This qualitative study explores Second Generation South Asian American (SG SAA) Hindus' ideals, values, and meanings associated with gender, and how these ideals affect their attitudes towards unwanted sexual contact of women/girls. SG SAAs are an understudied population that report high levels of stress due to bicultural identity issues and ethnic discrimination, and yet are unlikely to display help-seeking behaviors. This study explores some of the cultural factors behind this phenomenon, particularly in terms of topics such as unwanted sexual contact (including sexual harassment, coercion, incest, and rape). Using an internet-based convenience sampling method, the researcher collected data using an anonymous online questionnaire with multiple open-ended questions. After using qualitative data analysis software, the researcher interprets and discusses the results by drawing on psychological and anthropological literature on gender in contemporary Hindu culture, identity in diaspora, and cultural/structural violence. The researcher explains how the results reveal the participants' internalized messages about women's value and expectations, particularly in regards to sexuality and family roles. Expected to be independent as well as submissive, modern as well as traditional, female SG SAA Hindus are faced with impossible expectations that erase their subjectivity and silence their voices. The negative ramifications of this are explored, particularly as the participants' describe the messages they learned about Hinduism and the blaming of female victims of sexual abuse. The study contextualizes SG SAAs in terms of contemporary Hindu cultures, and illuminates the ways that certain Hindu gender role expectations and attitudes have oppressed women, punished victims of unwanted sexual contact, and perpetuated cultures of silence, secrecy, and shame. The researcher calls for re-interpretations and re-visioning of contemporary Hindu cultures, not only to end alleviate cycles of abuse, but also to address this population's unique bicultural identity issues. Future research and widespread education is needed to explore the clinical implications of this study, and to develop culturally specific interventions for this silenced population.

No description available.

No description available.

This dissertation examines whether a degree earned abroad is less valuable for Asianimmigrants in the U.S. labor market than for White immigrants and, if so, the reasons for such disparities. Many studies have documented the existence of a foreign education penalty. However, the underlying mechanisms for the lower returns to foreign education are still being determined. Building on the demographic heterogeneity framework, this study aims to advance our understanding of immigrants’ experience in the labor market by investigating whether the lower earnings returns for Asian immigrants with foreign education stem from lower educational quality/transferability, as suggested by the human capital approach, or from biased practices in the labor market, as proposed by credentialism. Methodologically, this study will compare the earnings outcomes of Asian immigrants to those of U.S.-born Whites as well as foreign-educated white immigrants. Using ACS data from 2015-2019 on White and Asian workers aged 25-64 with bachelor’s degrees or higher, I analyze the impact of STEM majors and the English-speaking proficiency of the sending country to explore the effect of human capital transferability. Then, I examine the effect of a country’s GDP per capita and the rates of tertiary education to capture the effect of educational quality. To access credentialism, I compare the earnings differences for Asian immigrants who earn degrees in regions more culturally or historically similar to the U.S. to those degrees earned in other regions. Then, I examine the residual earnings difference between foreign-educated White and Asian immigrants to access queuing theory. Finally, I separate the study population into subsamples of men and women to investigate whether Asian immigrants’ labor market disadvantages are contingent on gender. Chapter 2 to 5 can be read as a stand-alone study that uses nationally representative survey data to study the aspects listed above. Results from these analyses show that the earnings disadvantage of Asian immigrants educated in foreign countries is largely due to the limited transferability of their human capital in the U.S. labor market rather than to credentialism. Returns to foreign education are higher for immigrants with STEM degrees or from countries where English is an official language. In addition to the human capital transferability, this study also shows that White immigrants seem to have an advantage over Asian immigrants if they were educated in places with longer linguistic and cultural differences compared to the United States. In addition, my findings support the explanation that female immigrants’ varied family experiences and migration paths are different from those of their male counterparts, thus leading to their notable disadvantages in the labor markets. The results indicate that establishing clear and transparent processes for recognizing foreign academic and professional credentials is a critical way to alleviate the lower returns on Asian immigrants’ foreign credentials. / Sociology

Published research suggests that literature should transmit ethnic and societal values as well as reassure one's own confidence and self-respect. This study provides a model for examining Asian-American children's and adolescent literature critically from the perspective of identity issues. It examines fifteen award-winning Asian-American children's and adolescent titles written by writers of that culture and published in the United States from 1999 to 2007, with a focus on Chinese (Taiwanese) American, Korean American, and Japanese American books. As published studies indicate, self, social, and ethnic identities are significantly intertwined. Hence, a content analysis was conducted based on these three major groups of categories. The findings of the study demonstrate that even though the selected books cover all three aspects of the identity issues to a certain degree, a considerably greater number of depictions of ethnic identities are made over those of internal identities and social identities. Moreover, less than half of the main characters assume an active role in improving the difficult situation. Two major voids regarding the presentation of social identities are successful social integration and positive social interactions. Recommendations for teaching, writing, illustrating, publishing, and future research are suggested, including publishing more Asian-American books which present an optimistic outlook on life, active conflict-resolving behaviors, and a balance of gender among individuals with whom the main character interacts.

