtosis Values for All Scales ...... 117
3 Correlations between all Scales and Subscales……………………………….118
4 Correlations between Demographic Items and Main Measures……………....118
5-1 Summary of Hierarchical Regression Analysis for Variable Predicting Psychological Distress……………………....………………………....120
5-2 Summary of Hierarchical Regression Analysis for Variable Predicting Psychological Adjustment……………………………………………..121
6-1 Indirect Effects of Experiences of Racism on Psychological Distress………..122
6-2 Indirect Effects of Experiences of Racism on Psychological Adjustment……123
v LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1.1 Conceptual Model 1 of the Present Study………………………………………..13
1.2 Conceptual Model 2 of the Present Study………………………………………..14
2. Statistical Diagram………………………………………………….…………....64
vi CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Today in American society there is a widespread belief that all individuals should have an equal opportunity, regardless of their ascribed characteristics. Nevertheless, oppression continues to exist, and certain groups continue to be privileged over others
(Young, 1990). Oppression is the unjust exercise of power by one group over another in a way that creates and sustains social inequality (Fanon, 1963; Freire, 1970; Prilleltensky &
Gonick, 1996; Young, 1990). It entails a series of asymmetric power relations leading to conditions of systemic inequality and marginalization (Prilleltensky & Gonick, 1996).
Racism is a form of oppression that specifically targets racial minority groups. As Jones
(1972) argued, “racism results from the transformation of racial prejudice and/or ethnocentrism through the exercise of power against a racial group defined as inferior intentionally or unintentionally” (p. 172).
In modern days, experiences of racism involve several social contexts, as racism operates in multidimensional levels – individual, institutional, and cultural (Jones, 1997).
Members of racial minority groups, including individuals of Asian origin, are therefore ubiquitously exposed to the racially biased evaluation of their racial group through media, daily encounters, and institutional policies (Speight, 2007). As a result, many theorists suggest that internalized racism is a predictable consequence of socialization within white dominant society (Fanon, 1963; Freire, 1970; Prilleltensky & Gonick,
1 1996). For the last few decades, researchers have documented how experiences of racism influence minorities’ self-concept specifically through self-hatred, colorism, and the shame associated with race. However, those studies heavily focus on the experience of
African Americans and relatively little is known about Asians and Asian Americans.
Given the lack of attention in this area, the present study seeks to examine how continued exposure to racism is associated with internalized racism with Asian individuals, particularly individuals with East Asian descent, and the role of internalized racism in explaining the relationship between experiences of racism and the mental health outcomes of East Asians in the U.S.
Population of Interest
Asian Americans are descendants of immigrants from any part of Asia or are immigrants themselves from Asia to the U.S. (Liu, Murakami, Eap, & Nagayama Hall,
2009). The number of Asian Americans in the U.S has drastically increased in the last few decades from 6.9 million in the 1990s to over 18 million in 2012 (U.S. Census
Bureau, 2012). They are the fastest growing minority group in the U.S. and have recently passed Latinos as the largest group of new immigrants to the U.S. (U.S. Census Bureau,
2012). Given this rapid increase in the number of Asian immigrants, research on Asian
Americans’ mental health has largely been discussed in the context of their immigration history (i.e., acculturation and adjustment). For example, acculturative stress has been identified as one of their primary sources of stress (Berry, 1987; Lieber, Chin, Nihira, &
Mink, 2001; Paukert, Pettit, Perez, & Walker, 2006; Xu & Chi, 2013). To a large extent, a process of assimilation for immigrants requires them to fit in with the pre-existing rules and standards that are set by the dominant culture (Young, 1990). The assimilation
2 process, therefore, inevitably demands individuals from immigrant groups to be like the mainstream. However, group differences continue to exist between the dominant group, immigrants, and other non-dominant groups. Consequently, Asian immigrants and Asian ethnic minority groups in the U.S. become frequent targets of racial oppression.
Unlike the large increase in the population, relatively little is known about racism and mental health of this group (Liang et al., 2004). For instance, Gee and colleagues
(2007) identified around 30 articles published from 1960 to 2009 that explicitly dealt with the issue of perceived racial discrimination and mental health for Asians in the U.S.
Lee and Ahn (2011) found only 23 articles published between 2001 and 2009 on the issue of racial discrimination and mental health for Asians in the U.S., with more than 40% of those published after 2007. Also, many of those studies heavily relied on college student samples, leaving out potentially important issues regarding this population.
Available research findings show that racism experience is a chronic stressor for
Asians Americans and they suffer from race-related stress (Pascoe & Smart Richman,
2009; Tummala-Narra, Algeria, & Chen, 2012; Yip, Gee, & Takeuchi, 2008). For instance, a number of systemic reviews have shown a consistent association between self- reported experiences of racism and a broad range of negative mental health outcomes
(Pew Research Center, 2012; Spencer et al., 2010; Takeuchi et al., 2007; US Census
Bureau, 2010). A 10-year literature review of Asian American studies from 2000 to 2010 found stigma and model minority myth to be major factors that impede adequate mental health diagnosis and treatment with Asian Americans (Kwok, 2013). Similarly, using data from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), Chung and Epstein
(2014) found that both perceived racial discrimination and acculturative stress were
3 significant predictors for greater psychological distress among foreign-born Asian immigrants.
Both the dearth of research in this area and the significant negative impact of racism indicate that there is a pressing need in the current literature to examine the mental health of East Asians in the context of existing contemporary racial oppression. In order to fill this gap, the primary focus of this study is to investigate East Asians’ racism experiences and its influence on their mental health outcomes.
Racism and the Psychological Outcomes of Asians in the U.S.
While researchers support the idea that racism influences all individuals living under White dominant racial ideology, racial discourse in the U.S. has been centered around “Black and White” issue, resulting in minimizing experiences of other racial and ethnic minority groups (Yoo, Steger, & Lee, 2010; Wu, 2002).
Available data, however, consistently indicates that Asian Americans frequently experience racial discrimination and unfair treatment. For example, the NLAAS data points to the high prevalence of racism experienced by Asian Americans. Seventy-four percent of Asian Americans reported experiencing routine unfair treatment in their lifetime, and 62% reported being disliked, treated unfairly, and seeing friends being treated unfairly because they were Asian (Chae et al., 2008). This high rate of racist experiences is consistently observed across different gender, age and ethnic groups
(Greene, Way, & Pahl, 2006; Li, 2014; Liang & Fassinger, 2008; Tummala-Narra et al.,
2012; Yip et al., 2008).
Continued exposure to racism then has been found to have significant impacts on the mental health of Asian Americans. In a meta-analysis study, Lee and Ahn (2011)
4 found significant and positive association between racial discrimination and overall distress, including depression, anxiety and psychological distress. Similarly, Tummala-
Narra and colleagues (2012) found that perceived discrimination predicted greater risk for past-year depression for different Asian ethnic groups (e.g., South Asian, Chinese,
Vietnamese). For Asian American adult immigrants, in particular, various racism experiences have been found to increase the risk of psychiatric disorders (Li, 2014).
Aside from its impact on psychological distress, frequent racial discrimination has also been found to affect psychological adjustment of Asian Americans in the areas of self-esteem, life satisfaction, and interpersonal problems (Greene et al., 2006; Liang &
Fassinger, 2008; Yoo & Lee, 2005, Utsey, Chae, Brown, & Kelly, 2002). In a longitudinal study with urban minority adolescents, the Asian American students reported being discriminated against by other Asian Americans as well as other racial group students (e.g., Black and Latino), and those who experienced higher levels of discrimination experienced lower self-esteem. For Asian American college students, Yoo and Lee (2005) found that perceived personal racial discrimination was negatively related to life satisfaction. Similarly, a study with South Asian immigrants found perceived discrimination to be negatively associated with life satisfaction and positively related to perceived stress (Kaduvettoor-Davidson & Inman, 2013).
Taken together, many studies point to the negative impact of racial discrimination on the mental health of Asian American; however, the extent to which racism experiences contribute to higher psychological distress or lower psychological adjustment is unclear in the current literature. Additionally, some suggest that racial discrimination may be experienced differentially based on different Asian ethnic groups, potentially having
5 varied impacts on mental health outcomes (Kaduvettoor-Davidson & Inman, 2013;
Tummala-Narra et al., 2012). Therefore, present study intends to address these limitations by focusing on Asian sub-ethnic groups, East Asians and investigating the impact of racism in both areas as to whether it exacerbates psychological stress or impedes psychological adjustment.
Internalized racism and Asian Americans
As with many other forms of oppression, racism is a state and a process (Freire,
1970; Prilleltensky & Gonick, 1996; Pyke, 2010). It is a state in a sense that the dominant group uses their power to limit available resources for the oppressed, and is a process in that as the system in and out of itself perpetuates the status quo. Given this nature of racism, many social scientists have attempted to understand the dynamics of racism and its effects on the minority individuals’ identities and self-concepts including internalized racism. Internalized racism is defined as the “individual inculcation of the racist stereotypes, images, values, and ideologies perpetuated by the White dominant society about one’s racial group, leading to feelings of self-doubt, disgust, and disrespect for one’s self and/or one’s race” (Pyke, 2010, p. 553). According to Bailey, Chung,
Williams, Singh, and Terrell (2011), the process of internalization can be understood as having a two-fold effect on minority individuals. First, society’s negative perceptions on racial minorities compel individuals to accept a notion of inferiority to the members of the majority group (i.e., White), and it becomes “embedded in a racial group’s conception of itself” (Cokley, 2002, p. 477). Second, individuals within the oppressed group may then exhibit negative or exclusionary behaviors toward members of the same oppressed racial group or other oppressed groups (Bailey et al., 2011).
6 Internalized racism is a social psychological process that affects racial minorities on both an individual and a group level (Duran & Duran, 1995). It is a component of racial oppression, as it contributes the dominant group to maintain their power over racial minorities (David & Derthick, 2013). While researchers well speculated that exposure to racism influences internalized racism (Fanon, 1963; Freire, 1970; Prilleltensky & Gonick,
1996) and it affects individuals’ behaviors in many ways (Hipolito-Delgado, 2010;
Padilla, 2001), conceptualizing the construct of internalized racism with East Asians has been particularly lacking in the current literature.
Some have used qualitative method to explore the manifestation of internalized racism with Asian Americans. Using the interview data collection, Pyke and Dang (2003) examined the way that Korean Americans and Vietnamese Americans use the terms
“FOB (Fresh out of the boat) and whitewashed.” The findings suggested that Asian ethnic minorities strategically used these derogatory terms that were originally targeted at their racial group to protect their positive image of themselves and distance themselves from other minority groups. Others have focused on internalized stereotypes and its negative impact on psychological adjustment. For instance, Huynh, Devos, and Smalarz (2011) examined awareness of the perpetual foreigner stereotype and found that awareness of the perpetual stereotype was a significant predictor of both perception of identity conflict and lower sense of belonging to American culture. Similarly, Gupta, Szymanski, and Leong
(2011) found that internalized stereotypes contributed to Asian’s psychological distress and help-seeking attitudes.
While those studies provide important information regarding how internalized racism is operated, there are still a lot to explore as to how and to what extent internalized
7 racism impacts the mental health of Asian Americans (David & Derthick, 2013). In particular, empirical research on the cause of internalized racism and the relationship between experiences of racism and internalized racism is almost non-existent with this population (Hipolito-Delgado, 2010). Some (see Kim, 2012) suggest that a lack of attention in this area of research is, in part, due to Asian culture that emphasizes harmony and collectivism. The Asian values of avoiding public shame and quiet suffering often encourage individuals to accept the social norms and standards as is. However, as Young
(1990) argued, “If unconscious reactions, habits, and stereotypes reproduce the oppression of some groups, then they should be judged unjust, and therefore, should be changed” (p. 150).
Critical Issues in the Current Literature
Taken collectively, a brief review of the literature points to the negative impact of racism on the mental health of Asians and the potential mediating role of internalized racism in explaining the relationship between experiences of racism and the mental health of Asian Americans. However, there are several methodological and conceptual problems in the current literature that need to be addressed in future studies. One prominent problem is the homogeneous view of the population of Asian Americans. The Asian
American group is not only the fastest-growing minority group in the U.S., but it is also the most diverse racial group (Li, 2014). Asia is the largest continent with more than 60% of the world’s population. Thus, the general statistics on Asian Americans often mask the diversity within this population. For example, data on educational attainment level is often aggregated by the large makeup of East Asians including Chinese, Korean, and
Japanese Americans. Unlike the successful image associated with Asian Americans, the
8 poverty rates of Southeast Asians such as Cambodian and Laotian Americans were reported to be higher than for African Americans (Lee, Wong, & Alvarez, 2009). Finally, there is also variability in report of racism experiences within Asians in that East Asians
(e.g., Korean Americans and Japanese Americans) experience higher levels of perceived discrimination than South Asians, Southeast Asians, and non-Hispanic Whites
(Tummala-Narra et al., 2012). Thus, the general “Asian” racial classification does not encompass the experiences of the entire Asian populations and often masks the important ethnic group differences among Asian Americans (Atkinson, Morten, & Sue, 1998).
Therefore, future studies should take into account existing socio-cultural variability in this population and divide this group into smaller groups based on cultural similarities.
More specifically, given the high prevalence of racism experiences reported by East
Asian Americans (see Tummala-Narra et al., 2012) as well as the shared commonality among East Asians in various areas (e.g., geographic, cultural, demographic, political, and economic characteristics), future studies should further investigate experiences of racism with individuals of East Asian descent and how exposure to racism influences the negative psychological outcomes of this Asian sub-group.
Second, researchers have pointed out that there are several reasons why the investigation on internalized racism with Asian Americans has been overlooked in the current literature. To date, there is no overarching theory specific to Asian Americans
(David, 2011). The concept of internalized racism has generally been discussed between the concepts of internalized oppression, colonial mentality, and internalization of stereotypes (Millan & Alvarez, 2013). Although the notion of internalized racism was developed in 1940 (i.e., Clark & Clark, 1940), research on the ramifications of racism has
9 not been consistent in the current literature. When it comes to discussing experiences of racism and race-related stress, the emphasis has been on the attitudes of members of the majority or dominant group toward minority groups, instead of the impact of minorities’ self-concepts (Pyke & Dang, 2003). Additionally, there are certain levels of discomfort when it comes to discussing internalized racism. It is often misconstrued as victim blaming and shame provoking rather than being seen as an effort to promote a change at the individual level (Pyke, 2010). Finally, there is an existing resistance among members of Asian groups. In particular, Asian cultural qualities, such as saving face and emphasizing harmony, impede the exploration of how internalized racism impacts Asian
Americans’ mental health (Pyke & Dang, 2003). However, failure to identify the negative impact of internalized racism and how it relates to everyday racism experience will only further exacerbate its impact on the mental health of minorities and perpetuate the system of racial oppression (Speight, 2007).
Finally, while many studies with other oppressed groups (e.g., African Americans and a sample of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals) have found that internalized racism is linked to poor self-esteem and higher levels of psychological distress (Graham, West, Martinez, & Roemer, 2016; Szymanki & Gupta, 2009), this link has not been tested with Asian American populations. Even though some researchers have attempted to explore potential mechanisms (i.e., ethnic identity, self-esteem, coping style) through which racism experiences influence the mental health of East Asian
Americans, the mediating role of internalized racism in explaining this relationship has yet to be explored in the current literature. This author is aware of one research study that examined the moderating role of internalization of stereotypes in the relationship between
10 endorsement of Asian stereotypes and psychological distress and attitudes toward help- seeking (Gupta et al., 2011). Gupta et al (2011), however, found no significance in the moderating role of internalized stereotypes in the hypothesized relationship and called for further research to investigate the role of internalized racism using different models (i.e., mediating model) and other-relevant factors.
Consequently, the present study will focus on one subgroup of Asian Americans,
East Asians, and will explore the role of internalized racism (i.e., internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization) on East Asians’ psychological outcomes. By hypothesizing internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization as the mechanisms through which racism influences both psychological distress and psychological adjustment, this study seeks to delineate the process in which experiences of racism lead to negative psychological outcomes.
The Purpose of the Present Study
The primary purpose of the current study is to investigate consequences of racism experiences on East Asians. Specifically, this study aims to examine the negative impact of racism experiences on the mental health of East Asians and the mediating role of internalized racism, operationalized as internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization, in the relationship between experiences of racism and psychological outcomes. Researchers suggest that mediating variables are considered when the primary focus of the study is to address “how” or “why” a predicting variable causes an outcome variable (Frazier, Tix, & Barron, 2004). Therefore, a mediator is chosen to explain the mechanism behind the relationship between a predictor and an outcome (Baron & Kenny
1986). Even though, by and large, conceptualizing a function of a specific variable is
11 determined based on the theory or research questions, researchers typically look for mediators if there is already a strong link between a predictor and an outcome, and wishes to explore the mechanisms behind that relation (Frazier et al., 2004). Building upon the current literature that supports the strong association between experiences of racism and negative psychological outcomes with Asians, a mediating model examination was chosen for the current study, in order to specifically addresses how internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization influence the relationship between experiences of racism and mental health outcomes.
Both experiences of racism and internalized racism are contributors to the negative mental health outcomes above and beyond the impact of demographic variables
(e.g., gender, age, and SES) and control variables (i.e., acculturative stress and nativity status). In addition, internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization are hypothesized to mediate the association between experiences of racism and negative psychological outcomes. Specifically, exposure to racism is hypothesized as a significant predictor to increase psychological distress through the influence of internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization above and beyond the impacts of demographic and control variables. Similarly, the impact of racism on negative psychological adjustment is hypothesized to emerge through the influence of internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization above and beyond the impacts of demographic and control variables. The following research questions are proposed for the study:
(1) Is there a significant relationship between experiences of racism and psychological outcomes (i.e., psychological distress and psychological adjustment)?
12 (2) Is there a significant relationship between internalized racism operationalized as, internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization, and psychological outcomes?
(3) Do internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization mediate the relationship between racism experiences and psychological outcomes in the East Asian sample above and beyond the impacts of demographic and control variables?
Internalized Stereotypes
Experiences of Psychological Racism Distress
Perceived Stigmatization
Figure 1-1 Conceptual Model 1 of the Present Study
13 Internalized Stereotypes
Experiences of Psychological Racism Adjustment
Perceived Stigmatization
Figure 1-2 Conceptual Model 2 of the Present Study
14
CHAPTER 2
A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive literature review for the proposed study. First a review of the literature on issues related to East Asians’ experiences of racism and their psychological outcomes will be presented. The second part of the chapter will discuss internalized racism and its manifestation among East
Asians in the U.S. Subsequently, two operational constructs of internalized racism – internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization – will be introduced. Finally, the chapter will be concluded with a list of hypotheses.
Racism and the Mental Health of Asian Americans
The race discourse in the U.S. is often treated as a “Black and White” issue.
Despite a long-standing settlement history in the U.S., Asian Americans have been under- represented in racial dialogue and treated as “outsiders” (Kim, 1999; Wu, 2002; Yoo et al., 2010). Racism, however, is an everyday reality for many Asian Americans and continue to shape life experiences of Asians living in the U.S. (Sue, Bucceri, Lin, Nadal,
& Torino, 2007).
