Close Relationships Between Asian American and European American College Students

Abstract

The authors examined attitudes and behaviors regarding close relationships between European and Asian Americans, with a particular emphasis on 5 major subgroups of Asian Americans (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino Americans). Participants were 218 Asian American college students and 171 European American college students attending a culturally diverse university. The European Americans did not differentiate among the various subgroups of Asian Americans. Their attitudes regarding close relationships were less positive toward Asian Americans than toward Mexican and African Americans, a finding contrary to the prediction of social exchange theory (H. Tajfel, 1975). In contrast to the European Americans' view of homogeneity among Asian Americans, the 5 major subgroups of Asian Americans expressed a distinctive hierarchy of social preference among themselves. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for future research on interethnic relations involving Asian Americans.     

Boundaries of American Identity: Relations Between Ethnic Group Prototypicality and Policy Attitudes

We sought to document that the extent to which different ethnic groups are perceived as embodying the American identity is more strongly linked to antiminority policy attitudes and acculturation ideologies among majority‐group members (European Americans) than among minority‐group members (Asian Americans or Latino/as). Participants rated 13 attributes of the American identity as they pertain to different ethnic groups and reported their endorsement of policy attitudes and acculturation ideologies. We found a relative consensus across ethnic groups regarding defining components of the American identity. However, European Americans were perceived as more prototypical of this American identity than ethnic minorities, especially by European American raters. Moreover, for European Americans but not for ethnic minorities, relative ingroup prototypicality was related to antiminority policy attitudes and acculturation ideologies. These findings suggest that for European Americans, perceptions of ethnic group prototypicality fulfill an instrumental function linked to preserving their group interests and limiting the rights afforded to ethnic minorities.     

White Americans' Attitudes Toward Asian Americans in Social Situations: An Empirical Examination of Potential Stereotypes,Bias, and Prejudice

The purpose of this study was to investigate the stereotypical attitudes of college students toward a variety of social situations involving Asian Americans. The authors were also interested in the effects of differential labeling of Asian Americans on the attitudes held toward them (i.e., “Asian” versus “Oriental”).     

Asian and European American cultural values and communication styles among Asian American and European American college students

The present study examined the relationships between adherence to Asian and European cultural values and communication styles among 210 Asian American and 136 European American college students. A principal components analysis revealed that, for both Asian Americans and European Americans, the contentious, dramatic, precise, and open styles loaded onto the first component suggesting low context communication, and interpersonal sensitivity and inferring meaning styles loaded onto the second component suggesting high context communication. Higher adherence to emotional self-control and lower adherence to European American values explained Asian Americans' higher use of the indirect communication, while higher emotional self-control explained why Asian Americans use a less open communication style than their European American counterparts. When differences between sex and race were controlled, adherence to humility was inversely related to contentious and dramatic communication styles but directly related to inferring meaning style, adherence to European American values was positively associated with precise communication and inferring meaning styles, and collectivism was positively related to interpersonal sensitivity style.     

Frequency and intensity of social anxiety in Asian Americans and European Americans

Asian American students have typically reported greater levels of social anxiety than European American students on self-report measures (e.g., Okazaki, 1997; Norasakkunkit & Kalick, 2002). This study employed an event-contingent experience sampling methodology to examine whether Asian American university students experienced social anxiety more often and more intensely than European Americans in their daily lives. Forty-five Asian American and 38 European American students participated in a two-week diary study. The results showed that on average, Asian Americans and European Americans reported a similar number of events that evoked anxiety in social situations, but Asian Americans reported more negative emotions on average in social situations than did European Americans.     

