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Asian College Students’ Perceived Peer Group Cohesion, Cultural Identity, and College Adjustment

Despite the increase in Asian college student population, this group remains one of the most understudied, due to the myth of “model minority.” Many Asian students adjust well academically but often experience high levels of stress, anxiety, or depression due to factors such as acculturation to Western culture, pressure from parents to succeed, ethnic identity issues, intergenerational conflict, immigration status, racism, and discrimination. This study examined the role of five dimensions of Asian values (collectivism, conformity to norms, emotional self-control, family recognition through achievement, and humility) as a moderator in the relationship among peer group cohesion and four dimensions of college adjustment (academic adjustment, social adjustment, personal-emotional adjustment, and attachment) among 150 Asian college students. Data were collected from Asian American and Asian international students attending a college in the United States who completed an online survey. Eighty percent of the students reported low college adjustment on one or more dimensions measured; however, personal-emotional adjustment and attachment was positively correlated with group cohesion. The results of the moderation analyses indicated that Asian value of humility moderated the effects of cohesion and personal emotional adjustment. Specifically, students who had lower Asian value of humility and high peer group cohesion also reported higher personal emotional adjustment. No other dimensions of Asian values were found to be significant moderators. Implications of the study in terms of future research and college programs for Asian students are discussed.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UTAHS/oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:etd-2331
Date01 August 2012
CreatorsZhao, Xin
PublisherDigitalCommons@USU
Source SetsUtah State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceAll Graduate Theses and Dissertations
RightsCopyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact Andrew Wesolek (andrew.wesolek@usu.edu).

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