Asian Americans’ Experiences of Racism
Race researchers have acknowledged that Asian Americans’ experiences of racism are often masked by the perception of the “Model Minority” stereotype (Pyke,
2010; Yoo et al., 2010). The Model Minority stereotype was initially created as a political
15 weapon in the 1960s (Success Story of One Minority Group in U.S., 1966). Unlike the current successful images of Asians, they have not always been viewed as a model minority. In fact, for more than 100 years from the 1850s to the post World War II era,
Asians in the U.S. were viewed as “uncivilized, sinister, and filthy” (Wing, 2007, p. 457).
The Model Minority stereotype was created and used to convey the message that regardless of circumstances, any minority can overcome discrimination with determination and hard work. Mainstream images of Asian Americans, since then, have become hard working, smart, studious, and nerdy. Given the seemingly positive stereotypes about Asian Americans, researchers have pointed out the misconception about Asian Americans’ racial experiences. Some assume that contemporary racism dynamics, which is defined as a systemic oppression in which one dominant racial group exercise their power to impose their superiority over the non dominant racial groups, do not apply to Asians. However, this is based on misinterpretation. Simply put, as Fong
(2007) wrote, Asian Americans’ willingness to work hard, achievement orientation, and studious work ethic “seem to disappear when they enter the work place” (p. 118), where they are often perceived as passive, unconfident, lacking in leadership, and socially awkward. In return, Asian Americans are disproportionately underrepresented at higher levels of the corporate ladder (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2008).
Unfolding racism is much more complex in our society. It is multifaceted and manifests itself through diverse forms: whether they are overt or covert (Jones 1997), intentional or unintentional (Jones, 1997; Sue, 2005), and negative or positive (Wu,
2002). In particular, the kind of racism East Asian Americans experience is unique in that
16 they are both “praised and resented, complimented and derided” (Pyke & Dang, 2003, p.
150).
Using Jones’ taxonomy (1997), manifestations of racism with Asian Americans can be classified into three categories: institutional, cultural, and individual.
Institutionalized racism refers to macro level restrictions that disadvantage racial minorities through legislation, policies, and laws. Asian Americans have a long history of experiencing systemic and institutional discrimination. For instance, the Chinese
Exclusion Act of 1882 restricted entry of individuals of Asian descent until 1943, when
Asians became eligible for citizenship (Weaver, 2012). More recently, Turner and colleagues (Turner, Ross, Bednarz, Herbig, & Lee, 2003) reported pervasive discrimination against Asian Americans in the current housing market. Using the
Housing Discrimination Study, sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, they found that Asian and Pacific Islander homebuyers experience consistent systemic discrimination in the areas of housing availability, inspections, financing assistance, and agent encouragement. Furthermore, dark-skinned Asians experience higher levels of adverse treatment than light-skinned Asians indicating the subtle types of institutional discrimination experienced by Asian Americans. Second,
Asian Americans face cultural forms of racism. Cultural racism occurs when society privileges the customs, values, and beliefs of the dominant group over other races, while constructing the culture of minorities as inferior (Jones, 1997). For instance, according to
European standards of masculinity, Asian men are described as asexual, effeminate, or less attractive (Wong, Owen, Tran, Collins, & Higgins, 2012). Asians are also often perceived to possess undesirable interpersonal traits, such as being reserved, unfriendly,
17 shy, and socially awkward (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu, 2002). Through cultural forms of racism, the White racial ideology is legitimatized and perpetuated, thereby devaluing
Asian cultural values (Museus & Park, 2015). Finally, Asian Americans experience discrimination on a personal level. Individual racism occurs when one believes in White dominant racial ideology and acts in a way that marginalizes people of different races and regards them as inferior. For example, Asian Americans report experiencing various forms of racial microaggressions from well-intentioned friends, neighbors, teachers, co- workers, and colleagues (Sue et al., 2007). Sue et al (2007) found that those who engaged in microaggressions did so unintentionally, and the perpetrators often perceived their own remarks or actions to be positive. Asian Americans are also frequently questioned about their American identity, even if they were born in the U.S. (Huynh et al., 2011), and often treated as the exoticized “other” in interracial interactions (Sue et al., 2007).
Research has documented the widespread prevalence of racial discrimination among Asian Americans. For example, the National Latino and Asian American Study
(NLAAS) indicates that over 70% of Asian Americans have experienced routine unfair treatment in their lifetime, and 62% experience being disliked, treated unfairly, and seeing friends being treated unfairly because they are Asian (Chae et al., 2008). In a sample of 177 adolescents, Fisher, Wallace, and Fenton (2000) found that Asian
American adolescents (i.e., East Asians and South Asians) reported the highest level of racial discrimination by their peers, which was manifested through being frequently called racially insulting names and being excluded from activities. Subsequently, Asian teenagers’ distress scores in this sample were consistently higher as compared to African
American, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White adolescents. Similarly, Greene et al (2006)
18 found that Asian American adolescents reported significantly more discrimination by adults and peers than did Latino and Black students. In addition, Green et al (2006) identified strong associations between increase over time in perceptions of racial and ethnic discrimination by peers and decrease over time in psychological well-being, indicating the longitudinal impact of discrimination on the mental health of racial minorities.
The Impact of Racism on the Mental Health of Asian Americans
Empirical findings consistently indicate that Asian Americans suffer from the negative psychological consequences of racism including symptoms of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and overall psychological distress (Chung & Epstein, 2014;
Hwang & Goto, 2009; Lee & Ahn, 2011; Syed & Juan, 2012). For example, using a meta-analytic technique, Lee and Ahn (2011) investigated the relationship between racial discrimination and psychological distress for Asians. In addition, the authors examined individual resources (e.g., self-esteem, coping, cultural identity) as underlying mechanisms that link this association. A total of 22 articles yield the overall correlation coefficients of 0.26 for depression (z = 5.52, p < .01), 0.28 for anxiety (z = 5.49, p < .01), and 0.17 for psychical distress (z = 9.40, p < .01), all of which showed significant and positive relationships to racial discrimination. The authors also investigated mean differences in correlations between racial discrimination and overall distress based on ethnicity (e.g., Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, and mixed ethnicity) and found significant differences. Mixed ethnic groups had significantly lower associations between racial discrimination and psychological distress as compared to Vietnamese and South Asians.
More specifically, studies that included only one ethnic group appeared to have
19 significantly higher correlations between racial discrimination and mental health, than those that included mixed ethnic groups, indicating that some important evidence might be lost in combining ethnic groups in one study. However, due to a lack of available data, the authors were only able to compare between Chinese, Vietnamese, Indians, and mixed ethnicity failing to examine the differences based on cultural similarities existing in some
Asian ethnic groups (i.e., East Asians vs. South Asians).
Using data from the NLAAS, Syed and Juan (2012) investigated the association between perceived discrimination and psychological distress among Asian American adults. A sample consisted of 566 Chinese Americans, 493 Filipino Americans, and 478
Vietnamese Americans. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to estimate the association between discrimination and distress for three models each for Vietnamese
American, Chinese American, and Filipino American participants respectively. In this study, perceived race-related discrimination was measured by three items developed by
Gil and Vega (1996): “How often have you been treated unfairly because you are (ethnic label)?”, “How often do people dislike you because you are (ethnic label)?”, and “How often have you seen friends or family be treated unfairly because they are (ethnic label)?”. Psychological distress was measured by the Kessler Psychological Distress
Scale (K10; Kessler et al., 2002), which broadly assesses psychological distress symptoms, including depression and anxiety. As hypothesized, the results indicated that perceived discrimination was a significant predictor of psychological distress for all three ethnic groups even after controlling for ethnic density and social cohesion.
Using the same data from the NLAAS, Chung and Epstein (2014) focused on examining the negative psychological impact of racial discrimination on psychological
20 distress of 1012 Asian immigrant adults, consisting of Chinese (26.43%), Filipino
(22.99%), Vietnamese (13.78%), and other Asian (36.80%) participants. Fifty-three percent were women and the mean age of the sample was 44.1 years (SD = 12.8).
Consistent with previous findings, the authors found perceived racial discrimination to be a significant predictor of greater psychological distress of immigrant adults.
Similar findings were reported with collegiate samples. Hwang and Goto (2009) examined the impact of perceived racial discrimination on various mental health outcomes for Asian American college students. The sample consisted of 107 Asian
Americans. Thirty-seven were men and 71 were women. Participants’ ethnic backgrounds included Chinese Americans (n = 34), Vietnamese Americans (n = 20),
Japanese Americans (n = 15), Taiwanese Americans (n = 12), and Korean Americans (n
= 10). Psychological outcomes were assessed in four different areas: psychological distress, suicidal ideation, anxiety, and depression. The findings indicated that Asian
American college students experience discrimination across social and professional settings. As hypothesized, perceived discrimination was associated with increased risk for all four areas of psychological outcomes: psychological distress, suicidal ideation, anxiety, and clinical depression even after controlling for ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
While the association between experiences of racism and psychological distress is significant across different age groups (e.g., a college vs. community sample) and nativity status (i.e., U.S.- vs. foreign-born Asians), there is variability in report of their racism experiences among different Asian ethnic groups. For instance, using the NLAAS sample, Tummala-Narra et al (2012) focused on differences in perceived discrimination
21 and depression among South Asians, other Asian ethnic groups (e.g., Chinese,
Vietnamese, Filipino), and non-Hispanic Whites. The respondents of the study consisted of South Asian (n = 169), Chinese (n = 600), Vietnamese (n = 520), Filipino (n = 508), other Asian (e.g., Japanese, Korean) (n = 298), and non Hispanic White (n = 215) participants. The authors found differences in perceived discrimination across the Asian ethnic groups. Specifically, Koreans and Japanese reported higher levels of both perceived discrimination and acculturative stress when compared to Vietnamese, South
Asians, and non-Hispanic Whites. They were also at a higher risk for past-year depression after controlling for the covariates (e.g., age, gender, education, work status, marital status, household income, English proficiency, and years of living in the U.S.) and acculturative stress, when compared with other groups (e.g., South Asian groups). No significant associations between acculturative stress and depression within the last year were found for the Chinese and other Asian groups. This was one of very few studies that focused on the within-group differences in the report of racism experiences across different Asian ethnic groups. However, the authors only simplistically separated South
Asian Americans from all other Asian ethnic groups ignoring cultural similarities existing in some Asian ethnic groups.
While much of the literature points to the association between experiences of racism and psychological distress, some findings indicate that racism experiences also impact psychological adjustment of Asian Americans in the areas of life satisfaction, interpersonal problems, and self-esteem (Liang & Fassinger, 2008, Utsey et al., 2002;
Yoo & Lee, 2005, 2009). For instance, Yoo and Lee (2009) hypothesized that Asian
Americans who experience frequent racism would report lower situational well-being.
22 The sample consisted of 128 Asian American college students. Participants were 70 men and 58 women with a mean age of 20.6 years (SD = 2.2). Participants’ ethnic backgrounds included Hmong (33%), Korean (20%), Chinese (14%), Asian Indian
(10%), Vietnamese (7%), and other Asian (16%). Participants were asked to read one of two vignettes, imagining themselves in a situation where they were likely to be rejected because of their race either one out of five times (single incident) or five out of five times
(multiple incidents). Situational well-being was assessed through measuring high arousal of positive (e.g., excited) and negative (e.g., nervous) affect. As hypothesized, Asian students who imagined multiple incidents of racial discrimination reported lower situational well-being (i.e., higher negative affect) contrasted with the students who imagined experiencing a single incident of racial discrimination (Yoo & Lee, 2009).
Similar results can be found in another study. Liang and Fassinger (2008) examined the relationship between racism-related stress and psychological adjustment among 134 Asian American college students. Participants’ ages ranged from 17 to 28, with 60.4% self-identified women. Participants’ ethnic backgrounds were 36 (26.9%)
Chinese, 26 (19.4%) Korean, 18 (13.4%) Taiwanese, 17 (12.7%) Asian Indian, 9 (6.7%)
Filipino/a, and 28 (20.9%) from other ethnic groups, including Pakistani, Vietnamese, and Multiethnic/Multiracial Asian. Psychological adjustment was assessed in three areas: self-esteem problems, interpersonal problems, and career problems. Additionally, the authors examined the role of collective self-esteem as to whether it serves as a moderator or mediator of the relationship between race-related stress and psychological adjustment.
Consistent with previous research, the results indicated that racism-related stress was positively related to poor psychological adjustment in all three areas, illustrating the
23 negative impact of racism in a broad spectrum of individuals’ well-being. However, the role of collective self-esteem was mixed. While its moderating role was not significant, its mediating role was partially supported; public collective self-esteem was the only mediator to be related to racism-related stress. These findings suggest that first, having positive thoughts about one’s group membership might not enough to buffer the effects of racism-related stress and second, psychological adjustment problems are negatively influenced by one’s perception of how his or her group to be evaluated by people from other groups.
Some researchers investigated how subtle forms of ethnic and racial discrimination impact the psychological adjustment of Asians. For example, Armenta and colleagues (2013) examined the relevance of perceived foreigner objectification to the psychological well-being of Asian Americans. The perpetual foreigner stereotype (Tuan,
1998) is one of persistent cultural stereotypes Asian Americans experience. Data were drawn from the Multi-University Study of Culture and Identity (MUSIC). Participants were 684 Asian Americans with 63% women and 35% foreign-born. The authors found that for U.S.-born Asian Americans, greater perceptions of foreigner objectification were associated with less self-esteem, decreased life satisfaction, and more depressive symptoms. However, foreigner objectification was not a significant predictor for self- esteem, life-satisfaction, or depressive symptoms among foreign-born Asian Americans, indicating that nativity status might have different influence on the psychological adjustment of Asian Americans.
Taken together, empirical studies suggest that racism has negative psychological consequences for East Asian Americans across different ethnic groups, nativity status
24 (i.e., foreign-born or U.S.-born), and ages. Some findings indicated that the negative impact of racism on the mental health of Asians is through higher psychological distress in the areas of depression and anxiety. Others demonstrated the negative consequences by identifying lower in psychological adjustment in the areas of life satisfaction, interpersonal problems, or career problems. While these findings provide important information regarding the negative consequences of racism, each of these investigations suffers from limitations. One problem involves the use of convenience samples and small sample sizes (Fisher et al., 2000; Hwang & Goto, 2009; Yoo & Lee, 2009). Small sample sizes limit the power of statistical analyses (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007), which then makes it difficult to compare the different outcomes across different Asian ethnic groups.
Another limitation is the different measurements that were used to assess perceived racism and racial discrimination. Some researchers used either a single or few items to measure perceived racial discrimination (Chung & Epstein, 2014; Syed & Juan,
2012). Others used modified or unvalidated questionnaires designed for the individual study (Yoo & Lee, 2005; Yoo & Lee, 2009). One study used measures that were based on
African American experiences (Utsey et al., 2002). This inconsistency in measurement may have contributed to the variability in outcome variables. Future studies, therefore, need to consider utilizing measures that are developed for Asian Americans or have been empirically investigated with Asian American samples.
Finally, only one study disaggregated the data from the general classification of
Asian Americans. While some recognized the issue of heterogeneity within this group, the small group comparisons have been overlooked in most studies. Although using a nationally represented data made it easier to compare a few different ethnic groups (i.e.,
25 Chinese American, Filipino American, and Vietnamese Americans), this comparison failed to recognize existing cultural similarities within Asian American sub-populations.
Future research, therefore, should attend to the socio-cultural context of Asians and consider investigating small Asian ethnic groups that are culturally much more alike.
Internalized Racism
For the past few decades, race scholars have extensively investigated the various forms of racial injustice in the U.S., and its impact on the mental health of minorities. As indicated earlier, East Asian Americans, like other racial minorities in the U.S., encounter racism and suffer from its negative effects. As a result, the question of how Asian
American respond to racism, its influence on self regard, and how they value themselves and their communities continue to be a critical issue in the field of counseling psychology.
Oppression scholars suggest that internalized racism is a predictable consequence of exposure to racism (Fanon, 1965; Padilla, 2001; Prilleltensky & Gonick, 1996; Pyke,
2010;). According to Bailey et al (2011), internalized racism occurs when society’s negative perceptions of racial minorities persists and compel individuals to accept a notion of inferiority to the members of the majority group (i.e., White). Under the condition of White dominant racial ideology in the U.S., racial minorities are constantly viewed as different or inferior; therefore, they must define themselves in relation to the symbolic meanings of their social identity (Pyke, 2010). Internalized racism is defined as the “individual inculcation of the racist stereotypes, images, values, and ideologies perpetuated by the White dominant society about one’s racial group, leading to feelings of self-doubt, disgust, and disrespect for one’s self and/or one’s race” (Pyke, 2010, p.
26 553). Internalized racism is particularly damaging for racial minorities, as it is most resistant change (Fanon, 1960) and becomes “embedded in a racial group’s conception of itself” (Cokley, 2002, p. 477). According to Fanon, internalization refers to “the process by which external, socio-historical reality is assimilated in internal and subjective reality”
(Bulhan, 1985, p. 126). Through the process of internalization, individuals who live under racial oppression assimilate her/his “images, social behaviors, and become agents of their own oppression” (Bulhan, 1985, p. 126). Racism, as a form of oppression, is motivated by economic, social, and psychological gains (Prilleltensky & Gonick, 1996).
Likewise, internalized racism needs to be understood as a sociopolitical phenomenon rather than a sole intrapsychic problem (Pyke, 2010). Consequently, individuals’ identity formation can only be explained with the inclusion of socio-political context and the dynamics of racial oppression (Fanon, 1960). Hence, the sociocultural environment is a driving force for racial minorities’ psychological conflict and ambiguity of identity.
Bulhan (1985)’s classification of six key indicators for assessing the degree of oppression is a helpful tool to understand the physical and psychological cost to the oppressed; the six are one’s space, time, energy, mobility, bonding, and identity. Under the systems of oppression, the subordinate’s physical and psychological space are frequently “unacknowledged, intruded into, and curtailed” (p.124). The subordinate has less time on their own, as they spend their energy to advance the interests of the oppressor. The subordinate’s interpersonal relationships are effected both at a personal and collective level. Their identity is challenged, undermined, and confused. Through these six dimensions, oppression affects the psyche of the oppressed. The longer oppression prevails, the more it pervades aspects of the subordinate’s life. The oppressed
27 learn to wear different masks and develop “cultural tools that transmit oppressive ideologies, messages, and scripts” (Tappan, 2006, p.2127). They may use strategies (i.e., covering) that can oppose their inferiority status and rely on “disidentifiers” (Goffman,
1963, p. 44) to distance themselves from the existing negative view about themselves.
This pattern of adaptation takes a personal toll, an excessive use of energy, and leaves them vulnerable for psychopathology (Fanon, 1960).
Internalized racism is, therefore, not to be understood as the result of cultural or biological deficit. “Nor consequence of any weakness, ignorance, inferiority, psychological defect, or other shortcoming of the oppressed” (Pyke, 2010, p.553). It is rather an inevitable condition of all structures of oppression (Fanon, 1960; Friere, 1996;
Prilleltensky & Laurier, 1996; Pyke, 2010). For instance, many racial minorities aspire to
White Eurocentric standards of beauty, which includes light skin, large eyes, high nose bridge, and etc. Many East Asian women are willing to go through a plastic surgery and use skin whitening products in order to create a more White-like appearance (Li, Min,
Belk, Kimura, & Bahl, 2008). These actions are better understood as an individual response to oppression and adaptation to the systems of oppression. They are evidence that the subordinate’s thoughts and beliefs have been conditioned and shaped by the dynamics of oppression (Fanon, 1960), rather than individuals’ means to enhance their self-esteem.