Organ donation and culture: a comparison of Asian American and European American beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors

The well-known gap between organ-donor supply and demand in the United States is particularly acute for Asian Americans. Lower participation in organ donation programs by Asian Americans has been hypothesized as one explanation for this observation. This study finds that, relative to European Americans, Asian Americans hold more negative attitudes toward and participate less frequently in a large, urban organ-donor program. The study also hypothesizes and tests possible reasons for subcultural differences in attitudes toward donation. Two cultural belief constructs hypothesized to more strongly predict Asian American attitudes and behaviors appear to impact both groups equally. Reasons for these results along with public policy implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Prejudice in the Lives of Asian Americans

Expressions of prejudice were compared between Asian American and Black, Hispanic, Jewish, and White respondents to social distance and stereotype items on 5 recent nationwide public opinion surveys. There was much prejudice toward Asian Americans. Their prejudice was greatest toward Blacks and Hispanics and least toward Jews and Whites. Among Asian American subgroups, prejudice toward Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites was greatest by Chinese Americans and Japanese Americans; and least by Filipino Americans and Asian Indian Americans. Suggestions are made for further research.     

Media exposure, internalization of the thin ideal, and body dissatisfaction: comparing Asian American and European American college females

Internalization of the thin ideal mediates the media exposure-body dissatisfaction relation in young adult European American females. There is little related research on Asian Americans. We used structural equations modeling to test: (1) whether media exposure was associated with body dissatisfaction in Asian American young adult females, (2) internalization of the thin ideal mediated any such association, and (3) whether the mediational model provided equivalent fit for European American and Asian American samples. Participants were 287 college females (154 Asian Americans, 133 European Americans). Internalization of the thin ideal explained the media exposure-body dissatisfaction association equally well for both groups. Results suggest that Asian Americans may be employing unhealthy weight control behaviors, and may be prone to developing eating disorders, at rates similar to European American young adult females. Clinicians need to screen carefully for body dissatisfaction, unhealthy weight control behaviors, and eating disorders in Asian American females.     

Effects of acculturation on the MMPI-2 scores of Asian American students

The use of the MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstron, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) with minorities has been questioned due to potential misinterpretations related to cultural differences. This study examined acculturative differences among Asian American college students and their scores on the validity and clinical scales. A sample of Asian American students (n = 90) was assigned to groups based on acculturation level. Analysis of variance tests indicated that low-acculturated, bicultural, and high-acculturated Asian Americans yielded different profiles. Compared to a matched White student sample, low-acculturated Asian Americans scored significantly higher on 9 scales, and bicultural Asian Americans had 6 significantly different scores. These differences were clinically interpretable with a range from 6.46 to 21.65 T-score points. High-acculturated Asian Americans did not differ from Whites. Cultural variables to be considered when interpreting Asian American profiles are discussed.     

Asymmetrical effects of contact between minority groups: Asian and Black students in a small college

Recent meta-analyses of intergroup contact research revealed that majority members' attitudes toward minorities are improved to a greater degree by contact compared to those of minority members (Tropp & Pettigrew, 2005). While previous research focused on contact between majority and minority groups, this study explored effects of intergroup contact between two minority groups that differ in status: Black and Asian college students. Because of different stereotypes and social status, the college experiences of the two groups were expected to differ in the extent to which they felt their group was respected by others (public regard). A survey conducted with 104 Black and Asian American students in a small, Midwestern liberal arts college demonstrated that the two groups differed in public regard, which led to differences in attitudes toward the majority Whites, contact with Whites, experiences of discrimination, and trust in college authorities. Further, while contact with Black students was positively associated with more favorable attitudes toward Blacks for Asians (higher status minority), contact with Asian students was not related to attitudes toward Asians for Blacks (lower status minority). The role of public regard and attitudes toward the majority as potential moderators of the relationship between contact with Asians and Blacks' attitudes toward Asians were explored. Implications for multicultural solidarity between targeted groups were discussed.     

Culture-specific models of men's sexual aggression: intra- and interpersonal determinants

The role of intra- and interpersonal variables was examined in samples of Asian American (N = 91) and European American (N = 377) men. A path model for Asian American men suggested 2 interpersonal paths and 1 intrapersonal path to sexual aggression. For Asian Americans, concern about social standing is a risk factor among those who hold misogynous beliefs and who use alcohol before sex. Concern about the negative reputational impact of sexual aggression is a protective factor among Asian Americans who do not hold these negative attitudes. A European American model suggested only an intrapersonal path to sexual aggression consisting of misogynous beliefs, with interpersonal variables not being predictive of sexual aggression. These results suggest both individualist and collectivist determinants of Asian American sexual aggression, whereas only individualist determinants were found for European American sexual aggression.     

