Multiracial Asian Americans are among the fastest growing demographic groups in the United States, yet little research has investigated how Asian cultural socialization unfolds within multiracial Asian families. In particular, unique dynamics and challenges may arise in Asian-White multiracial families. The present study seeks to contribute to the literature exploring how parents engage their multiracial Asian-White children in cultural socialization, their goals for their children's cultural socialization, and their processes for determining which aspects of their respective heritages to share with their children. Through thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with parents in Asian-White multiracial families (N = 16), four key cultural socialization goals emerged: (a) strengthening children's connection to their Asian cultural identities and communities, (b) encouraging children to embrace their biraciality, (c) providing children with the space to shape their own ethnic-racial identity, and (d) cultivating a racialized sociopolitical identity. In addition, four cultural socialization approaches were identified, (a) providing separate and distinct socialization from both parents' heritages, (b) prioritizing the socialization of one parent's heritage, (c) blending both heritages to create new traditions, and (d) continuing to actively negotiate the cultural socialization process. These findings contribute to a broader understanding of cultural socialization in multiracial Asian American families and offer future research directions for multiracial families in the United States.
Despite significant growth in social science research examining sexual and gender minority experiences, research focusing specifically on East and Southeast Asian American sexual and gender minorities remains limited. This content analysis examines peer-reviewed articles published that focused solely on this population through 2024 (N = 39) to take stock of the field and identify strengths and areas for future study. Findings revealed that most studies employed qualitative methodologies, were cross-sectional, and included limited theoretical grounding. Additional findings include high use of aggregated data for ethnicity, minimal reporting of socioeconomic status, and underrepresentation of certain ethnic subgroups and gender identities. Three key study foci emerged: health; experiences with dual identity, mental health, and community belonging, and close relationships. Future research directions are discussed. What is the public significance of this article? This study reveals a critical gap in psychological research, finding 39 studies focused specifically on Asian American sexual and gender minorities despite this population facing unique challenges from both racial and sexual/gender minority discrimination. These findings highlight the urgent need for more culturally responsive research and mental health services that address the intersectional experiences of Asian American sexual and gender minorities communities, who remain largely invisible in both mainstream psychology and single-identity focused studies.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) Asian Americans face racism from the broader LGBTQ+ community. Research suggests that collective racial self-esteem (CRSE), or positive feelings about one's race, may be associated with Asian American adults' positive health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations of both racism from the LGBTQ+ community and CRSE on LGBTQ+ Asian Americans' disordered eating and psychological distress. The mediating roles of external shame and emotion dysregulation in these associations were also examined. Participants were 155 LGBTQ+ Asian American adults (M-age = 24.26) who completed an online survey. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between LGBTQ+ racism and CRSE and psychological distress and disordered eating. Mediation analyses examined the indirect effect of LGBTQ+ racism and CRSE on the outcome variables through external shame and emotion dysregulation. LGBTQ+ racism was positively associated. CRSE was associated negatively with both outcomes. The association between LGBTQ+ racism and psychological distress was mediated by external shame and emotion dysregulation, and the relation between CRSE and distress was mediated by external shame but not emotion dysregulation. These mediations were all nonsignificant with disordered eating. Results illuminate the salience of intersectional and strengths-based sociocultural factors in LGBTQ+ Asian American adults' psychological distress and disordered eating. Efforts to both prevent and address the impacts of LGBTQ+ racism, as well as cultivating CRSE, are discussed.
This integrative review synthesizes current research on the parenting practices of Korean immigrant families in Western countries, focusing on shifts in parenting styles and challenges after immigration. Utilizing Whittemore and Knafl's (2005) five-stage methodology, 16 studies published between 2010 and 2025 were systematically analyzed across five electronic databases. The synthesis yielded two overarching themes: adaptation of parenting practices and parenting challenges, encompassing eight subthemes. Adaptation-related subthemes included increased endorsement of authoritative parenting, negotiation of bicultural values, greater academic socialization within Western educational systems, and evolving parent-child communication patterns characterized by enhanced emotional expressiveness and autonomy support. At the same time, Korean immigrant parents encountered persistent challenges, including intergenerational cultural conflict, language barriers, acculturative stress, reduced social support, stigma-related reluctance to seek professional services, and tensions surrounding academic expectations. Together, these findings illustrate both adaptive strategies and structural stressors shaping Korean immigrant parenting in Western contexts. Culturally responsive interventions are therefore needed to address acculturation-related stress while recognizing the strengths inherent in bicultural parenting experiences.