Empirical research relative to internalized racism among East Asians is only just emerging. While an extensive literature has been established with African Americans including topics of self-hatred, shame associated with race, and preferences for lighter skin and straight hair, such discussions have been much limited in the East Asian
28 American mental health literature. Additionally, a lack of theoretical foundation in conceptualizing internalized racism with Asian populations has hindered investigating this construct with a broad range of Asian ethnic groups. In the following, I will first discuss how internalized racism operates within the East Asian community and review available literature in this area.
Internalized Stereotypes
Internalized racism manifests through several different forms within Asian populations at both the group and individual levels. While the forms of internalized racism might vary, it always results in harming ethnic and racial minorities themselves and sometimes others (Padilla, 2001). One prevalent manifestation of internalized racism with Asians is internalized stereotypes. According to Chen (1995), stereotype internalization refers to identification with characteristics of a stereotype. Typically, the stereotypes that cause a particular group to adhere vary depending on the history and socio-cultural backgrounds of the group. However, the underlying basis of stereotyping is much the same, as stereotyping is often derived from socio-political attainment and occurs “in a power discrepant relationship” (Wang, Li, Stanton, & Fang, 2010, p. 85). For instance, the Model Minority stereotype about Asians was a political weapon in the 1960s to convey the message that any minority can overcome discrimination with determination and hard work. Self-stereotyping is damaging, as it can cause individuals to criticize or have unrealistic expectations about themselves or others in the same racial group (Padilla,
2001). Sue and colleagues (2007) also noted that Asian American experience “pressure to conform” to and feeling “trapped” by the model minority stereotype (Sue et al., 2007, p.
29 76). By participating in the perpetuation of stereotypes, internalized racism affects the
Asian community both at the individual and group levels.
In some cases, internalized racism involves “oppressive othering.” Oppressive othering occurs when one group seeks to advance their position by defining other groups as inferior (Schwalbe et al., 2000, p. 423). Oppressive othering is based on the assumption that differences are deficits and signs of inferiority. It serves to create the symbolic tools to dehumanize the members of the oppressed group. One class example is how elites in Europe and America used racial classification to claim their superiority over other Africans and Asians. Oppressive othering can occur not only against members of other groups, but also within groups, which then becomes the manifestation of internalized racism. For instance, Pyke and Dang (2003) reported this phenomenon among second generation Korean Americans and Vietnamese Americans. In their study, participants used the negative stereotypes about immigrants that were created by the mainstream culture in order to ridicule other members of the same racial group, and to position a contrast to their own acculturative status. The authors named this phenomenon as “defensive othering.” Defensive othering is, therefore, an adaptive strategy to maintain their positive identity and to become more like the oppressor. This group level internalized racism creates dissonance among racial minorities and becomes “a major ingredient” that obstructs minorities’ efforts to empower themselves (Padilla, 2001, p.
68).
Self-deprecation is another characteristic of the oppressed, which can derive from their internalization of the opinion the oppressors hold of them. As a large immigrant community, Asian Americans’ identities are often defined by the White dominant culture,
30 leaving Asians feeling shameful and depreciative of their own culture. Asian Americans experience cultural racism in the form of labeling, stereotyping, separation, and discrimination (Link & Phelan, 2006). Attributes that are deviant from the dominant societal norms (i.e., White culture) are, therefore, often seen as shortcomings or failings among Asian individuals. For instance, data suggests that Chinese, Japanese, and Asian
Indians report greater dissatisfaction with their facial features, especially in regard to their eyes (Kawamura, 2002). A drastic growth of skin whitening products in many Asian countries also reflects Asian women’s aspiration to become more like a White looking
(Li et al., 2008). Both are evidence of the influence of western ideology and White standards of beauty. On a cultural level, Asian Americans also report the existence of societal perceptions and beliefs that Western cultural values are more desirable than
Asian American cultural values, thus pathologizing those who participate in practicing traditional Asian values and traditions (Sue et al., 2007).
To date, there are a handful of studies available that have conceptualized internalized racism as internalized stereotypes with Asian samples. One foundational investigation was conducted by Pyke and Dang (2003). Using qualitative methods, Pyke and Dang (2003) documented how internalized racism is manifested and enacted among
Asian ethnic minority groups. Research informants included second generation Korean
Americans (n = 85) and Vietnamese Americans (n = 99). The interview data was part of a larger ongoing research project. During the first wave of the study with 107 respondents, the authors noticed that participants frequently used the terms “FOB” and
“whitewashed”. Subsequently, they revised the interview questions to focus on these terms with the rest of 77 respondents. The authors specifically asked respondents’ use of
31 the term “FOB” and “whitewashed” (e.g., to what extent and in what ways they have used) and the ways they have perpetuated Asian stereotypes in the U.S. (e.g., to whom they have applied to and under what circumstances). Data analysis indicated that ethnic minorities used FOB toward other members of the same racial group in order to ridicule them for displaying the stereotypes associated with their devalued identity, such as being inapt with American culture, having thick accents, and being socially awkward. By doing so, participants distanced themselves from those stereotypes and attempted to resist a racially stigmatized status. On the other hand, “whitewashed” was used to describe those who have assimilated to the white mainstream, implying the “real” American as Whites of European descent. Internalized racism was observed in this sample as the collective process by which racial minorities internalize racial stereotypes about their racial group and use the symbolic ideology when interacting with each other. What is surprising from these findings is that although respondents acknowledged the derogatory meaning of these terms, they were reluctant to consider the use of these terms among members of the same racial group as problematic (Pyke & Dang, 2003). Furthermore, these terms were more commonly used in communities with large number of Asian populations.
Respondents who grew up in communities with few Asian Americans either did not know the meanings of these terms or learned of them as coming into contact with large members of Asian Americans. These findings are noteworthy, as it indicates that overt oppressive othering is more prevalent and problematic among members of the same racial group rather than between different racial group members.
Others have used the term, “endorsement of internalized stereotypes” when examining internalized racism. Using a sample of 291 self-identified Asian Americans,
32 Gupta et al. (2011) examined how endorsement of internalized stereotypes contributed to
Asians’ psychological distress and help-seeking attitudes. The authors hypothesized that endorsement of the model minority myth would be related to psychological distress and attitudes toward help-seeking, and this relationship would be moderated by internalization of positive Asian stereotypes. The findings indicated that a higher level of endorsement of the model minority myth was significantly related to more somatic complaints and higher levels of psychological distress. While internalization of the model minority myth was a significant predictor of psychological distress and attitudes toward help-seeking, it did not moderate the relationship between endorsement of the model minority myth and psychological distress and attitudes toward help-seeking (Gupta et al.,
2011). These findings suggest that internalized stereotypes might not be an enough factor to heighten the negative psychological outcomes of Asians and the relationship between endorsement of stereotypes and internalized stereotypes might be more complex.
However, the findings support the assertion that internalized stereotypes, even positive ones, can have a negative impact on the mental health of Asian Americans.
Perceived Stigmatization
Internalized racism among East Asians can also be revealed as the awareness of devalued one’s identity (Young, 1990). Crocker and Major (1989) argue that frequent experiences with prejudice and discrimination contribute to one’s interpretation about their stigmatized status in society and increase the awareness of the devalued qualities of their social identity. Members of oppressed groups who are aware that they are regarded negatively by others then incorporate those negative attitudes into their self-concept, resulting in internalized racism. While there is no evidence that stigmatized individuals
33 inevitably accept the validity of stereotypes of themselves, research suggests that members of stigmatized or oppressed groups are often well aware of the negative views about their group (Crocker & Quinn, 1998). For instance, Jones et al (1984) noted that women are well aware of stereotypes of women being emotional or lacking in leadership; gay men are well aware of stereotypes about gay men being flamboyant and promiscuous. This variability was also observed among Asians in that some Asian
Americans are particularly prone to think that people view them stereotypically, whereas others are less likely to endorse such belief (Chan & Mendoza-Denton, 2008).
Stigma researchers assert that individuals differ on the degree to which they actually feel stigmatized. Despite the assumption that members of the stigmatized groups would automatically feel stigmatized, this assumption has not held true among all members of stigmatized groups (Crocker & Major, 1989; Pinel, 2004). For instance, ethnic minorities who grew up in environments where they were the majority population would have less exposure to discrimination. Subsequently, they would have less of a probability of being stigmatized, thus being less aware of their stigmatized status (Pinel,
1999). However, regardless of whether the perceived probability of being stigmatized is situationally based or differ individually, it could have important implications for how targets experience stigmatization. As Harvey (2001) asserts, what is more important is the degree to which stigmatized group members actually feel stigmatized and the perception of stigma is crucial to understand the relationship between stigma and psychological outcomes.
Stigma refers to a process of devaluation of a person who possesses a deviant attribute (Goffman, 1963). A stigma represents a deviation from the attributes considered
34 normal and acceptable by that society. Crocker, Major, and Steele (1998) argue that the essence of stigma is “devaluing social identity” (p. 505). People who have deviant attributes are viewed less or inferior and, therefore, are “discredited and excluded from full participation in society” (Harvey, 2001, p. 175). Similar to internalized racism, stigma is a situationally induced outcome, as a deviant condition is mainly determined within individuals’ social context, rather than being located in the stigmatized individual
(Yang et al., 2007). A stigma is, therefore, a link between an “attribute and a stereotype”
(Goffman, 1963, p. 4). Stigmatization process parallels with the dynamics of oppression.
According to Link and Phelan (2001), stigma formation entails five components: (a) people label human differences as undesirable or inferior, (b) dominant cultural beliefs link labeled differences/persons to negative stereotypes, (c) labeled persons are placed in distinct categories creating the dynamic of “us vs. them”, (d) labeled persons experience status loss and discrimination that lead to unequal outcomes, and (e) stigmatization is controlled by social, economic, and political power that allows and determines other four components of stigma formation.
Like oppression, stigma can cause psychological damage to those who are labeled in society without directly involving discriminatory behaviors. For instance, people develop impressions of a certain attribute early in their life. Once they form these perceptions, they also create understanding of what it means to be in the distinct category.
People then build expectations as to whether other people will reject or exclude them because of the devalued social identity (Link, 1982). Thus, the possibility of devaluation and discrimination becomes highly salient for those who are stigmatized. If one is highly aware of their devalued identity, they fear a rejection and it becomes a part of a person’s
35 worldview, causing negative consequences (Link & Phelan, 2001). In this regard, perceived stigmatization becomes a significant factor to understand the negative consequences of internalized racism.
While stigma researchers have recognized the importance of understanding one’s perceived stigmatization, there has been an imbalance in the literature in conceptualizing one’s perception of “being stigmatized or feeling stigmatized”. More specifically, more research has been centered around one’s focus on her/his stigmatized status in interpersonal settings, rather than how one feels stigmatized or devalued by society due to their social identity. The prior primarily involves stigmatized persons’ perception of how their group membership plays a role when interacting with others, which refers to stigma consciousness. Stigma consciousness is defined as “individual differences in the extant to which targets believe that their stereotyped status pervades their interactions with members of the outgroup (Pinel, 2004, p. 39)”. It is a form of self-consciousness in that it refers to one’s interpretive tendency to focus on her/his stereotyped status, specifically when interacting with others from the outgroup. For instance, stigma consciousness for women can be measured through items such as “When interacting with men, I feel like they interpret all my behaviors in terms of the fact that I am a woman”, “I almost never think about the fact that I am female when I interact with men”, and “Most men have a lot more sexist thoughts than they actually express” (Pinel, 1999). On the other hand, the latter entails one’s awareness of his/her stigmatized social identity and the overall felt impact of stigma. It is conceptualized as a heightened awareness of the devalued quality of one’s social identity. Thus, perceived stigmatization includes relatively objective behavioral quantification (e.g., the frequency), than to subjective interpretation of
36 particular interpersonal situations. Socially undesirable attributes often lead to disruption.
Harvey (2001) argues that one of the primary determinants of perceived stigmatization is the extent to which an individual’s stigmatized position leads to disruption in society. For example, with or without encountering specific social situations, East Asian Americans might develop fear based on their devalued social identity and be well aware of what it means to be an Asian person in the U.S. Subsequently, items that measure perceived stigmatization include such as “Members of mainstream society do not think that I am a capable person”, “Society treats me according to a stereotype”, and “I feel that I have to work harder than members of mainstream society in order to overcome society’s prejudice toward me” (Harvey, 2001). Therefore, perceived stigmatization is one’s broad feeling about her/his devalued status due to an attribute that is considered inferior by the dominant group; whereas stigma consciousness is one’s interpretive tendency to focus on how their group membership or stigmatized status plays a role when interacting with others from non-stigmatized groups.
Empirical findings in perceived stigmatization with racial minorities are scarce.
While stigma scholars have directed their attention to stigma around mental illness and sexual orientation, stigma relative to racism has not been much of a focus among researchers. However, the available research findings consistently indicate that perceived stigmatization is a significant predictor for Asian Americans’ psychological outcomes.
For instance, Huynh and colleagues (2011) examined whether awareness of the perpetual foreigner stereotype predicted an identity conflict and psychological adjustment across diverse minority groups. Specifically, the authors sought to examine the impact of the perpetual foreigner stereotype in five areas: a greater sense of conflict between one’s
37 ethnic and national identities, a lower sense of belonging to mainstream American society, higher levels of depression symptoms, lower levels of hope, and lower levels of life satisfactions among ethnic minorities. In study 1, 836 undergraduate students were recruited from a large, public university on the West Coast of the U.S. Participants included 231 Asian Americans, 211 Latino Americans, and 394 non-Hispanic European
Americans. The sample ranged in age from 17 to 42 years (M = 19.15, SD = 2.01). They authors hypothesized that the perpetual foreigner stereotype and discrimination would be a more common experience for ethnic minorities than European Americans, and the perpetual foreigner stereotype would predict negative outcomes among ethnic minorities.
As predicted, Asian Americans and Latinos reported significantly higher perceived discrimination than European Americans. Subsequently, hierarchical regression analyses indicated awareness of the perpetual foreigner stereotype as a significant predictor of both perception of identity conflict and lower sense of belonging to American culture, even after controlling for perceived discrimination. In particular, with Asian Americans, awareness of the perpetual foreigner stereotype was a significant predictor of both perception of identity conflict and lower sense of belonging to American culture. For study 2, the authors investigated the perpetual foreigner stereotype as a significant predictor of psychological adjustment. A sample of 165 Latino/a and 56 Asian American undergraduate students were recruited from the same university. The findings demonstrated that for Asian Americans, awareness of the perpetual foreigner stereotype was not a significant predictor of depression over and above perceived discrimination.
However, it significantly predicted hope and life satisfaction above and beyond perceived discrimination, indicating the negative contribution from awareness of the pervasive
38 stereotype towards Asian Americans on their psychological adjustment (Huynh et al.,
2011).
Similarly, Tran and Sangalang (2015) examined the relationship between experiences of racial/ethnic discrimination and satisfaction with life among Asian
Americans and the role of perceptions of harmful or helpful effects of one’s Asian
American race/ethnicity in this association. The authors used national data from the Pew
Research Center (2013). A total of 3,355 adults from six ethnic groups (i.e., Chinese
American, Filipino American, Asian Indian, Japanese American, Korean American, and
Vietnamese American) were included in the study. The majority of participants (76.5%) were foreign born individuals. The primary focus of the study was to evaluate whether the association between racial discrimination and satisfaction with life varied based on the degree to which Asian Americans believed that their race or ethnicity is helpful or harmful to educational and occupational functioning. First of all, notable differences in the perceptions of the harmful and helpful functional effects of one’s Asian American ethnicity were found. More specifically, Vietnamese Americans reported the highest mean level of perceived functional advantage, whereas Chinese and Asian Indian
Americans demonstrated the lowest average perceived functional effects scores. For
Chinese and Asian Indian Americans, having a greater perception about one’s devalued identity was a detrimental factor in the relationship between perceived discrimination and satisfaction with life. By contrast, being aware of the stereotypes against one’s racial group had a buffering effect for Filipino Americans, suggesting divergent impacts of internalized racism among Asian ethnic groups.
39 Finally, Wang et al (2010) examined the potential negative impact of perceived stigmatization on physical and mental health among Chinese immigrants in China. The sample consisted of 1005 adults in Beijing, China. Sixty-nine percent were males and
31% were females with an age range between 18 and 40 years. The authors hypothesized discriminatory experiences and perceived stigmatization would be negative predictors for quality of life and psychological distress of Chinese individuals. Coping skills were hypothesized as a mediating variable to linking this association. Using structural equation modeling, the findings indicated that perceived stigmatization and discriminatory experiences had significant impact on both psychological distress and quality of life of
Chinese individuals. Perceived stigmatization was negatively associated with coping, which in turn, was positively associated with quality of life of this population.
While there is limited research regarding perceived stigmatization with East
Asians, oppression and stigma literature collectively point to the potential impact of perceived stigmatization on the mental health of racial minorities (Crocker & Major,
1989; Harvey, 2001; Huynh et al., 2011; Wang et al., 2010). From the aforementioned review, it is evident that one’s perception about her/his devalued social identity is an important construct that is relevant to internalized racism. Specifically, in terms of operationalizing internalized racism with East Asian Americans, internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization appear to be two key constructs that influence their psychological well-being.
In conclusion, internalized racism occurs as a predictable outcome of systemic oppression among racial minorities and influences their mental health outcomes.
Subsequently, reviewed literature provides ample information regarding the concept of
40 internalized racism with Asian individuals of East Asian descent and how it manifests to influences their mental health outcomes, however, these investigations suffer from a few methodological limitations. First, conceptualizing internalized racism and its measurement has not been consistent across studies. Most available studies only assessed one construct of internalized racism (e.g., defensive othering, internalized stereotypes) notwithstanding other relevant constructs, such as perceptions of East Asian Americans’ devalued social identity or depreciation of their cultural values in relation to Whites
(Gupta et al., 2011; Huynh et al., 2011; Tran & Sangalang, 2015). Specifically, perceived stigmatization has not been tested together with internalized stereotypes. Furthermore, given the lack of consensus in measuring internalized racism, research has yet to explore the potential mediating role of internalized racism including perceived stigmatization, whether it links the relationship between experiences of racism and psychological outcomes. Therefore, future studies should investigate these two relevant variables together: internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization, as mechanisms through which experiences of racism contribute to the negative psychological outcomes of Asian
Americans.
Control Variables
Considering the widely demonstrated strong association between acculturative stress and the mental health of Asian Americans, the potential role of acculturative stress on the psychological outcomes of Asians will be controlled for in the current study.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2012), approximately 60% of Asian Americans in the U.S. are foreign-born. Acculturative stress is, therefore, a common experience among
Asians, as they often undergo a mitigating process between their country of origin and
41 their adopted country (Lieber et al., 2001). Acculturative stress is the stress that is inherent to the reconciling process when individuals adapt themselves to a new culture that is not their heritage culture (Berry, Kim, Minde, & Mok, 1987; Torres & Rollock,
2004). Acculturative stress involves challenges of limited English language proficiency, concerns about immigration or legal status, and feelings of guilt for leaving one’s country of origin (Gee et al., 2007; Tummala-Narra et al., 2012). Numerous findings suggest that higher acculturative stress is significantly associated with more negative mental health outcomes for Asian immigrants in the U.S. (Lee & Yoon, 2011; Miller, Yang, Farrell, &
Lin, 2011; Rice, Choi, Zhang, Moreo, & Anderson, 2012; Tummala-Narra et al., 2012;
Xu & Chi, 2013). For example, Shin (1994) identified acculturative stress as one of the many social predictors of depressive symptoms in Korean American women. Using a nationally representative data, Xu and Chi (2013) found acculturative to be a significant predictor for depressive symptoms of Asian immigrants after controlling for sociodemographic variables (e.g., education, English proficiency, years in the U.S., age at immigration). Acculturative stress also significantly predicted Asian international students’ depression level (Rice et al., 2012).