Despite the immense volume of depression literature, there are significant gaps of knowledge in depression research of ethnic minorities including Korean Americans. The primary purpose of this study was to enhance the theoretical and empirical understanding of the depressive experience of Korean Americans. A correlational-descriptive, cross-sectional design with multivariate analysis was employed to: (1) identify significant factors that influence the depression experience of Korean Americans, (2) test the psychometric properties of the Kim Depression Scale for Korean Americans, and (3) identify essential similarities and differences in manifestations of depression of Korean and Anglo Americans. A total of 305 subjects, 154 Korean Americans and 151 Anglo Americans participated in this comparison study of depression in Korean and Anglo Americans. The findings of this study identified some important mediators and moderators of the depression experience for Korean Americans. The results of the study also identified essential similarities and differences in depression manifestations of Korean and Anglo Americans. Among the most important outcomes of the study was the discovery of a clue that may help to delineate a cross-cultural boundary of depression. While understanding of the perceptions, antecedents, and outcomes of depression may need a culture-specific approach, the manifestation of depression seems to show more universal characteristics. These findings have implications for future cross-cultural depression research, the clinical management of depression, and potential preventive strategies against depression in immigrant populations such as Korean Americans.

Kim, Atkinson, and Umemoto (2001) proposed that the therapy process is enhanced when the client’s cultural values are consistent with values embedded in counseling. Thus far, empirical studies have yielded inconsistent results in terms of the effect of client adherence to Asian cultural values on perceived counselor effectiveness. The present study used an audiovisual analogue design to evaluate whether participants’ adherence to Asian cultural values predicts their perceived counselor effectiveness of an Asian American counselor, based on counseling styles (Asian vs. Western style). Five sets of contrasting features were identified from the literature that differentiated Asian-style vs. Western-style counseling, including: (1) counselor roles (facilitator vs. expert); (2) individualistic vs. collectivistic approaches (i.e. focus on individual vs. focus on context/family dynamics); (3) counselor preferred mode of expression (verbal vs. non-verbal; or low context vs. high context communication); (4) avoidance of direct guidance/suggestion vs. direct guidance/suggestion; (5) avoidance of counselor self-disclosure vs. counselor self-disclosure of strategies used in the past. We hypothesized that: 1(a) stronger adherence to Asian cultural values will predict higher rating of Asian-style counseling; 1(b) weaker adherence to Asian cultural values will predict higher rating of Western-style counseling; and (2) stronger adherence to Asian cultural values will predict larger difference between ratings for Asian-style counseling and Western-style counseling. Results from the present study failed to support the first hypothesis, which states that stronger adherence to Asian cultural values will predict higher rating of Asian-style counseling. In fact, participants rated the Asian American counselor as equally effective when she employed Asian-style counseling and Western-style counseling. The lack of a significant effect of participants’ adherence to Asian cultural values on perceived counselor effectiveness based on counseling styles in our study was not unexpected given inconsistent results from past research based on one-session volunteer client study. Our study based on video vignette of a mock session of an Asian American dyad was not able to provide empirical support to Kim, Atkinson, and Umemoto (2001)’s proposition.

Though it is known that eating disorders (EDs) affect individuals of all racial/ethnic backgrounds (Cheng, Perko, Fuller-Marashi, Gau, & Stice, 2019), people of color tend to be overlooked in the ED literature. South Asian Americans, a specific subset of individuals traditionally categorized within the larger umbrella group of “Asians,” have been notoriously neglected in both the broader mental health literature, and in the ED literature (Inman, Devdas, Spektor, & Pendse, 2014; Iyer & Haslam, 2003, 2006). Currently, very little information exists on the etiology and presentation of EDs amongst South Asian communities. Even less is known about culturally-specific barriers to treatment-seeking for this population. To begin to address these issues, this study used focus group methodology with South Asian American women to identify salient themes. Thematic analysis revealed several key themes for body image and EDs, as well as perceived barriers and facilitators of ED treatment-seeking behavior for this group. Notably, South Asian American women are subjected to multiple appearance ideals, experience unique cultural stressors related to living in the United States, and perceive relatively high expectations and pressures from multiple social domains, including parents and community members. Both generalized and social stigma about mental health, parents’ mental health concerns, lack of knowledge about EDs, and healthcare providers’ biases were important barriers to treatment-seeking. To address these obstacles, participants recommended that clinicians facilitate intergenerational conversations about mental health, create ED psychoeducational health campaigns, and train providers in culturally-sensitive practices for detecting and treating mental health and ED concerns. Findings can inform the assessment, prevention, and treatment of EDs via the development of a culturally-sensitive ED assessment measure designed specifically for South Asian American women.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Ill., 1998. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-130).

Friendster.com was launched in California in 2002 with 20 users. Today, it has more than 27 million members and it is especially popular among Southeast Asian women. It differs from other online dating sites in that users must be approved before they can become part of a user’s personal network. This study explores what may have made the site so attractive, as well as how its users represent themselves in their personal profiles. Drawing on social constructionist and feminist theories, this thesis employed qualitative content analysis and survey methodologies to address the following questions: (1) How does Friendster.com portray its role in terms of getting people together? As a dating site or otherwise? (2) How do Southeast Asian women in these two age groups (18-21 and 27- 30) construct themselves on Friendster.com? (3) Do Southeast Asian women join Friendster.com to connect with the one? If not, what are their reasons for joining the site? (4) What are Southeast Asian women’s on- and off-line blind-date standards and practices? The research examines the choice of words and pictures from 60 Friendster users’ profiles by using qualitative content analysis as the methodology. Preliminary findings suggest that the site serves as a new safer form of an online dating service, and that its users aggressively sell themselves as a result. Moreover, the definition of blind-date is socially constructed. / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Elliott School of Communication / "May 2006." / Includes bibliographic references (leaves 74-80).