The present practice-oriented article is informed by dialectical epistemologies embedded within Asian cultural traditions. It introduces a new healing framework that integrates work ethic and rest ethic for Asian American counseling practice. The article posits that engaging in the dialectics of work ethic and rest ethic provides a meaningful and practical approach to foster greater value placed on rest, both collectively and individually, within Asian American communities. Using the framework, the article discusses case illustrations of the work and rest ethic for Korean immigrant and Korean American clients, further contextualized by Korean indigenous psychological concepts. The case illustrations present examples of the intergenerational emotions of haan, jeong, and heung as keys to understanding their lived experiences and fostering healing in their communities. Suggestions for Asian American counseling practice are discussed.
Asian American parenting practices are evolving across generations and communities, yet little is known about how current generations of HMong American mothers conceptualize, adapt, or depart from the parenting they received. The HMong have a unique migration background, having come to the United States as refugees, experiencing significant socioeconomic distress. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore how parenting evolves among 1.5- or second-generation HMong American mothers, specifically, how the parenting they received from their refugee parents compares to their own parenting goals and approaches. We conducted a qualitative study with 25 HMong women recruited through social media and community events across the country. We found four themes of parenting that reflect a deliberate and reflective shift among 1.5- and second-generation HMong mothers-from a lack of communication and emotional distance to parenting that is emotionally engaged, focused on intrinsic growth, and culturally conscious. These changes are deeply informed by participants' awareness of the intergenerational impacts of refugee trauma and a strong commitment to breaking harmful cycles from the past. These findings underscore the urgent need for culturally responsive, trauma-informed interventions to support parenting across generations.
Available eating disorder (ED) assessments do not adequately capture cultural nuances in eating psychopathology presentations in South Asians (SAs). The current study describes the cultural adaptation process of the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) for SA American women to enhance its validity, applicability, and cultural relevance for this underserved group. The research team consulted with participant experts (N = 24) and research experts (n = 4) to create the modified measure. Some items were changed to include SA references; others were added to assess culturally specific body image and eating pressures, such as colorism and religious fasting. Notable feedback from participant and research experts that was incorporated into this measure included: separating weight and shape items, changing the response format of the behavioral frequencies, and incorporating items assessing subjective binge eating episodes. This new measure - the EDE-Q-South Asian American Women (EDE-Q-SAAW) - included 53 items prior to psychometric validation. To the best of our knowledge, few - if any - previous cultural adaptations of ED measures have added new items to tap into culturally influenced constructs that likely impact ED presentations. Ultimately, this tool can enhance understanding of the nature, presentation, and cultural variation of EDs in SAs. This study is also one of the first to demonstrate how other clinical scientists can culturally adapt measures without translation.
Indigenous peoples and other peoples of color experience significant health disparities associated with substance use. Existing research suggests that factors like social support, perceived racial discrimination, and historical trauma may contribute to these disparities and are important predictors of substance use for various communities. One group that remains to be understudied despite some indications of high rates of substance use, however, are Pacific Islander peoples-especially the CHamoru People. Thus, the present study collected data from 185 CHamoru people residing in Guam and examined the relationships between substance use and social support, racial discrimination, and thoughts about historical loss. Results show social support was negatively correlated with alcohol use, racial discrimination was positively correlated with drug use, and thinking about historical loss was significantly correlated with more drug and alcohol use. Hierarchical regressions showed that (a) social support is associated with alcohol use above and beyond gender; (b) racial discrimination is associated with drug use above and beyond gender and social support; and (c) thinking about historical losses is associated with alcohol and drug use above and beyond gender, social support, and racial discrimination. The findings of this exploratory study begin to shed some light on salient cultural variables that may be correlated with substance use specifically among CHamoru people and may inform future research as well as clinical and community services for this community.