Aside from acculturative stress, nativity status (U.S.-born vs. foreign-born) often has a significant impact on Asian Americans’ psychological distress and adjustment; thus this demographic variable will be controlled for in the analyses. Using a nationally represented data, Takeuchi et al (2007) found that nativity status is the most stable predictor of mental disorder for Asian women. More specifically, foreign-born Asian women were less likely than U.S.-born women to have reported a lifetime case of mental disorder. Previously, researchers hypothesized generation status as a significant predictor
42 to impact the mental health of immigrants. However, the significance between generation statuses has been only apparent between first- and second-generation individuals, consistent with the classification of nativity status (i.e., foreign-born vs. U.S.-born).
Therefore, nativity status will be added as a controlling variable for the analysis in this study.
Summary
The experiences of Asian Americans in the U.S. are unique in that the majority of
Asians (approximately 60%) were born outside the U.S. (AACAJ, 2011), and they are often described as a “model minority” group (Lee et al., 2009). Despite the seemingly positive image of Asian Americans, racism continues to be a major stressor for Asian
Americans and greatly impacts the psychological well-being of this population (Millan,
& Alvarez, 2013).
Asian Americans’ frequent experiences of racism have been well documented across research regardless of different gender, age, and ethnic group. The type of racism that Asian Americans often experience is unique, because they are often perceived both positively and negatively at the same time; hard-working, yet lacking in leadership skills or smart, yet socially incompetent (Pyke & Dang, 2003).
Extensive literature on racism has established the significant association between experiences of racism and psychological outcomes. However, the extent to which racism influences Asian Americans’ mental health is not fully understood. While some have shown its association with increased distress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety, others have identified its impact on psychological adjustment through decreased life satisfaction
43 or self-esteem. Therefore, future research needs to delineate this association by distinguishing these two outcomes as consequences of exposure to racism.
Given the pervasive nature of racism in the U.S., several scholars suggested that internalized racism is a predictable byproduct of socialization within White dominant society (Padilla, 2001; Pyke, 2010). Internalized racism occurs when racial minorities accept society’s negative perceptions of themselves, and display disrespect for one’s self or one’s race (Pyke, 2010). Similarly, Crocker and Major (1989) argue that members of stigmatized and oppressed groups who are aware that they are regarded negatively by others incorporate those negative attitudes into their self-concept, resulting in internalized racism.
While theorists have described that exposure to racism influences the psyche of those who are oppressed (Fanon, 1963; Freire, 1970; Young, 1990), research in this area with East Asian populations has been significantly lacking in the current literature. More specifically, the relationship between experiences of racism and internalized racism, as well as, how and to what extent internalized racism influences the mental health of East
Asian Americans has not been fully investigated in the current literature. Therefore, the current study examined the relationship between East Asian Americans’ experiences of racism and psychological outcomes. In particular, internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization are proposed as operational mechanisms of internalized racism through which experiences of racism predicts psychological outcomes of East Asian populations above and beyond the impacts of demographic and control variables. Accordingly, the following hypotheses were explored:
44 Hypothesis 1 (a): A positive relationship will be identified between experiences of racism and psychological distress.
Hypothesis 1 (b): A negative relationship will be identified between experiences of racism and psychological adjustment.
Hypothesis 2 (a): A positive relationship will be identified between internalized stereotypes and psychological distress.
Hypothesis 2 (b): A negative relationship will be identified between internalized stereotypes and psychological adjustment.
Hypothesis 3 (a): A positive relationship will be identified between perceived stigmatization and psychological distress.
Hypothesis 3 (b): A negative relationship will be identified between perceived stigmatization and psychological adjustment.
Hypothesis 4 (a): Internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization will mediate the relationship between experiences of racism and psychological distress after controlling for the covariates, acculturative stress and nativity status.
Hypothesis 4 (b): Internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization will mediate the relationship between experiences of racism and psychological adjustment after controlling for the covariates, acculturative stress and nativity status.
45
CHAPTER 3
METHODS
This chapter will present the participants, procedures, measures and statistical analyses for the current study. The first section will describe the participants and procedures including characteristics of participants and primary methods of recruitment.
Second, measures that were used for the study will be reviewed including rationale for the selection and issues related to validity and reliability. Finally, statistical analyses will be discussed.
Participants
The population for this study was comprised of self-identified East Asian individuals over the age of 18 currently residing in the United States. According to the
United Nations Statistics Division (2013), East Asian countries include China, Japan,
North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. This study’s use of the term “East Asian” includes individuals from any East Asian country and/or who ethnically identify themselves as East Asian. For example, if one’s country of origin is Vietnam and he/she identifies as ethnically Chinese, he/she is considered East Asian. Additionally, “East
Asian” in this study included all East Asians living in the United States for longer than 5 years of period for any long-term purpose (e.g., study or work), regardless of citizenship or immigration status. This clarification of Asian has been previously used in another study using Asian participants (Pew Research Center, 2012).
46 Initially, 200 participants were to be recruited for the study as this number was suggested as adequate for testing moderated sized structural equation models
(MacCallum, Browne, & Sugawara, 1996). However, given that there are no guidelines established in the current literature for PROCESS analyses and available rules of thumb suggest at least 100 participants in examining a mediation model (Judd & Kenny, 1981), a number of 100 participants was determined as the lower limit suitable for the present study.
Data was collected from any states in the United States in order to increase generalizability of findings. Participants were recruited using multiple data sources (e.g., contacting East Asian online communities, approaching Asian American organization list serves, and using social media). Additionally participants’ relevant demographic information was collected including age, gender, race, ethnicity, years of education, years of living in the U.S., current residing state, immigration status (i.e., not immigrant/U.S. born, immigrant to the U.S), and primary language.
Data was collected from 147 East Asians via on- and off-line recruitment. After data screening, the final sample consisted of 104 East Asian participants. The demographic characteristics of the sample are presented in Table 1. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 82 years old, with a mean age of 28.17 (SD = 7.05). Of the 104 participants, 73 (70%) identified as woman and 29 (28%) identified as man. One participant identified as “gender fluid” and one identified as “non-binary”. In terms of race, 94% (n = 98) identified as mono-racial Asian. The remaining 5% (n = 5) identified as bi-racial/multi-racial Asian and 1% (n = 1) identified as other. The most common ethnicities included Chinese (36%, n = 37), Korean (21%, n = 22), Japanese (6%, n = 6),
47 and Taiwanese (5%, n = 5). Other ethnicities included Filipino (3%, n = 3), Thai (1%, n =
1), and Lao (1%, n = 1). The majority of participants (61.5%) reported living in states with a large number of Asian populations. Those states include California (28.8%, n =
30), Maryland (14.4%, n = 15), New York (10.6%, n = 11), and Arizona (7.8%, n = 8).
The sample was highly educated with 47% of participants having a graduate degree or higher and 37% having obtained a bachelor’s degree. In terms of immigrant status, 55 (53%) participants were U.S.-born citizens and 29 (28%) were foreign-born immigrants. Eighteen (17%) participants were foreign citizens and visa holders. In terms of preferred language, 49 (47%) participants reported speaking mostly English and some
Asian language. About 40% of participants self-identified as bilingual, indicating they spoke both an Asian language and English equally well. In terms of length of stay in the
U.S., more than 60% of participants reported having stayed in the U.S. longer than a 20 years period. Table 1 provides additional information about participants’ demographics.
Procedures
Prior to participant recruitment, the study was approved by the University of
Akron’s Institutional Review Board (Appendix H). After approval was obtained, participants were recruited through multiple sources such as East Asians associations, local churches and community centers, social networking sites (e.g. Facebook), online gaming and sports forums, and Asian cultural communities (e.g. K-drama websites, Japan animation forums) that pertain to East Asian individuals across the States.
First, the primary researcher obtained contact information of relevant associations via online across the United States. In order to reduce sampling biases, associations included broad range of East Asian communities from professional organizations to local
48 churches. Examples of websites are Korean America Community Services
(www.kacschicago.org), K-pop site (www.soompi.com), Taiwanese Presbyterian church
(www.tpcwashington.org), and Japanese anime forum (www.japanforum.com). Once contact information was obtained, contact was made to the organization officer with a request to forward the research invitation to all registered members via email. Second, participants were also recruited using convenience sampling, from the top 50 academic institutions with the largest enrollment of Asian students (See Appendix I). Information on East Asian student associations from those institutions was obtained online prior to contact. Finally, participant invitation for the study was posted on social networking sites such as Facebook. Recruitment via Facebook included posting the study information on personal pages and in public and private groups for Asians specifically (e.g. Asian
American writers’ workshop).
The online invitation included a description of the current study, participant eligibility, the primary investigator’s contact information, the Qualtrics survey link to the online survey, and the offer for the opportunity to win one of five $25 gift cards by participating in the study. By clicking the offered link, participants were directed to the
Qualtrics website that presented the informed consent of the current study. The informed consent included the study rationale, participant eligibility, associated risks and benefits, length of time to complete the survey, IRB approval number, data anonymity and confidentiality, and the primary investigator’s contact information. Upon completion of the survey, participations had the option of providing their email address to be included in a raffle for one of five $25 gift cards. In order to maintain anonymity, all identifying information was kept in a separate file from participants’ responses.
49 Measures
Demographic Questionnaire. The demographic questionnaire collected the following information: age, gender, race, ethnicity, years of schooling completed, years of living in the U.S., current residing state, immigration status (i.e., not immigrant/U.S. born, immigrant to the U.S.), and primary language. The information regarding age, race/ethnicity, and years of living in the U.S. was used to determine participants’ eligibility for the study.
Experiences of Racism. The 4-item subtle racism subscale of the Subtle and
Blatant Racism Scale for Asian American College Students (SABR-A2; Yoo, Steger, &
Lee, 2010) was used to assess racial experiences of East Asians. The initial set of questionnaire was created in an attempt to measure racial discriminatory experiences of
Asian Americans (Yoo & Lee, 2005) and it was recently validated with Asian American college students (Yoo et al., 2010). The SABR-A2 measures an individual and behavioral racism based on frequency of events. Participants were asked to rate the items using a 5- point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always). Total score was obtained by calculating the sum of the each response. Sample items included “In
America, I am overlooked because I’m Asian,” and “In America, I am treated differently because I am Asian.”
Using the initial data set from the Yoo and Lee’s (2005) study, the authors examined the factor structure of the items. The sample consisted of 155 self-identified
Asian American undergraduate students. An exploratory factor analysis indicated the two-factor model to be a better fit and it was further confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis indicating an adequate fit for the two correlated factors model (CFI = .97,
50 RMSEA = .07). However, the authors noted that the mean score of subtle racism was significantly higher than the mean score of blatant racism across all three studies, indicating that subtle forms of racism is more commonly experienced by racial minorities
(Yoo et al., 2010).
Construct validity was further examined with another sample of 193 Asian
American undergraduate students (N = 20, SD = 2.1) in study 2. The Participants’ self- identified ethnic groups included Chinese (n = 58), Multiracial/multiethnic (n = 30)
Vietnamese (n = 30), Filipino (n = 29), Korean (n = 19), Japanese (n = 8), and others (n =
19). The scale structure was confirmed to best fit again the two-factor model (CFI = .97,
RMSEA = .07). Convergent validity was demonstrated through significant negative relationships between total racism and subscales with depression, anxiety, and stress.
Divergent validity was demonstrated through non-significant relationships between total racism and its subscales with color-blind attitudes. The internal consistency reliability of the total racism, subtle racism, and blatant racism were as follows: .88, .82, and .77 respectively.
The current study provided additional psychometric support for the SABR-A2
Internal consistency reliability with Cronbach’s alphas with the current sample were in the good or acceptable range: .81 for subtle racism, .64 for blatant racism, and .82 for the total racism.
Acculturative Stress. The Multidimensional Acculturative Stress Inventory
(MASI; Rodriguez et al., 2002) was used to assess acculturative stress experienced by
East Asians and East Asian Americans. The original MASI was developed to measure the source of acculturative stress that derived from the home culture and receiving culture
51 among people of Mexican origin and other Latino ethnic groups (Rodriguez et al., 2002).
However, its validation was recently extended to a national sample of college students across different ethnic groups including Asian American.
The MASI contains 25 items reflecting four dimensions: Heritage language competence pressure (7 items), English competence pressure (7 items), Pressure to acculturation (7 items), and Pressure against acculturation (4 items). Participants were asked to rate the items using a five-point scale ranging from 1 (not at all stressful) to 5
(extremely stressful). If an event had not been experienced during the past 3 months, participants were instructed to indicate 0 (does not apply). The total score was obtained by calculating the sum of the each subscale item responses with higher score indicating higher level of acculturative stress. As used in previous studies (Torres, Driscoll, &
Voell, 2012; Weisskirch et al., 2011), the total score was used for analyses. Sample items include “It bothers me when people don’t respect my family’s cultural values,” “I feel pressure to learn English,” and “People look down upon me if I practice American customs.”
In terms of its validity and reliability, due to its short development history there is only one study examining psychometric properties of the MASI with Asian Americans
(Castillo et al., 2015). Castillo and colleagues (2015) used data collected as part of the national Multi-Site University Study of Identity and Culture research collaborative
(Weisskirch et al., 2013). The sample consisted of 2,894 ethnically diverse undergraduate students from 29 colleges and universities in 20 states across the U.S. First, the authors examined the factor structure of the MASI across six groups (i.e., Asian American,
Latino, men, women, U.S.-born, and foreign-bone) using confirmatory factor analysis. Of
52 the 1,377 Asian American participants, 36% were men (n = 476) and 64% were U.S. born
(n = 885). Data indicated a four-factor model to be the best fit for each of the six groups.
The authors concluded that with a modification of item 1 (“I don’t speak my family’s heritage language or don’t speak it well”) and item 4 (“I have a hard time understanding others when they speak my family’s heritage language”), the four-factor model indicated a good fit across ethnicity, gender, and nativity.
Secondly, in order to assess the factor model fit (e.g., from the least restrictive model to the most restrictive model), measurement invariance was tested through four indicators: configural invariance, metric invariance, scalar invariance, and strict invariance,.The test results indicated that measurement invariance between Latino and
Asian Americans, between men and women, and between U.S.-born and foreign-born participants were negligible except for those between scalar and strict models in the nativity condition (Castillo et al., 2015).
Finally, in order to assess the group differences, the authors estimated factor means in the final invariance model. All the estimated factor-means were found to be significantly different for each comparisons (i.e., Latinos and Asian, women and men, and the U.S.-born and foreign-born). More specifically, Asian American participants tended to have higher levels of acculturation stress across all four factors than Latinos.
Women had lower levels of acculturation stress across all factors than men. Foreign-born participants tended to experience lower levels of Heritage Language Competence Stress while experiencing higher levels of acculturative stress in other three areas (i.e., English competence pressure, pressure to acculturate, and pressure against Acculturation) than
U.S.-born participants (Castillo et al., 2015).
53 Additionally, the MASI demonstrated good internal reliability with a Cronbach’s alpha of .91 for the Asian American sample. Research examining other validities of the
MASI such as discriminant and concurrent validity with Asians is not available at the time of investigation. In the current study, the following Cronbach’s alphas in the good or acceptable range were obtained: .80 for the English competence pressure subscale, .84 for the heritage language competence subscale, .84 for the pressure to acculturation subscale,
.57 for the pressure against acculturation subscale, and .80 for the total score.
Internalized Stereotypes. To date there is no measure that specifically assesses internalized racism of East Asian populations. Although there has been a recent scale development in measuring internalized racial oppression with people of color - The
Appropriated Racial Oppression Scale (AROS; Campon & Carter, 2015), this measure was disregarded due to its insufficient face validity. After examining items for appropriateness with East Asian individuals, it was concluded that it lacks face validity, as some items were not directly applicable to East Asians. For example, items such as
“good hair (i.e., straight) is better” and “I wish my nose were narrower” are more salient to other racial group rather than Asians.
Therefore, the Internalization of Asian American Stereotype Scale (IAASS; Shen,
Wang, & Swanson, 2011) was selected to measure adherence to Asian stereotypes. The
IAASS assess the extent to which an individual’s self-concept and behavior result from having adopted existing stereotyped characteristics of Asian Americans. The IAASS contains 23 items reflecting four dimensions; Difficulties with English Language
Communication (EngL; 8 items), Pursuit of Prestigious Careers (5 PC; items), Emotional
Reservation (ER; 5 items), Expected Academic Success (AC; 5 items). Participants were
54 asked to rate the clarity of each item using a six-point scale from 1 (not clear at all) to 6
(very clear). Items include such as “I am expected to perform well in math and science because I am Asian American,” “I won’t be happy in a career that does not offer prestige or money.” The possible score range of each of the subscales is 23-48. Higher score on the subscales indicate higher level of internalized stereotypes. Total score was obtained by calculating the mean of the each subscale and used for analyses as suggested by the authors (Shen et al., 2011).
Psychometric properties of IAASS including construct validity, internal consistency and test-retest reliability have been presented by Shen and her colleagues
(2011). For the initial pilot study, thirty Asian Americans were recruited from Asian
American student organizations at a Midwestern and a Western university. Participants’ ethnic groups included Chinese (33.3%), Indians (26.7%), Cambodian (10.0%), Filipino
(10.0%), and others (20%). From the initial 110 items, 88 items were revised and 25 items were eliminated for redundancy. After the pilot study, an additional 269 Asian
American students were recruited to participate in the initial factor analysis. Participants’ ethnic groups included Chinese (49.8%), Korean (10.3%), Taiwanese (8.0%), Filipino
(7.4%), Indian (6.2%), and others (18.3%). Using a principle axis factor analysis, the four-factor solution with 23 items was eventually chosen. Cronbach’s alphas for the total scale and four subscales were .87, .86, .79, .76, and .84, respectively (Shen, et al, 2011).
In study 2, a total of 52 participants were recruited for further validation of the
IAASS. Participants’ ethnic groups included Chinese (44.9%), Korean (12.2%), Filipino
(8.2%), Indian (8.2%), Vietnamese (6.1%), and other (20.4%) and their mean age was
21.1 (SD = 3.3). Discriminant validity was tested using a social desirability measure. A
55 correlation analysis demonstrated, as expected, that the IAASS was not significantly correlated with the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCSDS; Crowne &
Marlowe, 1960) (r ranged from .05 to .18) (Shen et al., 2011).