The Impact of Family Obligations on Young Women’s Decisions During the Transition to College: A Comparison of Latina, European American, and Asian American Students

In this study, we hypothesized that (1) Latina and Asian American undergraduate women would report more frequently fulfilling family obligations than would European Americans, and (2) fulfillment of family obligations would predict students’ residential and working plans for their first semester of college. Results of an online survey completed by 296 American first-year students showed that Latinas more frequently fulfilled family obligations than did Asian Americans and European Americans, although fulfilling family obligations did not influence Latinas’ residential or working plans. European American students who more frequently fulfilled family obligations were more likely to plan to live at home, and Asian American students who more frequently fulfilled family obligations planned to work fewer hours during their first semester at college.     

“You're overreacting!”: The ambiguity of Asian American microaggressions delegitimizes collective action

Asian Americans are lauded as the model minority who are intelligent and industrious. Simultaneously, they are deemed as perpetual foreigners. The current research examines how racial microaggressions expressed by a White American source toward an Asian American target affect perceptions of the perpetrator and target. White Americans and Asian Americans read about an interaction between two college students, where the racial microaggression made was either an ambiguous expression of the model minority myth (MMM; all studies), an ambiguous perpetual foreigner stereotype (all studies), an unambiguous MMM (all studies), or no racial bias (Studies 2 and 3). Findings indicate that both Whites and Asian Americans respond differently—when exposed to the aforementioned conditions—regarding perceived racism of the White perpetrator and appropriateness of response by the Asian American target; however, they respond similarly regarding perceived legitimacy of collective action by the target. Nevertheless, Whites and Asian Americans deemed the ambiguous microaggression against the target as a model minority not racist relative to unambiguous MMM. Our findings show that ambiguous forms of bias toward Asian Americans go “under the radar” of both Whites and Asian Americans as being racist and contribute to the maintenance of the racial status quo.     

Different attitudes toward humor between Chinese and American students: evidence from the Implicit Association Test

Although cross-cultural research indicates that Chinese people demonstrate less humor than do Americans, little research addresses the reasons. This cross-cultural difference may be largely due to different implicit attitudes toward humor held by Chinese and Americans, deeply rooted in the two cultural traditions. Both self-report evaluation and the Implicit Association Test (IAT) were used to compare Chinese and American attitudes toward humor. Although 60 Chinese undergraduate students showed no significant difference from 33 American exchange students in explicit attitudes toward humor, the former associated humor more frequently with unpleasant adjectives and seriousness with pleasant adjectives on the IAT; the opposite pattern was found for the American group. This indicated a negative implicit attitude toward humor among the Chinese students.     

Social sharing of emotional experiences in Asian American and European American women

The present study investigated the relationships among ethnicity and social sharing of traumatic experiences in a sample of 88 East Asian and 88 European American women. Participants were asked to write about a traumatic experience for twenty minutes and then to rate how upsetting the experience was, how often they thought about it, how often and to whom they had previously disclosed the experience, as well as the perceived appropriateness of sharing the experience with different target audiences, e.g., friends and family members. The results indicated that Asian Americans reported speaking to others less frequently about the traumatic event and sharing it with fewer individuals, and tended to be more likely to share the event with friends than with family members when compared to European Americans. Asian Americans also reported thinking about the upsetting event less frequently than European Americans even though both groups reported that the events were equally upsetting. The more upsetting events were, the more often they were shared in the European American group, but there was no relationship between how upsetting events were and the degree to which they were shared in the Asian American group.     