Compared to White Americans, Asian Americans experience worse mental health outcomes, heightened barriers to accessing mental health care, and utilize mental health services at lower rates. Asian American-focused mental health centers and organizations have steadily been established since the 1960s to attend to Asian American mental health care needs, but it is not clear what differences exist between Asian American-focused mental health organizations and non-Asian American-focused mental health organizations. Previous research has found that tensions with cultural values, high stigmatization of mental health issues, racism-related stress, and linguistic accessibility are barriers for Asian Americans in accessing mental health care. Here, we analyzed whether these barriers were addressed by organizations as reflected in their mission statements. We analyzed the mission statements of 50 Asian American-focused mental health organizations and 200 non-Asian American-focused mental health organizations as cultural products to elucidate underlying values. We used a binary system to qualitatively code mission statements for explicit social support, social affiliation, stigma, and antiracist practices. We also coded for intergenerational support, therapy, and linguistic access as exploratory variables. Compared to non-Asian American-focused mental health organizations, we found that Asian American-focused mental health organizations emphasize social affiliation, address stigma, promote antiracist practices, and promote linguistic access significantly more than non-Asian American-focused centers. Non-Asian American-focused mental health care providers and organizations could consider incorporating these values in their practice to make mental health organizations more inclusive for Asian American populations as Asian American-focused centers already have.
The COVID-19 pandemic fueled anti-Asian racism and xenophobia in the United States. This study delves into Chinese immigrant parents' coping strategies and support sources during the early onset of the pandemic. A phenomenological approach was employed, focusing on participants' lived experiences. Qualitative data from interviews with 24 Chinese immigrant parents were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that collectivistic coping strategies, including family support, intracultural coping, relational universality, and altruism, played an important role in mitigating the impact. Additionally, external locus of control, fatalism, open communication, avoidance of danger, and taking actions were identified as coping strategies against Sinophobia. Last, racial discrimination during the pandemic did not diminish pride in Chinese ethnic identity and bicultural identity integration. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.
Asian Americans have reported higher social anxiety compared to their White counterparts. While previous research has shed light on the cultural factors related to this phenomenon, there has been limited attention to how sociopolitical factors such as racial discrimination might be related to heightened social anxiety. Drawing on the approach-inhibition theory of power and the contextualized social relationships theory, this study aimed to address such gap in the literature. The purpose of this study was to examine if and how racial discrimination was related to Asian Americans' social anxiety in the White racial context versus in the coethnic (e.g., Chinese, Filipino/a, Korean) context, through the pathways of threat appraisal and submissive behavior. A total of 341 self-identified Asian American adults (Mage = 29.40, SD = 6.75) participated in an online survey comprising perceived discrimination, threat appraisal, submissive behavior, and social anxiety in the White racial context versus in the coethnic context. Path analysis results indicated that perceived discrimination was directly related to social anxiety in the White context but not in the coethnic context. Perceived discrimination was indirectly related to social anxiety in both contexts through submissive behavior but not through threat appraisal. Overall, the magnitudes of direct and indirect relationships were larger in the White context than in the coethnic context. The findings largely supported our hypotheses and suggested the importance of a contextualized approach to understanding Asian Americans' social anxiety by examining sociopolitical beyond individual, psychological factors and differentiating the White racial context versus the coethnic context.