In study 3, the authors examined the stability of the factor structure for the
IAASS. A total of 315 Asian American students were recruited. The mean age for the participants’ was 21.1 years (SD = 3.3) and participants’ ethnic group included Chinese
(49.2%), Indian (10.5%), Vietnamese (9.2%), Filipino (8.6%), Taiwanese (6.1%), Korean
(5.1%), and other (11.3%). A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted and indicated a good fit for second order hierarchical four factor model (NNFI = .90, CFI = .91, RMSEA
= .05). In terms of reliability, the IAASS total score and subscales demonstrated acceptable levels of internal consistency (α ranged from .76 to .87). The construct validity of the IAASS was demonstrated through significant positive correlations with other conceptually related constructs, such as self-esteem (assessed through the RSE) and general health (assessed through WHOQOL-BREF) (Shen et al., 2011).
Finally, in study 4, the authors examined test-retest reliability with a sample of 20 undergraduate and graduate students from a large Midwestern university. Participants’ mean age was 19.4 years (SD = 2.5) and their self-identified ethnic groups included
Chinese (20%), Laotian (20%), Vietnamese (10%), Filipino (5%), Hmong (5%), Indian
(5%), Korean (5%), and other (30%). In this sample, the IAASS demonstrated acceptable test-retest reliability over a 6-week period. The six-week test reliability estimates for the total, EngL, PC, ER, and AC were as follow: .89, .88, .51, .81, and .91 (Shen et al.,
2011).
56 In the current study, Cronbach’s alphas were obtained in the good rage: .81 for the difficulties with English language communication subscale, .77 for the expected academic success subscale, .82 for the pursuit of prestigious careers subscale, .84 the emotional reservation subscale, and .82 for the total score.
Perceived Stigmatization. The Stigmatization Scale (Harvey, 2001) was used to assess the degree to which East Asians feel being stigmatized by member of other groups.
The scale was developed based upon the definition of stigma, which include two aspects: a) the perceived experiences of prejudice and discrimination and b) an awareness of the devalued quality of one’s social identity.
While the Stigmatized Scale was not intended to measure racial stigmatization specifically, it can be used with individuals that are potential targets of any types of stigma (Harvey, 2001). Since the primary focus of the current study was to assess how
East Asians, as members of a racial minority group, feel about how they are perceived by other out-group members, it was befitting that the Stigmatization Scale was used.
The Stigmatization Scale consists of 21 items measuring two domains; alienation and disruption. The scale includes three “filler items” that are not added in the final scoring (Harvey, 2001). Participants were asked to rate the clarity of each item using a five-point scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Item responses were summed and divided by 18 to create a final score (Harvey, 2001). Higher score on the scale indicate higher level of internalized racism. Items were modified for the study to specifically target experiences of Asians as a racial minority. For example, the first item was reworded to read, “I am viewed negatively by mainstream society because of my race.” By tailoring items to the target population, participants were expected to answer
57 the items primarily focusing on their racial minority status. This way of cultural adaptation has been used in a published research with Chinese individuals (Wang et al.,
2010).
Evidence of the scale structure, internal consistency, and construct validity has been presented by Harvey (2001). The total sample of 197 (N = 24.07 years, SD = 7.34) university students was recruited for the initial scale validation. The sample consisted of
European American (n = 71), African American (n = 81), and Native American (n = 28).
An initial principle component factor analysis indicated a two-factor solution including the 3 filler items as the second factor. Cronbach’s alpha for the 18 times was .94 indicating a great internal consistency. Using a varimax rotation of factors, the author further identified three factors; a feeling of alienation, a sense of subjective sell-being, and a collective identity. Concurrent validity was found with the measures of powerlessness (Neal & Goat, 1974), goal disruption, and the public subscale for collective self-esteem (Luhtanen & Croker, 1992). The Stigmatization Scale was also found to be diverged from measures of mastery, interaction anxiousness, personal self- esteem, and member and private collective self-esteem (Harvey, 2001).
More recently, the scale was used with 1001 Chinese individuals in China (Wang, et al., 2010). Participants were between 18 to 40 years of age residing in rural areas in
China. The authors modified the items to culturally fit with their target population and used a 4-point Likert scale instead of a 5-point. The principle factor analyses and the scree test were used to extract the factors and indicated a better fit for the three-factor model: discrimination, prejudice, and exclusion. Cronbach’s alphas for three subscales with the Chinese sample were 0.80, 0.73, and 0.57 respectively.
58 In the current study, Cronbach’s alpha for the final score was .93 demonstrating an excellent internal consistency.
Psychological distress. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10; Kessler et al., 2002) was used to measure overall level of psychological distress among participants in this study. The K10 contains 10 items assessing the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms. The response categories range from 1 (none of the time) to 5 (all of the time) using five-point Likert scale. A possible score range of the K10 is 10-50 with higher scores indicating higher levels of psychological distress. The total score was calculated by summing all item responses and used for analyses (Kessler et al., 2002).
The K10 includes items such as “During the last 30 days, how often did you feel depressed?” “How often did you feel restless or fidgety? and “How often did you feel worthless?”
The K10 was developed to screen for non-specific psychological distress, and has been adopted in Western and non-Western countries as a screening and outcome measure in mental health settings. Validation for cross-cultural use has been established; factor analysis and item response theory were used to select items that loaded into a single factor, and the results showed consistent values across socio-demographic factors, including race-ethnicity (Stolk, Kaplan, & Szwarc, 2014).
In its original development, Kessler et al. (2002) used data from five community surveys including a sample from a nationally representative mail sample across the states
(n = 1403). In order to assess its dimensionality, the authors used Parallel analyses and item response (IRT) models, and found support for a unidimensional structure of the K10 with the 1000 telephone interview sample (Kessler et al., 2002). The IRT analysis was
59 replicated in the NSMHWB sample (Kessler et al., 2002). Although there was a significant variation in item sensitivities indicating a possible two-parameter IRT model, the authors concluded that ordered dichotomies IRT model was a better fit as the significant within-question variation existed in item sensitivities as well (Kessler et al.,
2002).
The K10 demonstrated excellent internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) in the telephone pilot sample (α = .93). Using the Receiver Operating
Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the authors also tested construct validity and found that the K10 accurately predicted the diagnosis of anxiety and mood disorder on the
SCID for DSM-IV (Kessler et al., 2002). In the current study, Cronbach’s alpha of .91 was obtained demonstrating excellent internal consistency reliability of the scale.
Psychological Adjustment. The Schwartz Outcome Scale (SOS-10; Blais et al.,
1999) was used to assess general psychological adjustment. The SOS-10 was developed to measure systemic outcomes in multiple mental health areas including interpersonal relationships, subjective happiness, and life satisfaction rather than focusing on specific psychological disorders. The SOS-10 consists of 10 items. Participants were asked to rate their adjustment over the last 7 days on a 7-point Likert-type scale from 1 (never) to 7
(all of the time or nearly all of the time) with higher scores representing greater adjustment. Sample items include “I feel hopeful about my future,” “I am able to have fun,” and “I am able to forgive myself for my failures.” The total score was obtained by calculating the sum of each item responses and used for analyses (Blais et al., 1999).
Blais and colleagues (1999) presented evidence for the construct validity, reliability, and test-retest reliability of the SOS. Initial item development included an
60 interview of diverse professionals (e.g., psychologists, psychiatrist, and neurosurgeons) and two patient focus groups. A set of 81 items was developed, and was reviewed for relevance, responsiveness, and comprehensibility, resulting in 47 items being retained.
The 47-item scale was administered to a sample of 112 patients across various hospital sites. Participants were recruited from an outpatient psychotherapy clinic (n = 42), psychopharmacology clinic (n = 33), an emergency psychiatry clinic and a psychiatry unit (n = 37). The mean age of the sample was 37 years (SD = 12) (Blais et al.,1999). A factor analysis was conducted and 27 items were eliminated. The results indicated unidimension of the initial SOS with factor loading of all items greater than .60 on the first factor. The remaining 20-item scale indicated excellent internal consistency evidenced by a Cronbach’s α of .95 with this sample. No significant differences on item responses were found across sex or age (Blais et al., 1999).
A second sample included 25 community mental health clinic patients and 35 non-patients. The sample consisted of 65% women and their mean age was 34 years (SD
= 11). The SOS demonstrated good internal consistency with a Cronbach’s alpha of .96 and the split-half reliability coefficient of .92. Test-retest reliability of .87 over 1 week period was obtained for the nonpatients participants (Blais et al., 1999).
For further reduction of items, a third sample was recruited from various clinical sites, such as inpatient, outpatient, and emergency room clinics within the hospital. The sample consisted of 57 patients and 28 nonpatients. The Rash item analysis was conducted and found the final 10-item scale to be psychometrically significant. The scale demonstrated a good internal consistency with a Cronbach’s alpha of .96 and the corrected item-to-scale correlations ranged from .74 to .90. Evidence for discriminant
61 validity was established by significant and negative relationships with related constructs, such as psychiatric symptoms, hopelessness, fatigue, and negative affect. Concurrent validity was evidenced by positive significant correlations with positive affect, general adjustment, life satisfaction, and self-esteem (Blais et al., 1999). In the current study, the
SOS-10 also demonstrated an excellent internal consistency with a Cronbach’s alpha of
.93.
Additionally, the SOS-10 has been translated into different languages (e.g.,
French, Czech) and used with diverse populations including Asian, Latino, college students and outpatient patients (Chang et al., 2014; Young, Waehler, Laux, McDaniel, &
Hilsenroth, 2003).
Statistical Analyses
After data collection was completed, eligibility was determined by reviewing respondents’ country of origin, age, ethnicity, and length of time in the U.S., as reported on the demographic questionnaire. Participants who did not meet the eligibility criteria were excluded from data analyses.
Data then was cleaned and examined for missing items on each scale. Those who did not complete the survey were removed from the data. In regard to examining missing data, a cutoff of 5% of missing data was used as recommended by Tabachnick and Fidell,
(2007). Data screening was then conducted for normality, univariate outliers, multivariate outliers, and multicollinearity following suggestions from Tabachnick and Fidell (2007).
Once the data was cleaned, preliminary analyses including means, standard deviations, and internal consistencies were conducted on all primary measures. Correlations between demographic variables and main study variables were also examined for significance in
62 order to identify potential covariates. Additionally, analyses of variance were conducted to examine if there were any significant mean differences on primary measures based on demographics.
In order to assess hypothesis 1-3 bivariate correlations among the scores on the subtle racism subscale of SABR-A2, IAASS, SS, K-10, and SOS-10 were examined for significance. In order to assess hypothesis 4a and 4b, the proposed mediation model was analyzed using PROCESS macro for SPSS. Bias-correlated 95% bootstrap confidence intervals (CI) were used to determine the significance for the indirect effects. CI was checked to determine whether zero is included within the confidence interval. If zero is outside of the confidence interval, it was determined with confidence that the indirect effect was different from zero and therefore significant (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). In terms of determining the magnitude of effect sizes, Ferguson’s suggestions (2009) were used.
63 Internalized Stereotypes b1 a1
Experiences of c Psychological Racism Outcomes
Perceived a2 Stigmatization b2
Figure 2. Statistical Diagram
64
CHAPTER IV
RESULTS
This chapter will provide an overview of the results of the current study. The first part will include a description of the data cleaning and screening procedures, and the results of preliminary analyses. The second part includes primary analyses, including the findings of correlational and mediation analyses. The hypotheses for the study will be incorporated into the explanations of the results. Finally, the results of post-hoc analyses will be presented.
Data Cleaning and Screening
A total of 146 participants endorsed the informed consent and started the online survey. Upon completion of data collection, the data set was screened for participant eligibility, missing data, normality, outliers, and multicollinearity. Eligibility was determined by reviewing respondents’ race, ethnic background, age, and years in the U.S. as reported on the demographic questionnaire. For the purpose of the study, participants were retained if they endorsed East Asian nationality and/or East Asian ethnic backgrounds, were at least 18 years old, and have stayed in the U.S. longer than 5 years.
Two participants were removed from the study, as they indicated South Asian ethnic backgrounds (i.e. India).
Data cleaning was initiated by screening for missing values following the recommendations of Tabashnick and Fidell (2007). Specifically, surveys with more than
65 5% of data missing, either in a single questionnaire or across the entire survey were excluded from analysis. Eighteen participants (12%) were removed because they stopped the survey immediately after the consent form and twenty-five participants (17%) were removed because they did not complete all the required measures. This resulted in a final sample of 104 participants. Missing at random data was not found in the current study, as participants were required to answer all items before moving from one page to the next.
Participants who were unwilling to answer any of the items could drop out of the study at any time or choose to not submit their responses.
Data was then screened for normality to determine if the data met the normality assumption necessary to statistical analyses for the study. First, all means, minimum, and maximum scores for each scale were explored to ensure all scores fell in the possible range of scores (Table 2). Examination of skewness and kurtosis of study variables then followed. Acceptable range of skewness and kurtosis was defined a priori as from -2 to 2
(Weston & Gore, 2006). All continuous variables produced skewness and kurtosis values within the acceptable range, suggesting that the variables were normally distributed.
Normal probability plots were also examined and evidenced linear distributions, in accordance with univariate normality. Furthermore, bivariate scatter plots appeared to exhibit elliptical shapes, supporting bivariate normality of variables.
Finally, multicollinearity was explored by examining the correlation matrix (see
Table 3) to ensure that no variables were too highly correlated. According to Tabachnick and Fidell (2007), correlations higher than r = .70 can suggest multicollinearity issues.
The correlation matrix indicated that the subscale of the Subtle and Blatant Racism scale
(SABR-A2) was highly correlated with the Stigmatization Scale (SS) (r = .75), which
66 suggests potential issues with multicollinearity. While Tabachnick and Fidell (2007) argued that the statistical problems created by multicollinearity occur at much higher correlations (.90 and higher), the correlation between SABR-A2 and SS was further examined by reviewing the variance inflation factor (VIF). VIF quantifies how much the variance is inflated, indicating the severity of multicollinearity. O’Brien (2007) suggests if any of the VIF values exceeds five or ten, it implies that the associated regression coefficients are poorly estimated because of multicollinearity. None of the VIF values for
SABR-A2 subscale and SS were above five. Additionally, it is noted that some subscales were strongly correlated (more than r = .7) with their total scale.
Preliminary Analyses
Prior to investigating the proposed mediation model, preliminary analyses were conducted on the data set. First, the means and standard deviations for all scales were calculated (Table 2). The SABR-A2 had a mean of 2.93 and standard deviation of .79 in the current sample. In a sample of college students, previous researchers (Yoo, Steger, &
Lee, 2010) reported a mean score of 2.15 (SD = .86) for subtle racism subscale. In terms of the Schwartz Outcome Scale (SOS-10) assessing psychological adjustment, the current sample had a mean of 5.30 and standard deviation of 1.15. This mean score of SOS-10 was somewhat higher than those (M = 4.73, SD = .81) found in a sample of undergraduate students (Young et al, 2003), which suggested that the current sample might be well-adjusted.
Second, internal consistency reliability was calculated using Cronbach’s alphas for all scales. A coefficient alpha of .70 or greater is considered evidence of adequate
67 internal consistency for an item set (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994). All reliability coefficients utilized in the current study were in the adequate range or better (Table 2).
Third, preliminary analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between demographic variables and the study variables. Correlational analyses between the primary measures and demographic variables including age, gender, race, ethnicity, years of schooling, years living in the U.S., immigration status, and primary language were performed. Bivariate correlational analyses were conducted for ordinal variables and independent t-tests or one-way analyses of variance were conducted with categorical variables. Result indicated that age and level of education were both significantly correlated with the primary measures (Table 4). Age and level of education were, therefore, included as covariates in all mediation analyses.
Finally, prevalence of racist experiences was examined in detail. Only 3% of respondents reported that they had never experienced subtle racism because of their race.
The obtained mean scores on the SABR-A2 subscale indicate that about a half (47%) of the respondents experienced subtle racism sometimes or often. More specifically, about
70% of the respondents reported that they had been overlooked sometimes or often because of their race. Seven (7%) reported that they are almost always overlooked because they are Asian. Forty-six (44%) reported that they are sometimes faced with barriers in society because of their race and thirty-nine (38%) reported that they are often or almost always faced with barriers in America because they are Asian. More than 50% of the respondents reported that they are often or almost always treated differently because of their race. Nearly 22% reported that they often or almost always find it difficult to date people because of their race. Together, more than 80% of Asians in this
68 sample reported that they are faced with barriers because of their race and a considerate proportion of the sample (50%) reported being treated differently because of their race more often than not. The overall mean score for the 5-item subtle racism scale was 2.93
(SD = .79), indicating that, on average, the participants experienced subtle racism close to the “sometimes” range.
A series of univariate analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted to determine if differences existed for participants’ experiences of racism based upon their immigration status, education level, or preferred language; no differences across these demographic variables were found.
Correlation Analyses
Hypothesis 1a predicted that experiences of racism would be positively correlated with psychological distress. Bivariate correlations were conducted to test this hypothesis.
The result supported the initial hypothesis that experiences of racism was positively and significantly correlated with psychological distress, r = -.24, p < .01. In terms of effect size, the correlations between experiences of racism and psychological distress meet
Ferguson’s (2009) recommendations for a practically significant effect. Hypothesis 1b predicted that experiences of racism would be negatively correlated with psychological adjustment. In order to assess this hypothesis, bivariate correlation was conducted. The correlational data analysis failed to provide support for Hypothesis 1b, such that increase in experiences of racism was not significantly associated with decrease in psychological adjustment (r = -.17).
Hypothesis 2a predicated that internalized stereotypes would be significantly and positively correlated with psychological distress. Bivariate correlations were conducted to
69 test this hypothesis. The result did not yield positive significant correlations between the
IAASS total score and the K-10 total score (r = -.19, p > .05), indicating adherence to
Asian stereotypes was not associated with higher levels of psychological distress.
Therefore, the hypothesis was not supported. In order to gather more detailed information on this non-significant result, further correlation analyses with four subscales of IAASS and the K-10 total score were examined. The analysis indicated that the subscales of
Expected Academic Success had a significant correlation with psychological distress (r =
.22, p < .05). Importantly, stronger correlation was observed between the subscale of
Emotional Reservation and psychological distress (r = .33, p <. 001). Hypothesis 2b stated that internalized stereotypes would be significantly and negatively correlated with psychological adjustment. As predicted, the total score of IAASS was negatively correlated with the SOS-10 total score (r = -.21, p < .05), indicating that higher levels of endorsement of Asian stereotypes were related to lower levels of psychological adjustment. These correlations exceeded recommendations for a practically significant effect (Ferguson, 2009). Similar to Hypothesis 2a, further correlational analyses were performed. Surprisingly, only the subscale of Emotional Reservation was significantly correlated with psychological adjustment (r = -.41, p < .001) and its effect size was well above a practically significant level (Ferguson, 2009).
Hypothesis 3a stated that perceived stigmatization would be significantly and positively correlated with psychological distress. The SS total score was positively correlated with K-10 (r = -.24, p < .01). In terms of effect size, the correlation between perceived stigmatization and psychological distress met or exceeded recommendations for a practically significant effect (Ferguson, 2009). Hypothesis 3b predicted that
70 perceived stigmatization would be negatively correlated with psychological adjustment.
Bivariate correlational analysis found that the SS was negatively correlated with SOS-10 total score (r = -.24, p < .01), indicating that individuals with higher levels of perceived stigmatization endorsed lower levels of psychological adjustment. This correlation exceeded recommendations for a practically significant effect (Ferguson, 2009).