Self-efficacy,parent–child relationships,and academic performance: a comparison of European American and Asian American college students

Parent–child relationships play an important role in successful academic outcomes. Previous research suggests that the association between parent–child relationships and offspring’s academic achievement may be mediated by offspring’s self-efficacy levels, although these relationships are not fully understood. Furthermore, the association between family support and academic outcomes is well-documented among European Americans, but not across cultures. Therefore, the present study examined how parent–child relationship quality relates to young adults’ academic achievement and self-efficacy among European Americans and Asian Americans. Participants were 258 undergraduate students (85 male, 173 female) who completed a survey. Overall, both parent–child relationships and self-efficacy were significantly associated with the offspring’s academic performance, and self-efficacy mediated the relationship between parent–child relationships and school outcomes. Ethnicity moderated these relationships: among European American students, quality of parent–child relationships was not associated with self-efficacy level whereas for Asian Americans, parent–child relationships were associated with self-efficacy. These findings suggest that European American college students’ self-efficacy levels are less dependent on parent–child relationship quality, but for Asian Americans college students it may be important for educators to facilitate communication and family support so students may continue to use family as a resource for self-efficacy levels.     

American elementary school children's attitudes about immigrants, immigration, and being an American

The current study examined 5 to 11-year-old European American children's (N = 90) attitudes regarding immigrants, immigration policy, and what it means to be an American. The majority of children in the sample (from a predominantly European American community) held strong American identities and had distinct ideas about what it means to be an American (namely, one must love America, live by its rules, and be White). Children were in favor of legal immigration as a policy, and although they believed in allowing illegal immigrants to stay if employed, many younger children believed they should go to jail. Many children in the sample were aware of Americans' anti-immigration sentiments, largely attributing it to ethnic/cultural discrimination. Finally, children held negative attitudes about immigrants, particularly Mexican immigrants. These negative attitudes were most evident among children who held a strong, prototypical national in-group identity. In contrast, children did not hold differential attitudes about White and Black Americans.     

Exploring the Links Between Racial Identity Attitudes and Psychological Feelings of Closeness in African American College Students

The relationship between racial identity attitudes and psychological closeness to various African American groups was examined in 171 African American college students at a predominantly White southeastern university. The data were collected using the Racial Identity Attitude Scale (Helms & Parham, 1985), and a scale measuring Perceived Psychological Closeness to African Americans. The closeness scale is a 14-item instrument that was found to represent (in this sample) psychological closeness to 4 African American groups. Internalized racial identity attitudes indicated positive feelings toward various groups of African Americans. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that internalized racial identity attitudes were predictive of psychological closeness to African Americans, although this varied somewhat depending on the subgroup.     

Social support and psychosocial competence: Explaining the adaptation to college of ethnically diverse students

Examined relationships among social support, psychosocial competence, and adaptation to college in a sample of 357 African American, Asian American, Latino, and white college students. Social support and active coping were significant predictors of adaptation to college, whereas locus of control was not. However, there was an interaction between ethnicity and locus of control indicating that although internal African American, Latino, and white students had higher adaptation-to-college scores than external students, the opposite was true for Asian Americans. The relationships among social support, internality, and active coping were also explored. Satisfaction with social support and internality were positively related to active coping, but locus of control and social support were unrelated. Active coping and internality were significantly related to each other for all groups except for African Americans. Although most relationships were the same across groups, these findings call attention to the role of ethnicity as a moderator of college adjustment processes.     

Do self-report measures of social anxiety reflect cultural bias or real difficulties for Asian American college students?

Construal of the self as independent or interdependent in relation to others has been found to correlate significantly with social anxiety symptom ratings, raising concerns about possible cultural bias in these measures for Asian Americans. To investigate the validity of self-reported social anxiety symptoms, we examined the role of ethnicity in the associations among social anxiety, self-construal, and adaptive social functioning in a sample of 229 Asian- and European American college students. Results revealed that ethnicity moderated the relationship between self-construal and social anxiety such that interdependent self-construal was associated with higher social anxiety only for first generation Asian Americans. However, there were no significant ethnic differences in the associations between social anxiety self-reports and several measures of social functioning.