Asian American child-parent cultural value discrepancies, family conflict, life satisfaction, and self-esteem.

We examined Asian American college students' adherence to traditional values that are salient in Asian cultures, the students' perceptions of their mother's and father's adherence to the same values, and the discrepancies between the students and their mothers and fathers on the levels of adherence to these values. Based on the data from 301 participants who self-identified as Asian Americans, paired-samples t tests revealed that the child-parent cultural value discrepancies were present across all generational statuses of the participants with the children adhering less strongly to most of the value dimensions than their parents. The results based on correlational analyses showed that many types of value discrepancies were positively associated with the likelihood and seriousness of conflict. Several types of value discrepancies also were inversely associated with the participants' life satisfaction and self-esteem. In addition, the results from the PROCESS Macro for mediation analysis revealed significant mediation role of family conflict on the relationships between various types of value discrepancies and life satisfaction. The significant mediators were the likelihood and seriousness of family conflict and the family conflict about education and career decisions, and the value discrepancies centered on the values of conformity to norms, family recognition through achievement, and humility. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

University students' sleep during the COVID-19 pandemic in the State of Hawai'i.

Objectives: This study assessed undergraduates' sleep in Hawai'i during the COVID-19 pandemic and whether demographic characteristics, health locus of control, substance use and campus features related to sleep outcomes. Implications are considered for programs to support students' sleep and health during pandemic conditions. Participants: About 1,288 undergraduate students from six universities in Hawai'i. Methods: Surveys assessing sleep, emotional wellbeing, ethnicity, body mass index, locus of health control, and substance use. Results: Students' reported increased sleep time but decreased sleep quality during the pandemic. Sleep disruption related to anxiety, depression, ethnicity, substance use, BMI, health locus of control, class rank, and whether students lived at home. All campuses were associated with disrupted sleep, regardless of size, location, religious affiliation, term structure, or method of instruction. Conclusions: In response to public health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, all Hawai'i universities should screen students for sleep disruption, emotional adjustment, social isolation and substance misuse. Programs to promote sleep and behavioral health appear particularly warranted for graduating seniors, Pacific Islanders, students with high BMI, and students who commute to college.

The interpersonal shame inventory for Asian Americans: scale development and psychometric properties.

This article reports the development and psychometric properties of the Interpersonal Shame Inventory (ISI), a culturally salient and clinically relevant measure of interpersonal shame for Asian Americans. Across 4 studies involving Asian American college students, the authors provided evidence for this new measure's validity and reliability. Exploratory factor analyses and confirmatory factor analyses provided support for a model with 2 correlated factors: external shame (arising from concerns about others' negative evaluations) and family shame (arising from perceptions that one has brought shame to one's family), corresponding to 2 subscales: ISI-E and ISI-F, respectively. Evidence for criterion-related, concurrent, discriminant, and incremental validity was demonstrated by testing the associations between external shame and family shame and immigration/international status, generic state shame, face concerns, thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and suicide ideation. External shame and family shame also exhibited differential relations with other variables. Mediation findings were consistent with a model in which family shame mediated the effects of thwarted belongingness on suicide ideation. Further, the ISI subscales demonstrated high alpha coefficients and test-retest reliability. These findings are discussed in light of the conceptual, methodological, and clinical contributions of the ISI.

A latent profile analysis of Asian American men's and women's adherence to cultural values.

The goal of this study was to identify diverse profiles of Asian American women's and men's adherence to values that are salient in Asian cultures (i.e., conformity to norms, family recognition through achievement, emotional self-control, collectivism, and humility). To this end, the authors conducted a latent profile analysis using the 5 subscales of the Asian American Values Scale-Multidimensional in a sample of 214 Asian Americans. The analysis uncovered a four-cluster solution. In general, Clusters 1 and 2 were characterized by relatively low and moderate levels of adherence to the 5 dimensions of cultural values, respectively. Cluster 3 was characterized by the highest level of adherence to the cultural value of family recognition through achievement, whereas Cluster 4 was typified by the highest levels of adherence to collectivism, emotional self-control, and humility. Clusters 3 and 4 were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms than Cluster 1. Furthermore, Asian American women and Asian American men had lower odds of being in Cluster 4 and Cluster 3, respectively. These findings attest to the importance of identifying specific patterns of adherence to cultural values when examining the relationship between Asian Americans' cultural orientation and mental health status.