Additionally, bivariate correlational analyses revealed that acculturative stress was correlated with both perceived stigmatization and experiences of racism. The MASI total score was positively correlated with the SABR-A2 subscale (r = .51, p < .001), indicating that individuals with higher acculturative stress endorsed higher levels of psychological distress. In terms of effect size, the correlation between acculturative stress and psychological distress exceeded moderate effect size. Given that effect size seen in the social sciences are often times very small (Ferguson, 2009), the effect size between acculturative stress and psychological distress is substantial. Similarly, the MASI total score was positively correlated with the SS (r = .54, p < .001). In other words, participants’ levels of perceived stigmatization tended to increase as their acculturative stress increased. The effect size for the correlation between acculturative stress and perceived stigmatization exceeded recommendations for moderate effect (Ferguson,
2009), suggesting two variables share a great deal of variance.
Mediation Analyses
Hypothesis 4 predicted that internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization would mediate the relationship between racism experiences and psychological outcomes.
The PROCESS macro for SPSS version 2.15 was used to examine this hypothesis.
Specifically, Model 4 was used to test the hypothesis. Based upon previous literature on
71 Asians’ experience of racism and psychological oppression, two types of internalized racism factors were considered as potential mediators: internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization. Two separate mediation models were then examined for psychological distress and psychological adjustment as outcome variables. Bootstrapped confidence intervals (CI) of 10,000 were used to examine the significance of the indirect effects.
Hypothesis 4a stated that internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization would mediate the relationship between racism experiences and psychological distress.
Age, level of education, and acculturative stress were entered as control variables. The bootstrap results for the mediated effect was not significant (b = -.02, SE = .27). Contrary to the hypothesis, internalized stereotype and stigmatization did not mediate the relationship between experiences of racism and psychological distress. Hypothesis 4b predicated that adherence to Asian stereotypes and perceived stigmatization would mediate the relationship between experiences of racism and psychological adjustment.
Age, level of education, and acculturative stress were entered as covariates. Similar to
Hypothesis 4a, the bootstrap results for the mediated effect was not significant (b = -.49,
SE = .30).
Post-hoc Analyses
In addition to the tests of the above hypotheses, a series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted in an exploratory manner to clarify the relationship between control variables, independent variables, and dependent variables. First, in order to delineate the relationship between experiences of racism and psychological distress, a four-stage hierarchical multiple regression was conducted with psychological distress as
72 the dependent variable. Based on correlational analysis, age and level of education were entered at stage one of the regression to control for the impact of demographic variables.
Acculturative stress was entered at stage two, experiences of racism at stage three, and internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization at state four. The hierarchical multiple regression revealed that at stage one, age and level of education contributed significantly to the regression model, F (2, 101) = 4.56, p < .05 and accounted for 9% of the variation in psychological distress. Introducing the acculturative stress variable explained an additional 15% of variation in psychological distress and this change in 푅2 was significant, F (3, 100) = 10.40, p < .001. Adding experience of racism to the regression model explained an additional 1% of the variation in psychological distress and this change in 푅2 was not significant. Finally, the addition of internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization to the regression model explained an additional 1% of the variation in psychological outcome. It is noted that this change in 푅2was also not significant. When all five independent variables were included in stage four of the regression mode, neither adherence to Asian stereotypes nor perceived stigmatization were significant predictors of psychological distress. The most important predictor of psychological distress was acculturative stress, which uniquely explained 16% of the variation in psychological distress (see Table 5-1).
Second, similarly, a four-stage hierarchical multiple regression was conducted with psychological adjustment as the dependent variable. In the first stage, age and level of education were entered as control variables. Acculturative stress was then entered at stage two, experiences of racism at stage three, and internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization at stage four. The hierarchical multiple regression revealed that
73 at stage one, age and level of education contributed to the regression model, F (2, 101) =
2.54 and accounted for 5 % of the variation in psychological distress. This 푅2 was not significant. Introducing the acculturative stress variable explained an additional 6% of variation in psychological adjustment and this change in 푅2 was significant, F (3, 100) =
4.06, p < .01. Adding experience of racism to the regression model explained an additional 4% of the variation in psychological adjustment, F (5, 98) = 3.49 and this change in 푅2 was not significant. Finally, the addition of internalized stereotype and perceived stigmatization to the regression model explained an additional 1% of the variation in psychological outcome (F (6, 97) = 3.02). It is noted that this change in
푅2was also not significant. When all five independent variables were included in stage four of the regression mode, neither adherence to Asian stereotypes nor perceived stigmatization were significant predictors of psychological adjustment. The most significant predictor of psychological adjustment was acculturative stress, which uniquely explained 11% of the variation in psychological adjustment (see Table 5-2).
Additionally, the author examined the potential moderate effect of adherence to
Asian stereotypes and perceived stigmatization on the relationship between experiences racism and psychological outcomes. The PROCESS macro for SPSS was used to test the moderation model. Two separate moderation models were examined for both psychological distress and psychological adjustment. None of the four moderation analyses yielded significant results.
74
CHAPTER V
DISCUSSION
The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of internalized racism in the association between experiences of racism and psychological outcomes in East Asian populations. Overall, the study findings suggested that experiences of racism influenced the psychological well-being of East Asians (i.e., Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and
Taiwanese). This chapter will highlight some of the key findings of the study and discuss implications for clinical interventions. Limitations of the study and future research directions will also be addressed.
Experiences of Racism and Psychological Outcomes
The findings of the current study indicated that East Asian individuals frequently experienced racism and unfair treatment in the U.S. More than half of the respondents
(54%) in this sample reported experiencing subtle racism from sometimes to almost always (in a 5-likert scale from almost never to almost always). An overwhelmingly large number of respondents (> 94%) indicated that to some extent they were faced with barriers or treated differently because they are Asian. This rate of racist experiences was consistent across gender, age, level of education, length of stay in the U.S, and preferred language. Notably, the sample of the current study mostly comprised of East Asian individuals in their late 20 to early 30s with high levels of education and an average of 20 years of residency in the U.S. The prevalence reported by the current sample is somewhat
75 higher than those observed in other samples. For example, Ong and colleagues (2013) reported that approximately 78% of undergraduate students reported experiencing at least one subtle racism over the 2-week period (Ong et al., 2013). In a study with Black,
Latino, and Asian adolescents, while the rate of racism experiences was not reported,
Greene et al (2006) found that Asian American adolescents reported significantly more discrimination than did Latino and Black students. Given the current study’s sample characteristics (i.e. well educated in their late 20s to 30s with an average length of stay of
20 years in the U.S), this high rate of subtle racism experiences is particularly alarming, as it suggests that East Asians may deal with subtle and brief types of racism rather frequently throughout their lifetime. Counseling psychologists who work with East
Asians, therefore, must not minimize their racial experiences and be cognizant of a potential cumulative effect on their mental health. Building upon this data, future research endeavors should be made to increase the levels of understanding of the ways in which racism shapes East Asians’ life experiences.
Consistent with prior research (Chung & Epstein, 2014; Hwang & Goto, 2009;
Lee & Ahn, 2011; Syed & Juan, 2012), the current study provided evidence that experiences of racism have negative association with East Asians’ psychological health.
Specifically, a positive relationship was found between experiences of racism and psychological distress, which indicates that as participants’ experiences of racism increased, their level of psychological distress tended to increase. Importantly, the relationship between experiences of racism and psychological distress was found despite the overall low levels of distress reported by participants. Based upon severity ratings for
The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10), the mean score for participants was in
76 the mild range. Despite the lower severity ratings found in the current sample, practically significant effect for the relationship between experiences of racism and psychological distress was detected (Ferguson, 2009). A practically significant effect suggests that the impact of experiences of subtle racism on psychological distress goes beyond statistical significance. These findings correspond to some previous research on the mental health implications of subtle racism. For instance, in a cross-cultural study, Syed and Juan
(2012) found a significant relationship between discrimination and psychological distress among Chinese Americans. Noh, Kaspar, and Wickrama (2007) also identified a connection between subtle discrimination and depressive symptoms with a sample of
Korean immigrants. However, they failed to identify a relationship between overt discrimination and depressive symptoms. The authors speculated that the ambiguities created by subtle racial bias may provoke questions about one’s social acceptance, leading them to experience significant emotional stress. Given the nature of subtle types of racism, it is often difficult to determine whether those ambiguous behaviors are justified by social context or are the result of personal bias. Therefore, encountering subtle types of racism may provoke more prolonged emotional distress for minorities than overt racism does.
Contrary to some previous studies (e.g., Liang & Fassinger, 2008, Utsey et al.,
2002; Yoo & Lee, 2005, 2009), the present study did not find a significant correlation between experiences of racism and psychological adjustment. This result is, in part, consistent with scholars’ assertion that racism is a complex stressor for minorities that require different coping resources to manage both practical and emotional aspect of the stressor (Brondolo, Brady, Pencile, Beatty, & Contrada, 2009). Thus, the effects of
77 racism experiences also vary depending on one’s use of effective coping strategies and other available resources. Research on Asian Americans suggests that a strong sense of ethnic identity and their use of social network serve as protective factors in order for them to remain resilient in the face of racial discrimination (Phinney, 2003; Spencer et al,
2010; Yoo & Lee, 2005). Researchers also have documented that seeking social support is commonly used as a coping strategy following a racist incident (Sanders Thompson,
2006; Utsey et al. 2000). It is likely that for East Asians, a supportive social network promotes a sense of security and connectedness, helping the individual to understand that discrimination is a shared experience.
While it is unclear from the current study findings which protective factors may have influenced the relationship between experiences of racism and psychological adjustment, the results implicate buffering factor playing a role in understanding East
Asians’ psychological well-being. Additionally, it is important to note that those studies
(e.g., Armenta et al., 2013; Liang & Fassinger, 2008; Yoo & Lee, 2005) that yielded significant relationship between experiences of racism and psychological adjustment reported partial support for their hypotheses, indicating unstable relationships between the two. For example, Armenta and colleagues (2013) found the link between perceived discrimination as measured by perceived foreigner objectification and decreased life satisfaction among US-born Asian American college students, however this link was not found among foreign-born students.
Another possible explanation of the non-significant results is floor effects. Based upon severity ratings for the Schwartz Outcome Scale (SOS-10), the mean scores for participants suggest relatively high psychological functioning and well-being of the
78 sample. Addressing some demographical characteristics of the current sample may provide more detailed information on this result. First, the sample characteristics indicated sufficient English proficiency of the participants. Research shows that well acculturated immigrants tend to have higher level of English proficiency than those not as well acculturated (Li, 2014). Therefore, it is possible that the current sample may well be adjusted in the U.S. Despite the high rate of experiences of racism, it may have less significant influence on their psychological well-being. Potentially, participants’ age and level of education may have played a buffering role as well. Using the nationally represented sample, Yip, Gee, and Takeuchi (2008) reported an age effect on the association between discrimination and distress among Asian adults in the U.S. The authors observed that participants’ subscription to ethnic identity increased by age in that younger participants tended to report weaker ethnic identity than older participants, which then became a protective factor for older adults. This is consistent with identity scholars’ assertion that individuals’ identity, as they age, becomes more stable (Marcia,
2002; Phinney, 1990). Importantly, previous studies (i.e., Armenta, et al., 2013; Liang &
Fassinger, 2008) that yield a significant relationship between race-related stress and psychological well-being included only college students in their samples, while the present study utilized a community sample with a much higher mean age (M = 28, SD =
7.05). Thus, participants in this study may cope effectively with stress and are better able to regulate emotional reactions to negative events.
Internalized Racism and Psychological Outcomes
Another objective of the current study was to uncover the relationship between internalized racism and psychological outcomes, particularly how internalized
79 stereotypes and perceived stigmatization relate to East Asians’ psychological distress and adjustment. Mixed findings emerged regarding the association between internalized racism and psychological outcomes.
Contrary to the proposed hypothesis, the results showed that higher levels of endorsement of Asian stereotypes were not related to psychological distress. The results are reflective of current literature suggesting that the relationship between adherence to
Asian stereotypes and Asians’ psychological outcomes may vary depending on the types of stereotypes ascribed to Asians. The current study used the Internalization of Asian
American Stereotype Scale (IAASS) to measure adherence to Asian stereotypes, which is comprised of four subscales including Difficulties with English Language
Communication, Pursuit of Prestigious Careers, Emotional Reservation, and Expected
Academic Success. The IAASS includes both seemingly positive and negative stereotypes of Asians, which may have different implications on their mental health outcomes. Post-hoc analyses suggest that stereotypes related to Emotional Reservation and Expected Academic Success had significant relationships with psychological distress, whereas no correlation was found between the total score of the IAASS and the K-10.
These results are, in part, consistent with previous literature demonstrating mixed outcomes in the relationship between internalization of Asian stereotypes and psychological distress (Chen, 1995; Chu, 2002; Thompson & Kiang, 2010; Yoo et al.,
2010; Yoo et al., 2015). Some argue that the stereotypical positive qualities ascribed to
Asians may contribute to their desirability in society, thus leading to positive outcomes
(e.g., King, Madera, Hebl, Knight, & Mendoza, 2006; Rosenbloom & Way, 2004).
Others believe that seemingly positive stereotypes have negative effects on Asians’
80 psychological well-being (Shin, Ambady, Richeson, Fujita, & Gray, 2002). For example,
Gupta and colleagues (2011) found that higher levels of endorsement of positive stereotype (i.e. the Model Minority Myth) were related to more somatic complaints and higher levels of psychological distress. The current finding of the relationship between endorsement of Expected Academic Success and psychological distress is in support of the latter argument. More specifically, the findings of the current study confirm that the
Model Minority stereotype is a myth. Despite the perception that Asian Americans do not experience racial discrimination, the racism prevalence rate reported by the current sample indicates that highly successful East Asians frequently experience subtle forms of racism and those who experience more frequent racism report higher levels of psychological distress than those who report experiencing less.
Additionally, individuals who endorsed higher levels of adherence to Emotional
Reservation stereotypes tended to report higher levels of psychological distress.
According to Shen et al (2011), Emotional Reservation refers to discomfort with openly discussing emotions and feelings. This finding is consistent with previous studies (i.e.,
Jang, Chiriboga, & Okazaki, 2009) suggesting that shame and stigma around expressing one’s emotions were significantly related to East Asians’ psychological distress and their help-seeking attitude.
The current study also found evidence for the association between endorsement of
Asian stereotypes and psychological adjustment. Individuals who endorsed higher levels of Asian stereotypes reported less satisfaction in life. Notably, in addition to the overall correlation found between endorsement of Asian stereotypes and psychological adjustment, endorsement of Emotional Reservation stereotype had the strongest and only
81 significant relationship (r = -.41) with psychological adjustment. It may be that individuals who endorse Asian stereotypes specifically regarding expressions of emotions perceive seeking emotional support as signs of weakness, influencing their help-seeking behaviors. This, then, may lead to lower psychological adjustment. Overall, the findings suggest that stereotypes related to the Model Minority myth and expressions of emotions are two most salient views on East Asians that are potentially harmful for their mental health.
Another construct of internalized racism that was investigated in the current study is perceived stigmatization. Conceptual models of stigma (Crocker & Major, 1989;
Gilmore & Somerville, 1994; Jacoby, 1994) purport that stigmatized individuals need to internalize the “enacted” stigma for the stigma to affect their psychological well-being.
The present study aimed to provide evidence for this conceptual assertion by examining the impact of perceived stigmatization on psychological distress and adjustment among
East Asian individuals. As hypothesized, perceived stigmatization was associated with greater psychological distress, with a minimum effect size. To various degrees, East
Asian ethnic minorities perceive that they are less regarded in society, and that this perceived stigmatization was associated with their psychological distress. The size of the effect size suggests that this association goes beyond statistical significance. These findings are consistent with previous studies. For instance, Wang et al. (2010) identified a connection between higher levels of perceived stigma and higher levels of psychological distress in a sample of Chinese immigrants in China.
As hypothesized, perceived stigmatization was also moderately linked to psychological adjustment. East Asian individuals who are more aware of their
82 stigmatized identity tended to report lower life satisfaction. This finding is consistent with previous research suggesting an association between perceived stigmatization and psychological adjustment. For example, Huynh, Devos, and Smalarz, (2011) reported that the awareness of being perceived as an outsider in the U.S. was associated with a weakened sense of belonging in America and lower hope or life satisfaction even after controlling for perceived discrimination. Similarly, Crocker et al. (1994) examined the link between one’s evaluation of his/her social group, as measured by collective self- esteem (CSE) and subjective well-being across three racial groups (Asian, Blacks and
Whites), and found that CSE had a stronger positive relationship with well-being for
Asians than for Blacks or Whites. Those results indicate that Asian individuals who are aware of their stigmatized identity experience poorer overall psychological adjustment.
It should be emphasized that while adherence to Asian stereotypes had mixed results, perceived stigmatization showed significant relationships with both psychological distress and psychological adjustment. More specifically, individuals who had heightened awareness regarding others’ negative evaluation of their race reported increased psychological distress and lower satisfaction in life. These findings support the idea that being perceived negatively by others may have detrimental impact on minorities’ psychological well-being (Sue et al., 2007).
Acculturative Stress and Psychological Outcomes
In the current study, acculturative stress was considered as a control variable.
While acculturative stress was not included in the research model, post-hoc analyses provided more detailed information in interpreting the results. Consistent with previous research findings (Hwang & Ting, 2008; Gupta et al., 2013), acculturative stress was a
83 significant predictor for both psychological distress and psychological adjustment.
Specifically, acculturative stress was associated with greater psychological distress, and this relationship was significant after controlling for age and levels of education. The results suggest that acculturative stress accounts for approximately 15% of the variance across age and education level. When considering the number of possible experiential and dispositional factors that can influence mental health, the moderate effect size of the relationship between acculturative stress and psychological distress is substantial. These findings are consistent with previous research. For example, Yeh (2003) found that acculturative stress had the largest effect on reported general mental health problems among a sample of Korean, Chinese, and Japanese immigrants. Miller et al. (2011) also provides evidence for the negative impact of acculturative stress on mental health in a sample of Asian immigrant populations, in which acculturative stress accounted for approximately 12% of the variance in mental health. Not surprisingly, acculturation scholars assert that acculturative stress has a pervasive, lifelong influence on the psychological adjustment for many minorities (Shin, 1994; Smart & Smart, 1995). The findings of this study provide evidence that acculturative stress is a common chronic stressor for East Asians regardless of their age and years of stay in the U.S. As proposed by Yeh (2003), experiencing cultural stress, such as being caught between two cultures, feeling alienated from both cultures, or having interpersonal conflicts with Whites, may contribute to a risk for long-term psychological maladjustment. Finally, findings of this study show that East Asians in the U.S. are struggling with race related stress and acculturative issues simultaneously. Therefore, when it comes to understanding the mental health and well-being of Asians, multiple relevant factors must be considered.
84 Mediating Role of Internalized Stereotypes and Perceived Stigmatization
The current study sought to identify the mechanism by which experiences of racism influence the psychological outcomes of Asian populations, by considering internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization as possible mediators. To date, only a few researchers have examined explanatory mechanisms for how internalized racism influences in the psychological outcomes of East Asians.