Asian American persons exhibit decreased mental health utilization compared to their non-Hispanic White counterparts. To better understand barriers to mental health care, this study examined reasons for enrollment at the Veterans Health Affairs (VHA) in the Southwestern United States between May 2012 and April 2019 among Asian American and non-Hispanic White veterans and associations with mental health symptom severity. This observational secondary analysis included 2,270 post-9/11 Asian American (n = 513) and non-Hispanic White veterans (n = 1,757), M-age = 36.54 (SD = 9.63), 15.7% female. Reasons for enrollment and measures of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and somatization were obtained upon enrollment for VHA services. Compared to non-Hispanic White veterans, Asian American veterans were significantly less likely to enroll for mental health concerns (p < .001) and more likely to enroll for "other" reasons (p < .001). Asian American veterans reported significantly greater somatization (p = .006). A clinical elevation of depression symptoms was significantly less likely to result in enrolling for mental health concerns among Asian American veterans (42%) than non-Hispanic White veterans (64%; p < .001). Similar race difference patterns emerged when examining rates of enrolling for physical health concerns among veterans with clinically elevated depression and somatization (ps < .001). A greater proportion of Asian American veterans with clinically significant depression did not enroll for mental health concerns compared to non-Hispanic White veterans. Future research is needed to determine reasons for and consequences of these differences in VHA health care enrollment. Modifications to VHA enrollment operations may be indicated to better accommodate Asian American veterans with mental health treatment needs.
This study addresses the limited research on the lived experiences of Chinese international students seeking internships during their Optional Practical Training (OPT) program in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), this qualitative study explored the school-to-work transitions of 10 nonscience, technology, engineering, and math Chinese international students. The results revealed seven superordinate themes, including perceived employment barriers and discrimination, the mental and physical toll of systemic stressors, dialectical coping strategies, the role of culturally sensitive resources, and personal growth in the face of adversity. Participants described external challenges such as immigration regulations and workplace bias, alongside internal struggles with self-doubt and isolation, all of which impacted their well-being. Despite these difficulties, students demonstrated culturally nuanced coping and resilience by drawing on personal and community resources. This research addresses critical gaps in understanding Chinese international students' school-to-work transitions and highlights implications for clinical practice, policy, and future research aimed at supporting international students navigating complex institutional and sociocultural systems.
This article has two purposes: (a) proposing the contextualized social relationships theory as a theoretical framework to understand Asian Americans' social relationships and (b) examining the predictors and outcomes of contextualized social relationships among Asian Americans. The contextualized social relationships theory suggests that social relationships vary by contexts and are affected by cultural and sociopolitical factors. The analysis of online survey data from 132 Asian American adults indicated that, in addition to cultural predictors (i.e., acculturation, enculturation, English proficiency, ethnic language proficiency, independence, interdependence, bicultural conflict), sociopolitical predictors (i.e., discrimination, foreigner objectification) were uniquely related to contextualized (i.e., mainstream vs. ethnic) social relationships (i.e., social anxiety, social connectedness, social self-efficacy). Specifically, discrimination was positively related to social anxiety in both mainstream and ethnic contexts while being negatively related to mainstream connectedness. Foreigner objectification was positively associated with ethnic connectedness. Above and beyond the variances explained by cultural predictors, sociopolitical predictors explained additional 15% each of the variances in mainstream social anxiety and mainstream connectedness. Ethnic connectedness and mainstream social anxiety were the strongest predictors of well-being among all social relationship variables. This study highlighted the need to contextualize social relationships (vs. exclusively focusing on dispositional traits).