Depressive symptoms and mental health treatment in an ethnoracially diverse college student sample.

OBJECTIVES: To study (a) the prevalence of depressive symptoms and (b) the utilization of mental health treatment in an ethnoracially diverse sample consisting primarily of Asian Americans, European Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred eighty-nine college students. METHOD: A questionnaire packet that included the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was administered to students in introductory psychology courses. RESULTS: (a) There were no differences among ethnoracial groups in levels of depressive symptoms as measured by the CES-D; (b) 71% of participants with high levels of depressive symptoms had not received any mental health treatment in the previous 12 months; and (c) European Americans were 3.7 times more likely to have received mental health treatment in the previous 12 months than other students. CONCLUSION: Outreach efforts designed to improve utilization of mental health treatment services by depressed college students, especially by members of ethnoracial minority groups, should be increased.

Interpersonal Violence and Mental Health Outcomes among Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander College Students.

In a cross-sectional survey of college students (N = 614) we studied interpersonal violence victimization, perpetration, and mental health outcomes in an ethnoracially diverse rural-based sample of Asian Americans (27%), and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders (25%), two groups vastly underrepresented in trauma research. High rates of interpersonal violence (34%), violence perpetration (13%), and probable psychiatric diagnoses (77%), including posttraumatic stress disorder, were found. Exposure to physical violence, sexual violence, and life stress all were predictive of psychopathology. Female participants were associated with higher likelihood of sexual violence victimization compared to male participants, and Asian American status (especially among males) was associated with lower likelihood of physical and sexual violence compared with European Americans. These data enhance our understanding of interpersonal violence and mental health outcomes among previously understudied minority groups.

Behavioral Enculturation and Acculturation, Psychological Functioning, and Help-Seeking Attitudes Among Asian American Adolescents.

The study examined behavioral enculturation to Asian culture and behavioral acculturation to the dominant European American culture and their possible relations to positive psychological functioning among Asian American adolescents. Positive psychological functioning was operationalized using measures of general self-efficacy, cognitive flexibility, collective self-esteem, and attitudes toward seeking help. Based on data from 112 Asian American high school students in Hawaii, the results did not support the hypothesis that both high behavioral enculturation and acculturation would be related to positive psychological functioning. However, post hoc examination of the results revealed that enculturation was positively associated with general self-efficacy, cognitive flexibility, and the collective self-esteem dimensions of membership, private, and importance-to-identity. Also, acculturation was negatively associated with the importance-to-identity dimension. Implications for research and practice with Asian American adolescents are discussed.

Therapist Multicultural Competence, Asian American Participants' Cultural Values, and Counseling Process.

Asian Americans drop out of mental health treatment at a high rate. This problem could be addressed by enhancing therapists' multicultural competence and by examining clients' cultural attitudes that may affect the counseling process. In the present study, we used a video analogue design with a sample of 113 Asian American college students to examine these possibilities. The result from a t test showed that the session containing therapist multicultural competencies received higher ratings than the session without therapist multicultural competence. In addition, correlational analyses showed that participant values acculturation was positively associated with participant ratings of counseling process, while the value of emotional self-control was negatively correlated. The results of a hierarchical multiple regression analysis did not support any interaction effects among the independent variables on counseling process. All of these findings could contribute to the field of multicultural competence research and have implications for therapist practices and training.

Asian cultural values gap, cognitive flexibility, coping strategies, and parent-child conflicts among Korean Americans.

The study examined Korean American college students' perceived Asian cultural values gap between themselves and their parents, cognitive flexibility, and coping strategies. The relationships between these factors were studied with the intensities and types of parent-child conflicts. The results indicated that the participants adhered less strongly to Asian values than their parents. When faced with conflicts, the participants reported using problem solving coping strategy to the greatest extent, followed by social support coping strategy, and then avoidance coping strategy. Simultaneous regression analyses revealed a positive relationship between the participant-perceived parent-child values gap and the intensity of conflicts, particularly in the area of dating and marriage. There were inverse relationships between cognitive flexibility and the intensity of conflicts, specifically in the area of dating and marriage. A positive relationship was observed between the use of social support coping strategy and intensity of conflicts. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed a significant interaction effect in which participant-perceived parent-child values gap and cognitive flexibility were related to increased frequency of dating and marriage conflicts.

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.

An analogue study of the effects of asian cultural values and counselor multicultural competence on counseling process.