In the current study, internalized Asian stereotypes and perceived stigmatization were assessed as mechanisms through which experiences of racism contribute to the negative psychological outcomes of East Asians. In addition to identifying the racism- psychological outcome relationship, post-hoc analyses indicated that frequent experiences of racism were associated with one’s adherence to existing Asian stereotypes and one’s interpretation about Asians’ stigmatized status in society. Notably, a strong association between experiences of racism and perceived stigmatization was detected, indicating considerable amount of shared variance between the two variables. This suggests that individuals who experience more frequent subtle types of racism view their race as a more stigmatizing identity than those who experience less frequent racism. This is consistent with previous researchers’ argument that frequent experiences of prejudice and discrimination relate to increased awareness of the devalued quality of one’s social identity (Crocker & Quinn, 1998; Harvey, 1999).
Unexpectedly, further analyses failed to support the hypothesis that internalized stereotypes and perceived stigmatization would mediate the racism-distress relationship.
More specifically, how one perceives his or her group to be evaluated by others and how much one ascribes to Asian stereotypes, did not mediate the effect of experiences of
85 racism on psychological distress or psychological adjustment. These findings are incongruent with the theoretical assumption that members of oppressed groups aware that they are regarded negatively by others, likely to incorporate those negative attitudes into the self-concept, leading to negative psychological outcomes (e.g., Cokley, 2002).
One possible explanation for the current findings is the selectivity of values in defining the self-concept /self-worth of East Asians. In particular, the model of a contingency of self-worth (Crocker & Wolfe, 2001) provides a theoretical frame to understand the current findings. Contingencies of self-worth (COS) are defined as the domains in which people stake their self-worth. The seven most common domains include family support, competition, appearance, God’s love, school competence, virtue, and approval from others (Crocker, Luhtanen, Cooper, & Bouvrette, 2003). According to
Crocker and Wolfe (2001), COS are hierarchical in nature and are linked to a person’s goals and self-standards. Individuals may hold multiple COS in varying degrees and the impact of events on one’s self-worth are determined on the basis of the perceived relevance of those events to one’s COS. The more relevant an event is to one’s COS, the stronger it’s effect on one’s mental health including self-esteem (McFarland & Ross,
1982). For instance, Crocker and colleagues found that being accepted or rejected from graduate programs had a greater impact on self-esteem for students whose self-worth was contingent upon academic success (Crocker, Sommers, & Luhtanen, 2002). Individuals develop COS over the course of time in response to many forms of socialization and social influence within their cultural context (Bandura, 1986). Over time, people may adjust their COS to satisfy self-standards in domains of contingency or adapt to new environments. It is important to note that current literature on COS is based on
86 Westernized conceptions of self-worth, and may not be representative of the structure and function of the self for individuals of Eastern backgrounds (Markus & Kitayama, 1991).
For example, although the role of intrinsic motivation in promoting self-enhancement is assumed to be universal in current literature, Asian American schoolchildren reported enjoying a task more and performed better when told that the task was chosen by their mother or their classmates (Diener, Oishi, & Ryan, 2013).
In the current study, racism encounters were assumed to be experienced as negative life events and therefore negatively impact the mental health of East Asians.
Contrary to this hypothesis, experiences of racism did not lead to neither increased psychological distress nor lower psychological adjustment in the current sample. Based on the selectivity of COS, it is possible that the current sample holds COS in other domains of areas rather than social approval. Out of seven most common COS areas, research has found school competence and competition to be highly correlated for Asian
American college students, suggesting academic/career achievement to be a particularly salient COS domain for this population (Crocker & Wolfe, 2002). Additionally, the model of COS posits that people pursue goals that are consistent with their domains of self-worth, for example, pursue graduate-level education when their self-worth is contingent upon academic achievement. Although the present study did not assess participants’ COS specifically, the current sample’s high education level, may be suggestive of academic achievement as a potential contingency of their self-worth. This hypothesis is bolstered by previous findings on COS in Asian American college students
(Crocker et al., 2003). This suggests that acts of racism may have had less of an impact on the psychological well-being of the current sample because their self-esteem is more
87 contingent upon other domains of self-worth. Essentially, the race-distress association may have yielded significant results if the racism experiences were limited within the context of career or academic achievement. Likewise, the negative events in these areas may have had stronger impact on their mental health in comparison to the impact of general racism experiences on their psychological outcomes. Research on the COS within
Asian populations is particularly spares in the current literature. Future research can benefit from building upon the current findings to explore the potential role of COS in understanding the mental health of East Asians.
Implications for Interventions
The results of this study underscore the importance of considering the potential consequences of subtle racism for East Asians. This study highlights the pervasiveness of subtle racism experienced by East Asian individuals in the U.S. Counseling psychologists should recognize that racist experiences are a lifelong reality in the lives of Asians. In particular, the ambiguity and uncertainty created by those incidents can lead to increased distress. Due to its hidden and pervasive nature, subtle racism likely has a cumulative and prolonged effect on mental health and well-being. Thus, when working with East Asian clients, it is important not to minimize their experiences as a racial minority in the U.S. In fact, psychologists should validate these experiences by allowing space in the therapy room for clients to openly discuss these experiences and their impact on the client’s life context (Sue et al., 2007). Clinicians who are not cognizant of Asian descent clients may unintentionally communicate a denial of their racial reality, which then perpetuates
Asians’ invisibility in race dialogues.
88 In addition, counseling psychologists should consider how Asian stereotypes might impact East Asian ethnic groups, particularly with regard to the Model Minority stereotype and shame around expressing their emotions. Discussions on how adherence to different Asian stereotypes may influence expectations about themselves and how it may create emotional burdensome for them would help them to externalize presenting problems. If appropriate, clinicians should invite East Asian clients to have explicit conversations about the Model Minority myth and how it contributes to socital and emotional isolation for Asians. Clinicians could also consider how the stereotypes may impact East Asian clients’ behaviors during sessions. The current study found that East
Asians who adhere to the emotional reservation stereotype more strongly tend to report high psychological distress. Those who strongly adhere to the emotional reservation stereotype may view the expression of emotions as a sign of weaknesses, thus, hesitating to be emotionally open and vulnerable during sessions. Therapists should be mindful of this cultural view and try not to minimize the significance of their emotional distress.
Also, endorsement of the emotional reservation stereotype might be one factor that helps clinicians understand the lower utilization of mental health services in this population.
Previous research indicates that higher levels of perceived discrimination combined with lower English proficiency is associated with more use of informal services (Spencer et al.
2010). Therefore, clinicians might provide education and outreach programs to those individuals and communities who are less likely to seek mental health services (i.e., those who display higher endorsement of Asian stereotypes or have low English fluency) to reduce existing stigma around seeking psychological help.
89 This study also highlights that to various degrees, East Asian ethnic minorities perceive that they are stigmatized in society, which then relates to their psychological distress. Additionally, the study emphasizes that East Asians who are more aware of their devalued identity tend to report lower life satisfaction. Psychologists must pay attention to clients’ belief about themselves in relation to experiences racism and how it may impact different aspects of their mental health. Clinicians working with East Asian clients might facilitate dialogues for consciousness-raising. This process might include helping them understand the extent to which individual difficulties are rooted in larger historical, social, and political forces (Helms & Cook, 1999), while implementing hope and self- empowerment for social change.
The current study also supports the general hypothesis that frequent experiences of racism impact one’s self-perceptions and self-evaluations, calling for more systemic interventions to create societal change. Over the past few decades, the field of counseling psychology has expanded its professional activities beyond individual counseling to provide the best service for marginalized groups (Vera & Speight, 2003). In line with the current social justice movement, psychologists who work with East Asians should consider engaging in intervention that attempt to challenge a persistent view of Asians in the U.S. Several alternative frameworks could be used to design outreach programs, psychoeducational workshops, and community consultation that address specific needs of
East Asian populations. Potential outreach programs could build upon research suggesting emotional suffering of East Asians behind the Model Minority stereotype and stigma around help-seeking. Additionally, psychologists may develop community partnerships with local and national institutions, organizations, and agencies that maintain
90 societal policies, rules and norms. By developing relationships with various agencies, psychologists may function as an advocate for Asian ethnic minorities and partake opportunities to engage in systemic change.
In terms of preventative interventions, counseling psychologists may participate in initiatives that prevent and reduce the incidence of psychological distress of East
Asians. Research suggests that prevention programs are most effective when they address multiple causal factors across multiple contextual domains, such as the neighborhood, school, community, and social-political context (Prilleltensky & Gonick, 1996).
Psychologists may implement Bystander Empowerment Program for East Asians at various settings (e.g., schools, churches, at organizational meetings) to provide education on how to object discriminatory practices and teach tactics to engage in race-related dialogues in both interpersonal and professional settings. Through consciousness raising activities included in the program East Asians will learn different ways to empower themselves as civic members of society. Prevention research can also be conducted to promote social justice by identifying the causes and effects of racial oppression on East
Asians’ mental health and by exploring different ways to prevent effects of oppression
(Hage et al., 2007).
Finally, findings from this study also suggest that acculturative stress is a proximal risk factor for East Asians. When working with East Asian individuals, it may be important for clinicians to assess for acculturative stress and understand how this may contribute to clients’ functioning. Stress management techniques that are adapted to address culturally related stresses may be more effective in improving their mental health than more general techniques (Hwang & Ting, 2008). For example, culturally adapted
91 therapeutic interventions could help clients cope with the loss of social ties, develop skills for negotiating situations when they feel they are being discriminated against, or facilitate successful integration and learning of U.S. culture.
Limitations
Given that the current study was exploratory, the findings and conclusions should be understood and interpreted as such. One limitation of the present study is the use of a single measure of generalized psychological distress and psychological adjustment. In previous studies, discrimination has been linked to numerous psychological and physical health outcomes (Lee & Ahn, 2011; Williams & Mohammed, 2009). A recent meta- analysis also indicates that perceived discrimination has larger effect size for depression and anxiety than they are for overall distress (Lee & Ahn, 2011). Thus, the effect size for the relationship between experiences of racism and psychological outcomes might have yielded significant results if more specific forms of psychological outcome measures were used.
Participants of the current study were self-selected, thereby, possibly limiting the sampling representativeness and generalizability (Braver & Bay, 1992). The characteristics of participants indicated that the majority of participants were highly educated and bilinguals. According to the trend report of Asian Americans in the U.S. by
Pew Research Center (2012), about a half of East Asians (i.e., Chinese, Korean, and
Japanese) speak both their native language and English. An average of 30% have a bachelor’s degree and 20% have a graduate degree or higher. The level of education reported by participants in the current sample of this study is significantly higher than that reported by participants in the national sample of Asian Americans. Therefore, the
92 greater education level attained by the participants in the survey may have translated to a greater interest in the issues of racial inequality and its effects. This poses a potential threat to external validity. In addition, having provided no benefit for participation in the study may have deterred individuals who lack interest in those areas.
The current study was particularly interested in establishing the racism-stress relationship amongst East Asian populations and did not consider other individual factors. Previously, a number of studies have explored how one’s ethnic identity moderates the association between discrimination and mental health (e.g., Yip et al.,
2008). Several other important personal factors proposed by current literature, such as levels of acculturation, coping skills, and personality traits were also not included in the current research. Incorporation of one or more individual factors may have influenced the research findings through potentially an increase in effect size or/and significant level in results.
Consistent with previous research (Yoon & Portman, 2004), East Asians in the current study were examined as a homogenous group in order to obtain an adequate sample size. While the current study achieved its goal by separating East Asian populations from general “Asian” category, it did not address the unique patterns in relation to experiences of racism that may exist within sub groups of Asians. Relatedly, if a large enough sample were collected, the proposed models might have yielded significant results and subgroup comparisons might have been valuable. Future research could extend its effort in collecting a sample that is large enough to examine differences in experiences of racism and its impact among ethnic sub-groups.
93 Directions for Future Research and Training
Results from the present study provide evidence for scholar’s assertion that frequent experiences of discrimination contribute to one’s interpretation about their stigmatized status in society (e.g., Crocker & Major, 1989). More specifically, the results provide preliminary support for the link between experiences of subtle racism and internalized racism, particularly in relation to East Asians’ perceived stigmatization.
Future research should further explore how this link may relate to other dimensions of mental health outcome variables. For example, given the significance of shame and the values of harmony in Asian cultures, Chan and Mendoza-Denton (2008) suggested that self-directed shame may be a relevant factor in coping with discrimination for Asian
Americans. Additionally, longitudinal study designs that follow East Asian individuals across multiple time points to assess the ways that subtle racism impacts an individual over a period of several years or a lifetime could be implemented in future studies.
The current study findings provide preliminary evidence for the potential significance of COS in understanding the impact of racism with East Asian populations.
Future research should consider examining the COS of East Asians and how it relates to specific vulnerability in their mental health. Previous research show that when ambiguous events (i.e. microaggressions) were experienced, COS seemed to influence one’s interpretation about the event, leading to differences in reaction (Sommers & Crocker,
2000). More specifically, when perceived negative life events happen in one’s COS areas, he/she is likely to develop negative psychological outcomes including depression
(Crocker & Wolfe, 2002). The COS, therefore, may be a moderating factor that affects the relationship between congruent events and negative psychological outcomes. Future
94 study will benefit from examining domains of COS as a moderating factor when understanding the negative impact of racism with East Asian populations.
The findings suggest that acculturative stress is a life-long stressor for East Asians that may have negative impact on their psychological outcomes. More specifically, the results provide support that despite high education level and sufficient English proficiency, East Asians report increased distress caused by navigating two cultures above and beyond the impact of experiences of subtle racism. Thus, distress related to acculturation may be more salient contextual factor when understanding East Asians’ mental health even in the present of pervasive racism. Building upon the current findings, future study should explore ways in which acculturative stress influences and interacts with race-related stress to predict psychosocial and health outcomes of East Asians.
Particularly, self-esteem, ethnic identity, racial identity, and social support have been identified to be significant protectors in regard to the mental health of Asian Americans
(e.g., Chung & Epstein, 2014; Corning, 2002; Greene et al., 2006; Lee, 2003, 2005;
Phinney, 2003; Tummala-Narra et al., 2012; Yoo & Lee, 2005). Thus, future study should consider including those culturally relevant variables to solidify the ways in which
East Asians utilize protective factors to deal with psychological distress in the context of experiences of racism and acculturative stress.
Relatedly, current literature separates the concept of acculturation from internalized racism. While researchers recognize acculturative stress as inherent for immigrants as they undergo a reconciling process between two cultures, they do not consider this stress as an outcome of attempting to assimilate into racially biased society.
The imbalance between the volume of available literature on acculturation and
95 internalized racism further confirms this segregating view in the current literature. Future studies should expand its efforts in delineating the relationship between acculturative stress that is by-product of individuals’ reconciling process between two cultures and the stress that is caused by pressure to conform to dominant society’s values.
Finally, researchers argue that subtle racism varies in its severity and impact on one’s mental health. Therefore, future efforts should be made to extend the sample collection beyond student and educated individuals. As can be seen from the demographic data, the current sample mostly comprised of individuals who were highly educated and had proficiency in English. Future research will benefit from obtaining a more random and community based sample of the East Asian population in order to get more accurate data and identify potential vulnerabilities in this group.
In terms of training, the APA Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training,
Research, practice and Organizational Change for Psychologists (2002) encourage psychologists to recognize the importance of multicultural sensitivity and employ the constructs of multiculturalism in psychology training. Counseling psychologists should not only implement those guidelines in their training, but also undertake the social responsibility of challenging historically derived approaches in the field of psychology.
With social justice advocacy focused training, trainees will have more in-depth learning opportunity to understand clients within their social environment and recognize the impact of oppression on individuals’ mental health.
Additionally, the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies
(MSJCC) Guidelines (2015, Ratts et al) assert that an understanding of intersectionalities and the influence of oppression on mental health are two key components in
96 implementing the MSJCC when working with marginalized populations. It is important for training programs to recognize that traditional view of psychopathology may not include contextual factors as crucial components of client conceptualization process, thus creating a division between theories of psychotherapy and multicultural perspectives.
Training programs should make an effort in reducing this false partition and implement multiculturalism and social justice as cornerstone values of psychology training.
Conclusion
For the past few decades, research has documented how experiences of racism influence minorities’ self-concept and self-evaluation. However, those studies heavily focused on the experiences of African Americans, and little is known about the racial experiences of East Asians in the U.S. Oppression scholars (e.g., Freire, 1970;
Prilleltensky & Gonick, 1996) speculated that individuals who are exposed to frequent experiences of racism would become more cognizant of their devalued social identity, which in turn affects their psychological well-being. The current study addressed this theoretical assumption by empirically examining the relationship between experiences of racism and psychological outcomes as mediated by internalized racism with East Asian populations.
The study contributes to the literature on the impact of racism on minorities’ mental health by examining two potential variables – internalized stereotypes and perceive stigmatization – as mechanisms through which experiences of racism influence
East Asians’ psychological well-being. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to theoretically conceptualize the construct of internalized racism with East Asian populations.
97 The findings emphasize that East Asians are frequent targets of subtle racism regardless of gender, age, education level, immigration status, length of stay in the U.S., and proficiency in English. This frequent exposure to subtle racism then has a significant relationship with psychological distress and their heightened awareness on stigmatized identity. The findings also highlight the potentially negative impact of adherence to two prevailing Asian stereotypes – the Model Minority stereotype and emotional reservation.
While adherence to both stereotypes was not related to East Asians’ psychological adjustment, it had a significant association with increased psychological distress.
Surprisingly, despite the high prevalence on experiences of subtle racism reported by the current sample and its strong association with one of the two mediators (i.e. perceived stigmatization), internalized racism did not mediate the relationship between racism and mental health.
It is important to note that the current study is exploratory in many ways, thereby laying the groundwork for future research. This study contributes to the current literature by providing potential evidence to support the assertion that racism negatively impacts the self-concept of East Asians. It also illustrates empirical data in understanding the racial experiences of East Asians in the U.S. Above all, it contributes to the social justice literature by calling for systemic and ecological change in addressing the impact of racial oppression.
