Thesis advisor: Thanh V. Tran / Research has established that dietary quality among Asian immigrants declined after immigrating to the United States, indicated by decreasing intake of healthy food and increasing intake of unhealthy food. There is a need for a broader investigation for the interactive influence of acculturation, sociodemographic and environmental factors on dietary intake among this population. Guided by the Operant Theory of Acculturation, and the Dietary Acculturation Theory, the present study examined the following research questions to address the gaps in the literature: (1) Are acculturation factors associated with dietary intake among Asian immigrants? (2) What sociodemographic factors are associated with dietary intake among Asian immigrants? (3) What environmental factors are associated with dietary intake among Asian immigrants? (4) What sociodemographic factors moderate the effect of acculturation on dietary intake among Asian immigrants? (5) What environmental factors moderate the effect of acculturation on dietary intake among Asian immigrants? The data in use come from the 2011 – 2012 Adult California Health Interview survey. The sample includes 2,122 non-Hispanic Asian adults born out of the United States. Results from negative binomial regression indicate that intake of fruits, vegetables, soda, fries and fast food was all negatively associated with living in the United States for at least 10 years, compared to living in the Unites States for less than 10 years. The present study also found sociodemographic (including ethnicity, age, gender, education, employment status, and income) and environmental factors (including family type, household size, household tenure, housing type, perceived availability of fresh fruits and vegetables, residential area category, and participation in food stamp and WIC) statistically significantly confounded and moderated the association between length of time lived in the United States and dietary intake. Findings from this study extend the understanding of the protective and risk factors for Asian immigrants to develop and maintain healthy diet, and demonstrated the complexity of dietary changes among Asian immigrants. Based on the findings, the importance that social work research and practice in addressing nutrition inequality among Asian immigrants was highlighted. The study also discovered potential issues and challenges of developing measurement for dietary intake among Asian immigrants, and provided empirical evidence of longitudinal research designs to further explain dietary changes, and guidelines for community-based interventions to address strategies of nutrition promotion among Asian immigrants. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

Most acculturation research has been focused on the direct relationship between acculturation and mental health (Yoon, Langrehr, & Ong, 2011; Salanta & Lauderdaleb, 2003; Koneru, Weisman de Mamania, Flynn, & Betancourt, 2007). However, less is known about the mechanisms for this relationship. Social-cultural resources such as friend and neighbor support may have a beneficial impact on mental health, and acculturative stress such as the level of family conflict and perceived racial discrimination would be expected to be risk factors (Kawachi & Berkman, 2001; Wolff & Agree, 2004; Gong et al., 2003; Kerr-Correa, Igami, Hiroce, & Tucchi, 2007). The present study investigated the mediating roles of acculturative stress and social-psychological resources in the relationship between acculturation and psychological distress among first generation Asian Americans. Data were from 1528 Asian Americans who participated in the National Latino and Asian Americans Study (NLAAS), a nationally representative study of the Asian immigrant population in the U.S. Using structural equation modeling with latent variables, direct and indirect influences on Asian immigrant psychological distress were examined. The findings indicate that higher acculturation was not directly associated with psychological distress for Asian immigrants, but there was an indirect pathway from higher acculturation to poorer mental health through acculturative stress. Asian immigrants with higher levels of acculturation experienced more acculturative stress, which contributed to more psychological distress symptoms. However, this finding was moderated by gender, holding only for women. On the other hand, while a higher level of acculturation was also associated with more perceived social resources, the expected protective effect of these resources was not present. The findings show the complex relationship between acculturation and psychological distress during the acculturative process of Asian immigrants. / text

This study assesses race-ethnic group variations in acculturation experiences by identifying distinct acculturation classes, and investigates the role of these acculturation classes for mental health and group differences in mental health among Latino and Asian immigrants in the United States. Using 2002-2003 the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), Latent Class Analysis is used to capture variations in immigrant classes (recent arrivals, separated, bicultural and assimilated), and OLS regressions are used to assess the link between acculturation classes and mental health. The findings reveal group differences in acculturation classes, whereby Latino immigrants were more likely to be in the separated class and recent arrivals class relative to Asian immigrants. For both Latinos and Asians, bicultural immigrants reported the best mental health, and separated immigrants and recent arrivals reported the worst mental health. While there was not a significant group difference in mental health at the bivariate level, controlling for acculturation classes revealed that Latinos report better mental health than Asians. Thus, Latino immigrants would actually have better mental health than their Asian counterparts if they were not more likely to be represented in less acculturated classes (separated class and recent arrivals) and/or as likely to be in the bicultural class as their Asian counterparts. Together the findings underscore the nuanced and complex nature of the acculturation process, highlighting the importance of race and ethnic group differences in this process, and demonstrate the role of acculturation classes for race-ethnic group differences in mental health.

