THE IMPACTS OF ACCULTURATION ON VIETNAMESE WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES Dianna Hoang B.A., California State University, Sacramento, 2009 PROJECT Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK at CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO FALL 2011 THE IMPACTS OF ACCULTURATION ON VIETNAMESE WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES A Project by Dianna Hoang Approved by: _____________________________, Committee Chair Kisun Nam, Ph. D. ____________________________ Date ii Student: Dianna Hoang I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the project. __________________________, Director ________________ Robin Kennedy, Ph.D., MSW Date Division of Social Work iii Abstract of THE IMPACTS OF ACCULTURATION ON VIETNAMESE WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES by Dianna Hoang Historically, society has presented women as secondary to men. As the times change so have the roles of men and women. Vietnamese American women bear the struggle of living two worlds, but in one location, America. Before Vietnamese refugees and immigrants entered the United States, they only knew their own traditional culture. Upon arrival in their new country they had to assimilate to the modern culture of America. Every day they are reminded of their constant struggle of identification, what makes them Vietnamese or American? For the purpose of this exploratory study, 30 Vietnamese women voluntarily participated in the survey. This self-composed survey aimed to explore topics of acculturation such as language, communication, and culture, perspective on family and women’s roles, as well as education. From the findings of this study, one could state that these women still encourage their traditional culture, but realize that they must also adapt to American culture as well. Vietnamese women are no longer remaining in the home as housewives, but are inspired to attain iv an education and work outside of the home. They must learn to adjust in order to maintain both cultures, holding on to the importance of family, but becoming more independent. _____________________________, Committee Chair Kisun Nam, Ph. D. ____________________________ Date v DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this project to all the Vietnamese women, first, second, and future generations to come. We should recognize that we do live in and shall adapt to certain aspects of America, but also retain what makes us Vietnamese. In hopes that we will find a balance among the two cultures, to better understand and maintain the two cultures. The desire for everyone to come together, for better communication, and build upon a stronger and closer relationship amongst family members. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my family for their unconditional love and positive and strong emphasis on education. For their continual push to strive, moral support, words of encouragement, and finances throughout my education experience and journey. I could not have gone this far without their assistance. My innate feelings of not wanting to disappoint them made me push myself harder, all because they believed in me. To myself for the self-discipline and challenge to prove to myself that I can make things happen when I take the time to focus and realize that I can achieve my goals, one baby step at a time. To my friends and a selected few of my title IV-E cohort for checking up on me to ensure that I was on track to completing this project. I extend my sincere gratitude for their continued support and encouragement. To my dear friend Somaly Kong, for giving me a little encouragement through a simple gift of a pack of Hello Kitty pencils, to remind me to begin writing my thesis. To my advisor, Professor Kisun Nam for his willingness to help me, taking the time to meet with me, guiding me, and working with me to ensure that I met the deadline to successfully complete this piece of work on such a last minute notice. Also, to my first advisor, Professor Serge Lee for assisting me as much as he could. vii To my tutor David Reynolds for support and editorial assistance in the writing process. To the Asian Resources staff, especially my contact personnel, Stephanie Nguyen for assisting me with my human subjects and administering my survey at their resource centers. And to all the participants, without whom I would not have my data for this research. None of this would have been possible without ALL the people mentioned above. THANK YOU. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Dedication .......................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1. THE PROBLEM ............................................................................................................. 1 Background of the Problem .................................................................................... 2 Statement of the Research Problem ...................................................................... 10 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................. 10 Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................... 11 Definition of Terms............................................................................................... 14 Assumptions .......................................................................................................... 15 Justification ........................................................................................................... 15 Limitations ............................................................................................................ 16 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................. 18 Reason for Migration ............................................................................................ 19 Three waves of immigration. ................................................................................ 20 Responses to migration. .................................................................................. 22 Acculturation......................................................................................................... 25 Communication. .............................................................................................. 29 Language. ........................................................................................................ 30 Family. ............................................................................................................ 31 Women’s role. ................................................................................................. 33 Education. ....................................................................................................... 37 Summary ............................................................................................................... 41 3. METHODS ................................................................................................................... 43 Design ................................................................................................................... 43 ix Variables ............................................................................................................... 43 Participants ............................................................................................................ 45 Instrumentation ..................................................................................................... 45 Data Gathering Procedures ................................................................................... 46 Protection of Human Subjects .............................................................................. 48 4. FINDINGS .................................................................................................................... 50 5. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 73 Discussion ............................................................................................................. 73 Implications........................................................................................................... 77 Limitations ............................................................................................................ 78 Recommendations ................................................................................................. 79 Appendix A Consent Form (English Version).................................................................. 80 Appendix B Consent Form (Vietnamese Version) ........................................................... 82 Appendix C Survey (English Version) ............................................................................. 84 Appendix D Survey (Vietnamese Version) ...................................................................... 92 References ....................................................................................................................... 100 x LIST