University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences Family Sciences 2012 ACCULTURATION OF ASIAN INDIAN WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES Varudhini Kankipati University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Kankipati, Varudhini, "ACCULTURATION OF ASIAN INDIAN WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES" (2012). Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences. 4. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/hes_etds/4 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Family Sciences at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained and attached hereto needed written permission statements(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine). I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless a preapproved embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s dissertation including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Varudhini Kankipati, Student Dr. Claudia J. Heath, Major Professor Dr. Jason Hans, Director of Graduate Studies ACCULTURATION OF ASIAN INDIAN WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES _________________________________ DISSERTATION _________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Family Sciences in the College of Agriculture at the University of Kentucky By Varudhini Kankipati Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Claudia J. Heath, Professor of Family Sciences Lexington, Kentucky 2012 Copyright © Varudhini Kankipati 2012 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION ACCULTURATION OF ASIAN INDIAN WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES The United States is home to nearly three million Asian Indians. The difference in Asian Indian and American cultures creates a need for Asian Indians to acculturate, upon migration to the U.S. It has been theorized that acculturation becomes harder when the two cultures of contact are dissimilar. Particularly, immigrant women and children have been found to be more vulnerable than men to acculturative stress, where acculturative stress is defined as the psychological impact of adaptation to a new culture. Hence, this study focuses on acculturation of Asian Indian women and specifically on factors influencing their acculturation. Research findings from this study on acculturation of Asian Indian women provide information, useful for public policy makers. They have been utilized to develop a program (used by settlement service providers) designed specifically to facilitate acculturation of Asian Indian women in the U.S. A two-dimensional model developed by J.W. Berry, a prominent researcher in the field of acculturation, is employed to classify the acculturation process of Asian Indian women who were part of this study. Based on Berry’s model, the acculturation process of an immigrant can be described by one of the following four strategies: 1) Assimilation, 2) Integration, 3) Separation, or 4) Marginalization. According to Berry, the Integration strategy is considered the most effective acculturation strategy in terms of long-term health and wellbeing of the individual. This study employed a cross-sectional design, using quantitative methods for data analysis. Data were collected by means of a web-based acculturation survey that was developed as part of the study. Data analysis indicated that a majority of the Asian Indian women adopted the Integration strategy. A conceptual model was developed and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the key acculturation factors that influenced Asian Indian women using the Integration strategy. These identified key factors helped to understand the cultural adaptation of Asian Indian women. KEYWORDS: Asian Indian Women, Acculturation, Acculturation Factors, Integration Strategy, Integration Programs Varudhini Kankipati Student’s Signature 04/09/2012 Date ACCULTURATION OF ASIAN INDIAN WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES By Varudhini Kankipati Dr Claudia J. Heath Director of Dissertation Dr Jason Hans Director of Graduate Studies 04/09/2012 Date DEDICATION To My Parents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to start by thanking my parents and sisters who have always believed in me and encouraged me every step of the way. A special mention to my dear father, K.N.M. Raju, whose guidance and ‘never give up’ attitude helped me thus far. I wish to thank my husband, Manoj, who stood by me and gave me confidence when I needed it the most. I always felt motivated by my father-in-law, R.S. Sudhakar who showed great interest in my progress. I express my heartfelt thanks to all my friends and family who kept me going with their kind words of support. Without the valuable advice and guidance of Dr. Claudia J. Heath, the Chair of my Committee, I would have had a much harder time finishing this project. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Heath for her valuable time, patience, and efforts to help me complete this dissertation. I am grateful to my committee members, -Dr. Greg Brock, Dr. Patricia Dyk, and Dr. Hyungsoo Kim- for their valuable feedback and all the support they have shown me. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. iii List of Tables ......................................................................................................................... viii Table of Figures ........................................................................................................................ x Chapter 1: Acculturation of Asian Indian Women in the United States ................................... 1 Conceptual Underpinnings for the Study .............................................................................. 3 Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................................... 5 Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 7 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................. 7 Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 8 Definition of Terms ............................................................................................................... 9 Summary ............................................................................................................................. 12 Organization of the dissertation. ..................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2: Acculturation Strategies of Asian Indian Women ................................................ 16 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 17 Research Questions. ........................................................................................................ 19 Literature review ................................................................................................................. 20 History of Asian Indian Immigration .............................................................................. 20 Asian Indian Society.. ..................................................................................................... 21 Asian Indian Women ...................................................................................................... 22 Acculturation. .................................................................................................................. 24 Acculturation Models ...................................................................................................... 27 Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale ................................................... 28 Racial/Cultural Identity Development (R/CID) Model .............................................. 29 Berry’s Theoretical Framework. ................................................................................. 30 Previous Research on Asian Indians ..............................................................................