Thesis advisor: Karen Kayser / Abstract As there is an increasing awareness of the occurrence of domestic violence among South Asian immigrants, a need for cultural-sensitive interventions and community education are necessary to break the silence of victims. In order for us to begin the process of breaking the silence, there is need for a paradigm shift that can more accurately capture the experience of South Asian immigrant victims. This paradigm shift requires us to move away from blaming culture for the violence but to look at socialization, acculturation processes and mutuality in relationships as factors that may lead to increased acceptance of abusive tactics in marital conflicts. Using a sample of predominately first generation South Asian immigrants (N= 50), in the United States, the present study investigates the perception of acceptance of a husband's use of abusive conflict tactics to manage marital conflicts. Approximately half of the sample completed online surveys measuring South Asian immigrants' perception of acceptance of marital conflicts and the rest completed a paper survey. Through various statistical analyses such as regression, one-sample t-tests and chi-square, South Asian immigrants demonstrated higher levels of acceptance when it was perceived that the wife violated a social norm and when they perceived the wife as less educated. In addition, South Asian male immigrants who perceived that their own wives were not meeting their needs were more likely to rate the abusive tactics of the husband in the Abusive Conflict Tactics Perception Scale (ACPTS) as acceptable. The findings have implications for domestic violence advocates who are seeking to educate the community on domestic violence by challenging the misperceptions that abuse in marital relations is a direct result of cultural norms rather than socialization that can transcend culture. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

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With the number of Asian immigrants continually increasing in New Zealand society, Asian immigrant businesses have been appearing more rapidly in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland. The primary purpose of this study is to enquire into why a certain Asian immigrant group become business people after migrating to Auckland, New Zealand. In addition, it investigates the level of their business activity and the level of happiness with their new life in New Zealand. This study examines the growing phenomenon of Asian immigrants, and the entrepreneurship rate of ethnic groups through existing statistics. The study focuses on Korean immigrants. Twenty self-employed Koreans who are running a business in Auckland participated in the study. They were invited to talk about why they became self-employed business people and related matters about their business activity. The study found that Korean immigrants chose self-employment as a means of getting a job. They gave up seeking mainstream employment opportunities due to the language barrier and their inability to cope with a new society and new system. Other fundamental factors in their decision to become entrepreneurs were that firstly, they were willing to invest a considerable amount of their own money and secondly, they preferred to participate in the workforce rather than to depend on the New Zealand welfare system. Based on the information acquired through the research, the study reported that the recently increased numbers of Asian businesses are partly attributable to New Zealand business immigration policy which introduced a new business category – Long Term Business Visa (LTBV). The findings from this research pointed to commitment that immigrant businesses contribute to the New Zealand economy and New Zealand society as taxpayers and potential employers.

With the number of Asian immigrants continually increasing in New Zealand society, Asian immigrant businesses have been appearing more rapidly in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland. The primary purpose of this study is to enquire into why a certain Asian immigrant group become business people after migrating to Auckland, New Zealand. In addition, it investigates the level of their business activity and the level of happiness with their new life in New Zealand. This study examines the growing phenomenon of Asian immigrants, and the entrepreneurship rate of ethnic groups through existing statistics. The study focuses on Korean immigrants. Twenty self-employed Koreans who are running a business in Auckland participated in the study. They were invited to talk about why they became self-employed business people and related matters about their business activity. The study found that Korean immigrants chose self-employment as a means of getting a job. They gave up seeking mainstream employment opportunities due to the language barrier and their inability to cope with a new society and new system. Other fundamental factors in their decision to become entrepreneurs were that firstly, they were willing to invest a considerable amount of their own money and secondly, they preferred to participate in the workforce rather than to depend on the New Zealand welfare system. Based on the information acquired through the research, the study reported that the recently increased numbers of Asian businesses are partly attributable to New Zealand business immigration policy which introduced a new business category – Long Term Business Visa (LTBV). The findings from this research pointed to commitment that immigrant businesses contribute to the New Zealand economy and New Zealand society as taxpayers and potential employers.