<p>Lao American college students' holistic identity development was examined in this study. The research utilized modified grounded theory methods to generate a model of holistic identity development for Lao American students whose families immigrated to the United States after 1978 as a part of the third wave of Laotian immigrants. Chickering and Reisser's (1993) psychosocial identity development theory and Kodama, McEwen, Liang, and Lee's (2002) negotiating identity and development task model for Asian Americans were utilized as an <i> a priori</i> theoretical foundation. Interviews explored participant perceptions and lived experiences as related to the elements of these two theories. Grounded theory development techniques were utilized in the analysis to explore the nature and interactions of various elements of the <i> a priori</i> theories. Data were collected using one exploratory focus group followed by in-depth interviews. Each participant was a child of parents who were refugees; all but one was born in the U.S. Findings center around three themes related to Lao American college students' holistic identity development: (a) the enmeshment of purpose and identity, (b) the influence and integration of family and culture influences, and (c) the fluidity of community influence. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of implications for theory, policy, and practice. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3570185 |
| Date | 10 July 2013 |
| Creators | Kouanchao, Ketmani |
| Publisher | California State University, Fullerton |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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