One-hundred-and-sixteen Asian American college students viewed analogue videotapes in which an actress portraying a European American female "counselor" expressed cultural values that were either consistent or inconsistent with Asian culture to an actress portraying an Asian American female "client." In addition, the counselor either acknowledged racial differences or did not acknowledge racial differences with the client. The results showed that when the counselor expressed values that were inconsistent with Asian culture, the counselor who acknowledged racial differences was perceived to be more cross-culturally competent than the counselor who did not acknowledge racial differences. Also, the results showed that observer-participants' adherence to the value of conformity to norms was positively associated with their ratings of counselor credibility and crosscultural counseling competence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Behavioral acculturation and enculturation and psychological functioning among Asian American college students.

The purpose of this study was to examine Asian American college students' behavioral acculturation to U.S. cultural norms and behavioral enculturation to Asian cultural norms and their relationships to ratings on measures of cognitive flexibility, general self-efficacy, collective self-esteem, acculturative stress, and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. As hypothesized, the results indicated that both acculturation and enculturation were positively related to the membership dimension of collective self-esteem. Although not hypothesized, the results indicated that acculturation was positively related to cognitive flexibility, general self-efficacy, and the public dimension of collective self-esteem. In addition, enculturation was positively related to the private dimension and the importance of identity dimension of collective self-esteem.

Asian American multidimensional acculturation scale: development, factor analysis, reliability, and validity.

This article describes the development and psychometric properties of the Asian American Multidimensional Acculturation Scale (AAMAS). The results of 3 separate studies provide strong evidence of the instrument's reliability and validity. The principles for the development of the AAMAS were orthogonality of cultural dimensions, inclusion of a pan-ethnic Asian American dimension, and ease of use across ethnic groups. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicate that within each cultural dimension (AAMAS-Culture of Origin, AAMAS-Asian American, and AAMAS-European American) there are 4 reliable acculturation domains of cultural identity, language, cultural knowledge, and food consumption. These features of the AAMAS allow for a more complex assessment of acculturation level of Asian Americans and its relationship to psychological functioning.

Automatic activation of Yellow Peril Asian American stereotypes: effects on social impression formation.

The authors randomly assigned 69 undergraduates to 1 of 2 perceptual priming conditions involving 80-ms flash words presented on a computer screen to activate information processing outside of conscious awareness. In the high-prime condition, the authors exposed participants to stereotype words associated with the Yellow Peril view of Asian Americans. The authors exposed participants in a low-prime condition to neutral words. All participants then read a vignette and evaluated its protagonist on several social dimensions. Results indicated that the priming procedure effectively biased participant evaluation of the vignette target, but only on items closely linked to Asian Americans. Contrary to predictions, however, participants in the high-prime group rated the target less Asian than did their low-prime group counterparts, an apparent reversal of the expected priming effect. The authors discussed theoretical implications.

A qualitative study of adaptation experiences of 1.5-generation Asian Americans.

Adaptation experiences of 1.5-generation Asian American college students (N = 10) were examined using the consensual qualitative research method. Results indicated 4 domains of adaptation experiences: preimmigration experiences, acculturation and enculturation experiences, intercultural relationships, and support systems. Participants reported that English proficiency played a significant role in their initial adjustment. Currently, most of the participants reported feeling identified with both the U.S. and Asian cultures. Some participants reported having experienced racism in the past. Many participants noted that they currently have no difficulty establishing friendships with culturally different persons. Participants reported currently feeling most close to friends of a similar background and that they usually seek support from friends, family, and religious organizations, but not from a psychologist or counselor.

Examining culturally based variables associated with ethnicity: influences on credibility perceptions of empirically supported interventions.

Treatment rationales for 2 widely used and empirically supported interventions, cognitive therapy (CT) and time-limited dynamic psychotherapy (TLDP), were examined for their perceived credibility among 136 Asian American college students. This study conducted a comprehensive analysis of culturally based variables (often assumed to underlie ethnicity) and their related effects on credibility perceptions. Variables assessed included cultural identity, self-construals, values, and mental health beliefs. Participants were randomly assigned to read either a CT or TLDP treatment rationale for depression and then rated the credibility of the interventions. Results indicated that cultural identity and self-construals moderated credibility ratings across CT and TLDP rationales. Findings underscore the importance of moving beyond ethnic group analyses to the examination of specific culturally based variables.