98
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115 Table 1. Participant Demographic Information
Number of Participants Percentage Age Range (N=104) 18-24 27 26% 25-34 62 60% 35-44 7 6% 45-54 5 5% 55+ 3 3% Gender (N=104) Women 73 70% Men 29 28% Other (Gender fluid, non- 2 2% binary) Racial Background (N=104) Asian 98 94% Mixed Race 5 5% Other 1 1% Ethnic Background (N=104) Chinese 37 36% Japanese 6 6% Korean 22 21% Taiwanese 5 5% Mixed Ethnicity 13 12% Other 21 20% Years in the U.S. (N=104) 5-10 years 19 18% 11-20 years 22 21% 21-30 years 53 51% 31+ years 9 10% Level of Education (N=104) High School/GED 2 2% Some college 15 14% Bachelor degree 38 36% Master’s degree 35 34% Doctoral/Processional degree 14 14% Immigration Status (N=104) Foreign citizen/Visa holders 18 17% U.S. born citizen 55 53% Foreign born immigrant 29 28% Other 2 2% Preferred Language (N=104) Mostly Asian, some English 5 5% Asian and English about 29 28% equally well Mostly English, some Asian 49 47% Only English 21 20%
116 Table 2. Means, Standard Deviations, Skewness and Kurtosis Values for All Scales
SE of SE of Cronbach’s N Minimum Maximum M SD Skewness Skewness Kurtosis Kurtosis alpha SABR-A2 104 1.00 4.60 2.93 .79 -.23 .237 .03 .469 .81 MASI 104 1.00 3.55 1.73 .49 1.20 .237 2.03 .469 .85 IAASS 104 2.08 4.93 3.43 .64 .00 .237 -.26 .469 .82 SS 104 1.28 4.89 3.00 .70 .07 .237 .09 .469 .92 K-10 104 2.00 5.00 3.93 .78 -.60 .237 -.38 .469 .91 SOS-10 104 2.90 7.00 5.03 1.15 -.17 .237 -1.08 .469 .93
117 Table 3. Correlations between all Scales and Subscales
Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1. SABR-A2 -- 2. MASI Total .51** -- 3. English Competency .32** .46** -- Pressure 4. Pressure to Acculturate .57** .78** .45** -- 5. Heritage Language .17 .62** -.15 .16 -- Competence Pressure 6. Pressure Against .33** .84** .21* .53** .55** -- Acculturation 7. IAASS Total .26** .33** .14 .37** .09 .28** -- 8. Pursuit of Prestigious .00 .26 -.04 .08 -.06 .08 .62** -- Careers 9. Expected Academic .29** .41** -.15 .29** .43** .42** .52** .16 -- Success 10. Emotional Reservation .19 .28** .10 .32** .13 .16 .75* .22* .21* -- 11. Difficulties with Eng. .15 .10 .44** .20* -.27** .04 .56** .18 -.05 .30** -- Language Communications 12. SS .75** .54** .41** .61** .16 .32** .27** -.01 .34** .19 .15 -- 13. SOS-10 -.13 -.25* -.02 -.23* .26** -.18 -.21* -.01 -.14 -.41** .12 -.24* -- 14. K-10 .24* -.39** .03 .37** .34** .24* .19 .03 .22* .33** -.15 .24* -.71** -- Note: English Competency Pressure, Pressure to Acculturate, Heritage Language Competency Pressure, and Pressure Against Acculturation refer to the MASI subscales. Pursuit of Prestigious Careers, Expected Academic Success, Emotional Reservation, and Difficulty with Eng. Language Communications refer to the IAASS subscales. *p < .0.5. **P < .01.
118 Table 4. Correlations between Demographic Items and Main Measures
Variable Age Years in U.S. Education Nativity Preferred Status Language SbA Total -.03 -.03 .18 -.14 -.10 IAASS -.21* -.02 .12 .01 -.09 SS -.08 -.16 .12 -.18 -.10 SOS .14 -.02 .20* .13 -.08 K-10 .22* -.05 .26** .03 -.10 Note: Correlations with education were conducted with Spearman’s rho. *p <.05, **p <.01.
119 Table 5-1. Summary of Hierarchical Regression Analysis for Variable Predicting Psychological Distress (N = 104)
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Variable B SE B β B SE B β B SE B β B SE B β Age 0.10 0.09 .13 0.00 0.08 .00 0.01 0.08 .01 0.02 0.08 .02 Level of Education 1.65 0.85 .21 2.32 0.79 .29** 2.39 0.80 .30** 2.45 0.80 .31** Acculturative Stress -1.63 0.36 - -1.35 0.44 -.34** -1.28 0.45 -.32* .41*** Internalized stereotypes -1.10 1.13 -.09 -1.07 1.14 -.09 Perceived -0.80 1.17 -.07 -0.04 1.53 -.00 stigmatization Experiences of Racism -0.21 0.27 -.11 푅2 .08 .24 .25 .25 F for change in 푅2 4.56 20.33*** 0.78 0.59 *p < .0.5. **P < .01. ***P < .001.
120 Table 5-2. Summary of Hierarchical Regression Analysis for Variable Predicting Psychological Adjustment (N = 104)
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Variable B SE B β B SE B β B SE B β B SE B β Age 0.12 0.13 .10 0.03 0.13 .02 0.06 0.13 .05 0.05 0.13 .04 Level of Education 1.83 1.28 .15 2.44 1.27 .21 2.62 1.25 .22* 2.51 1.26 .21* Acculturative Stress -1.51 0.58 -.28* -.67 0.70 -.12 -0.78 0.71 -.31 Internalized stereotypes -2.56 1.78 -.15 -2.72 1.78 -.15 Perceived -2.69 1.85 -.17 -3.98 2.40 -.24 stigmatization Experiences of Racism 0.36 0.42 .12 푅2 .05 .11 .15 .16 F for change in 푅2 2.55 6.81** 2.45 0.71 *p < .0.5. **P < .01. ***P < .001.
121 Table 6-1. Indirect Effects of Experiences of Racism on Psychological Distress
B Boot SE Boot LLCI Boot ULCI Total -.0231 .1682 -.3727 .2930 IAASS -.0180 .0338 -.1415 .0163 SS -.0050 .1619 -.3344 .3039
122 Table 6-2. Indirect Effects of Experiences of Racism on Psychological Adjustment
B Boot SE Boot LLCI Boot ULCI Total -.4983 .3046 -1.1324 .0524 IAASS -.0458 .0665 -.2573 .0344 SS -.4525 .2865 -1.0389 0.624
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APPENDICES
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APPENDIX A
DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Please list your age: ______
2. Please select your gender a. Woman b. Man c. Transgender d. Other
3. Which category or categories best describe your racial background? (please select all that apply) a. Asian or Asian American ______b. Black or African American ______c. Hispanic or Latino American ______d. White, Caucasian, European American; non-Hispanic ______e. American Indian/Native American ______f. Mixed; parents are from two or more different groups ______g. Other (Please describe) ______
4. Which category best describes your ethnic background? a. Chinese/Chinese American b. Japanese/Japanese American c. Korean/Korean American d. Taiwanese/Taiwanese American e. Mixed ethnicity (Please describe) ______f. Other
5. What is/are your family’s country (countries) of origin in Asia? ______
6. Please list the number of years you have lived in the United States: _____
7. Please indicate the state you currently live in (e.g., CA, NY)? _____
8. What is the highest level of education that you have completed? a. Less than High School b. High School/GED c. Some College/2-year College (Associate’s degree)
125 d. 4-year College e. Master’s degree f. Doctoral/Professional Degree g. Other
9. Which best describe your immigration status? a. Foreign citizen/Visa holders (e.g., international students, foreign workers) b. U.S. born citizen (e.g., second generation immigrant) c. Foreign born immigrant or U.S. citizen (e.g., permanent resident, naturalized citizen) d. Other
10. What language can you speak? a. Asian only (for example, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.) b. Mostly Asian, some English c. Asian and English but equally well (bilingual) d. Mostly English, some Asian e. Only English f. Other
11. What language do you prefer? a. Asian only (for example, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, etc) b. Mostly Asian, some English c. Asian and English about equally well (bilingual) d. Mostly English, some Asian e. Only English
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APPENDIX B
SUBTLE RACISM SCALE FOR ASIAN AMERICAN COLLEGE SUTDNETS Instructions: Please respond to each statement by clicking the response number that best fits your experience.
1 2 3 4 5 Almost Rarely Sometimes Often Almost Never Always
1. In America, I am viewed with suspicion because I am Asian. 1 2 3 4 5
2. In America, I am overlooked because I am Asian. 1 2 3 4 5
3. In America, I am faced with barriers in society because I am Asian. 1 2 3 4 5
4. In America, I am treated differently because I am Asian. 1 2 3 4 5
5. In America, I find it difficult to date some people because I’m Asian 1 2 3 4 5
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APPENDIX C
THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL ACCULTURATIVE STRESS INVENTORY Instructions: Below are 25 statements of situations that may cause you no stress to extreme stress. First, decide whether or not the stated event had occurred during the past 3 months and if it had occurred, appraise the stressfulness of that event. If the event had not been experienced during the past 3 months, please select does not apply.
Please respond to each statement by clicking the response number that best fits how stressful you felt. There are no right or wrong responses and it is important that your responses reflect how you felt.
0 1 2 3 4 5 Does not Not at all Somewhat Neutral Very Extremely Apply Stressful Stressful Stressful Stressful
1. I feel pressure to learn English. 0 1 2 3 4 5 2. I don’t speak my family’s heritage language or don’t speak it well. 0 1 2 3 4 5 3. It bothers me when people pressure me to assimilate to the American ways of doing 0 1 2 3 4 5 things. 4. I don’t speak English or don’t speak it well. 0 1 2 3 4 5 5. I feel uncomfortable being around people who only speak English. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6. I feel uncomfortable being around people who only speak my family’s heritage 0 1 2 3 4 5 language. 7. I have had conflicts with others because I prefer American customs over those from my 0 1 2 3 4 5 family’s heritage culture. 8. It bothers me when people don’t respect my family’s cultural values. 0 1 2 3 4 5
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9. I have bee discriminated against because I have difficulty speaking my family’s heritage 0 1 2 3 4 5 language. 10. People look down upon me if I practice American customs. 0 1 2 3 4 5 11. Because of my cultural background, I have a hard time fitting in with White Americans. 0 1 2 3 4 5 12. I feel pressure to learn my family’s heritage language. 0 1 2 3 4 5 13. I have been discriminated against because I have difficulty speaking English. 0 1 2 3 4 5 14. People look down upon me if I practice customs from my family’s heritage culture. 0 1 2 3 4 5 15. I have a hard time understanding others when they speak my family’s heritage language. 0 1 2 3 4 5 16. I feel uncomfortable when others expect me to know American ways of doing things. 0 1 2 3 4 5 17. I don’t feel accepted by White Americans. 0 1 2 3 4 5 18. Since I don’t speak English well, people have treated me rudely or unfairly. 0 1 2 3 4 5 19. I feel uncomfortable when others expect me to know the ways of doing things in my 0 1 2 3 4 5 family’s heritage culture. 20. It bothers me that I speak English with an accent. 0 1 2 3 4 5 21. I feel uncomfortable because my family members do not know the way of doing things 0 1 2 3 4 5 from their heritage culture. 22. Since I don’t speak my family’s heritage language well, people have treated me rudely 0 1 2 3 4 5 or unfairly. 23. I feel uncomfortable when I have to choose between my family’s heritage culture and 0 1 2 3 4 5 American ways of doing things. 24. I have a hard time understanding others when they speak English. 0 1 2 3 4 5 25 It bothers me when people assume that I speak my family’s heritage language. 0 1 2 3 4 5
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APPENDIX D
THE INTERNALIZATION OF ASIAN AMERICAN STEREOTYPE SCALE Instructions: Please read through each of the following items, and indicate the degree that each item pertains to you and your experiences.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Strongly Disagree Slightly Slightly Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree
1. I feel I do not express my emotions as openly as my non-Asian peers do. 1 2 3 4 5 6 2. As an Asian/Asian American, I expect myself to achieve more academically than 1 2 3 4 5 6 students from other racial groups. 3. I am comfortable showing my emotions in public. 1 2 3 4 5 6 4. As an Asian/Asian American, I feel that it would be difficult for me to enter a career 1 2 3 4 5 6 not in a math, science, or technical-related field. 5. As an Asian/Asian American, I feel that I can be successful in a major that requires a 1 2 3 4 5 6 lot of reading, writing, and verbal communication in English. 6. I do not care about my academic achievement than my non-Asian peers do. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. I believe that it is important to keep my feelings to myself. 1 2 3 4 5 6 8. I am expected to perform well in math and science because I’m Asian American. 1 2 3 4 5 6 9. I sometimes feel that my poorer verbal communication skills put me at a disadvantage 1 2 3 4 5 6 compared to my White American peers. 10. I am known among my non-Asian peers as being academically successful. 1 2 3 4 5 6 11. I will be happy in a career that I am interested in, even if it does not offer a lot of 1 2 3 4 5 6
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prestige or money. 12. As an Asian/Asian American, I would choose a major that requires minimal reading, 1 2 3 4 5 6 writing, and verbal communication in English. 13. As an Asian/Asian American, I am expected by others to be academically successful. 1 2 3 4 5 6 14. I am as comfortable expressing negative emotions (e.g., anger, sadness, irritation) as 1 2 3 4 5 6 my non-Asian peers are. 15. As n Asian/Asian American, others expect me to pursue a career in math and science- 1 2 3 4 5 6 related fields. 16. When choosing a career, I do not consider that prestige it would bring me. 1 2 3 4 5 6 17. I won’t be happy in a career that does not offer prestige or money. 1 2 3 4 5 6 18. I would be comfortable choosing a major that requires a lot of reading, writing, and 1 2 3 4 5 6 verbal communication in English. 19. As an Asian/Asian American, I feel that I can be comfortable with the verbal sections 1 2 3 4 5 6 of academic assessment tests than I do with the math and science sections. 20. Salary is one of the most important determining factors when choosing a career. 1 2 3 4 5 6 21. I am not comfortable expressing my feelings to others. 1 2 3 4 5 6 22. Prestige is one of the most important determining factors when choosing a career. 1 2 3 4 5 6 23. As an Asian/Asian American, I would face more difficulty in a career that requires a 1 2 3 4 5 6 lot of reading, writing, and verbal communication in English.
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APPENDIX E
STIGMATIZATION SCALE Instructions: Below are a number of statements, which may or may not describe you. Please indicate how much each statement describes you by using the scale below.
1 2 3 4 5 Strongly Disagree Not sure/ Agree Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree
1. I am viewed negatively by mainstream society because of my race. 1 2 3 4 5 2. I feel that society views me as an inferior being because of my race. 1 2 3 4 5 3. I feel that society holds a negative attitude toward me because of my race. 1 2 3 4 5 4. Society discriminates against me because of my race. 1 2 3 4 5 5. I feel that I am treated differently during social interactions with members of 1 2 3 4 5 mainstream society because of my race. 6. I feel as though society sees me as something less than a human because of my race. 1 2 3 4 5 7. Society’s negative attitudes toward me because of my race have lowered my pride. 1 2 3 4 5 8. I feel that I have to work harder than members of mainstream society in order to 1 2 3 4 5 overcome society’s prejudice toward me. 9. Members of mainstream society do not think that I am a capable person. 1 2 3 4 5 10. Members of mainstream society seem to trust me. 1 2 3 4 5 11. I feel that I am consistently judged by society on the basis of things other than my 1 2 3 4 5 abilities or personality because of my race. 12. I feel as though mainstream society views me as having a shortcoming because I am 1 2 3 4 5 Asian.
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13. I am generally treated as an object, rather than as a person because of my race. 1 2 3 4 5 14. Society’s negative attitudes about my race have disrupted my relationship with my 1 2 3 4 5 family. 15. Members of mainstream society are afraid of me because I am Asian. 1 2 3 4 5 16. I feel “at home” in society. 1 2 3 4 5 17. I do not feel victimized by society. 1 2 3 4 5 18. Society treats me according to a stereotype. 1 2 3 4 5 19. Members of mainstream society want to be my friends. 1 2 3 4 5 20. I feel that I am not deprived of opportunities that are generally available to the 1 2 3 4 5 mainstream. 21. The negative attitudes that society has toward me have caused me to believe that those 1 2 3 4 5 negative attitudes are justified.
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APPENDIX F
THE KESSLER PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS SCALE Instructions: Below are 10 statements about how you feel you are doing. Please respond to each statement by clicking the response number that best fits how you have generally been over the last seven days (1 week). There are no right or wrong responses and it is important that your responses reflect how you feel you have been doing. Often the first answer that comes to mind is best. Thank you for your thought effort. Please be sure to respond to each statement.
1 2 3 4 5 None of the A Little of Some of the Most of the All of the Time the Time Time Time Time
During the last 30 days, about how often did…
1. …you feel depressed? 1 2 3 4 5 2. …you feel so depressed that nothing could cheer you up? 1 2 3 4 5 3. …you feel hopeless? 1 2 3 4 5 4. …you feel restless or fidgety? 1 2 3 4 5 5. …you feel so restless that you could not sit still? 1 2 3 4 5 6. …you feel tired out for no good reason? 1 2 3 4 5 7. …you feel that everything was an effort? 1 2 3 4 5 8. …you feel worthless? 1 2 3 4 5 9. …you feel nervous? 1 2 3 4 5 10. …you feel so nervous that nothing could calm you down? 1 2 3 4 5
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APPENDIX G SCHWARTZ OUTCOME SCALE
Instructions: Below are 10 statements about you and your life that help us see how you feel you are doing. Please respond to each statement by clicking the response number that best fits how you have generally been over the last seven days (1 week). There are no right or wrong responses and it is important that your responses reflect how you feel you are doing. Often the first answer that comes to mind is best. Thank you for your thought effort. Please be sure to respond to each statement.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Agree Strongly Disagree Somewhat Somewhat Agree
1. Given my current physical condition, I am satisfied with what I can do. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2. I have confidence in my ability to sustain important relationships. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 3. I feel hopeful about my future. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 4. I am often interested and excited about things in my life. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 5. I am able to have fun. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 6. I am generally satisfied with my psychological health. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7. I am able to forgive myself for my failures. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. My life is progressing according to my expectations. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9. I am able to handle conflicts with others. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10. I have peace of mind. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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APPENDIX H
INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD APPROVAL FOR HUMAN SUBJECTS
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APPENDIX I
INSTITUIONS WITH THE LARGEST ENROLLMENT OF ASIAN STUDENTS
Rank Institution City, State Total Enrolled Asian Students 1 University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA 9,300 2 University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 9,040 3 Rutgers, the State University of New Piscataway, NJ 7,979 Jersey – New Brunswick 4 San Frasanncisco State University San Francisco, CA 7,371 5 University of Washington, Seattle Seattle, WA 7,119 6 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 7,053 7 California State University, Fullerton Fullerton, CA 6,991 8 California State University, Sacramento Sacramento, CA 6,181 9 University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI 5,914 10 University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, IL 4,613 Champaign 11 New York University New York, NY 4,257 12 CUNY – Hunter College New York, NY 4,176 13 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA 4,148 15 University of Maryland, College Park College Park, MD 3,956 16 California State University, San Marcos San Marcos, CA 3,874 17 SUNY - Stony Brook Stony Brook, NY 3,870 18 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL 3,589 19 University of Nevada, Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV 3,589 20 George Mason University Fairfax, VA 3,531 21 California State University, Northridge Northridge, CA 3,486 22 California State University, Fresno Fresno, CA 3,402 23 University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX 2,993
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24 California State University, Los Los Angeles, CA 2,988 Angeles 25 University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX 2,926 26 CUNY – City College New York, NY 2,878 27 University of Minnesota – Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN 2,876 28 Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 2,771 29 CUNY – New York City College of Brooklyn, NY 2,711 Technology 30 Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA 2,590 31 University of Florida Gainesville, FL 2,551 33 St. John’s University Queens, NY 2,447 34 Boston University Boston, MA 2,327 35 Cornell University Ithaca, NY 2,299 36 Ohio State University – Columbus Columbus, OH 2,285 37 California State University, East Bay Hayward, CA 2,281 38 SUNY – University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY 2,240 39 University of Maryland – Baltimore Baltimore, MD 2,194 County 40 Texas A&M University – College College Station, 1,969 Station TX 41 California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 1,942 San Luis Obispo CA 42 Portland State University Portland, OR 1,893 43 Drexel University Philadelphia, PA 1,841 44 University of South Florida Tampa, FL 1,877 45 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 1,807 46 The University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 1,752 47 Rutgers, the State University of New Newark, NJ 1,731 Jersey – Newark 48 SUNY – Binghamton Binghamton, NY 1,649 49 University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA 1,632 50 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 1,551
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