Language identity has been defined in the research as an individual's connection to their sense of self through using language with others. Understanding language identity construction in a new environment among Asian immigrants, a racial/ethnic minority population, is important for addressing health disparities and inequities. This study examined how language identity could be defined by 1.5 generation Asian and Asian American immigrant young adults, and how using multiple languages influenced their sense of belonging in the United States. Additionally, we investigated how languages influenced the way they interact with others and see themselves, and what language use contexts and characteristics helped them to establish their language identity. Participants were defined as those who arrived in the United States from Asia with their 1st generation parents when they were 5-17 years old, have lived for at least 12 months, and are now aged 18-29. We conducted 8 focus group discussions with 24 participants (2-4 in each group) residing in the San Francisco Bay Area in California and analyzed verbatim transcriptions using Dedoose. We report on three themes identified in the analysis: 1) languages played a key role in forming personal and professional relationships that impacted identities; 2) language identity was distinct from language proficiency; and 3) multilingualism shaped their ethno-racial identity and sense of belonging. Future research will pursue one-on-one in-depth interviews and longitudinal studies to subsequently understand individualized experiences and expand the scope of the target population to provide generalizability to other 1.5 generation Asian and Asian American immigrants.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated anti-Asian racism, which was associated with adverse mental health outcomes among Asian Americans that disrupted parenting and parent-child relationships. While both acculturation to the mainstream culture and enculturation within one's heritage cultures can foster resilience for Asian American parents facing discrimination, limited research investigates how parents' cultural orientation influences the relationship between pandemic-related discrimination experiences and children's internalizing and externalizing problems over time. This study assessed the pandemic-related discrimination of 271 Asian American parents (M-age = 41.18, range = 25-74 years; 80.8% mothers) and its associations with children's internalizing and externalizing problems 6 months later, examining parental cultural orientation (i.e., acculturation, enculturation) as a moderator. Results showed that parents' pandemic-related discrimination at baseline significantly predicted the child's internalizing (beta = .17, p < .05) and externalizing problems at 6 months follow-up (beta = .21, p < .001). Two significant interactions emerged: High levels of pandemic-related discrimination at baseline and high levels of acculturation were associated with more child internalizing problems at 6 months (+1 SD: beta = .29, p < .05), and pandemic-related discrimination at baseline on child externalizing problems at 6 months at low (-1 SD: beta = .09, p < .05) and high (+1 SD: beta = .32, p < .01) levels of the parent's acculturation. No significant interactions emerged for parents' enculturation. Findings highlight how sociocultural contexts uniquely shaped these families' dynamics, underscoring the need for culturally informed clinical interventions addressing anti-Asian racism's manifestations across systemic, individual, and interpersonal levels.
South Asian Americans (SAAs) are one of the fastest growing racial/ethnic populations within the United States (Budiman & Ruiz, 2021; Pew Research Center, 2021) yet the production of accessible SAA-focused psychological literature is limited (DeVitre & Gloria, 2025; Inman et al., 2014). To understand the current state of the SAA psychological literature, we conducted a scoping analysis of the available SAA literature for the past decade (2013-2023). Implementing Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) analytic structure, we first used key words relating to SAA groups (e.g., "Indian American," "Pakistani American," "Desi American") and psychological processes (e.g., "wellbeing," "depression," "acculturation") we searched U.S.-based search engines (e.g., APA PsycInfo, GoogleScholar) yielding a total of 53 peer-reviewed articles. Although not part of the final analysis (due to a focus on accessibility) our search also yielded 123 dissertations and 61 APA presentations. Of the 53 peer-reviewed articles, summary review of the articles revealed that a majority were focused on quantitative methodologies, second-generation SAAs, Indian Americans, and women-identifying participants. In addition to implications related to article content, our findings draw attention to the impact of systemic biases as they relate to the limited production of psychologically focused SAA literature within the context of calls for decolonialization of psychology and approaches to knowledge production.
In the United States, Asian American transracial adoptees (TRAs) are individuals who are adopted from Asia by typically White parents. Although subject to oppressive experiences outside of the home, TRAs often experience their race being downplayed within the context of their family. This study examined (a) Asian American TRAs' willingness to talk about race with their parents, (b) what conversations about race looked like during childhood and how conversations have changed during young adulthood, and (c) what TRAs wished their parents had done differently. Among a sample of 20 young adult Asian American TRAs, 12 participants were willing to talk to their parents about race, whereas the remaining eight were unwilling. Seven participants shared how their conversations about race changed as they grew up. Finally, participants discussed what they wished their parents had done when talking about race. These findings have implications for parents of TRAs, adoption professionals, racial socialization scholars, and adoptees themselves. What is the public significance of this article? The present study offers insight into Asian American transracial adoptees' willingness to discuss race with their White parents, including the messages that adoptees received and how adoptees perceived them. This study has implications for parents of transracial adoptees and adoption professionals who want to support their children's/clients' conversations about race, as well as normalize adoptees' own diverse ethnic-racial socialization experiences.
