Interpreting a Helping Hand

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taraneh Mojaverian ◽  
Heejung S. Kim
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Asian Americans ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
European American ◽  
European Americans ◽  
Social Belonging

Research has shown that Asians/Asian Americans are less likely to seek social support to deal with stressful situations than European Americans. Two studies examined the effectiveness of two types of social support: support that is sought directly (solicited support) and support received without prompting from the recipient (unsolicited support). It was theorized that receiving unsolicited support may reinforce social belonging and relational ties, whereas soliciting support may pose relational threats for Asian Americans. In contrast, European Americans may be less affected by type of support received. The first study examined culture (European American vs. Asian American) and type of social support (solicited vs. unsolicited) on stress responses to a task in a lab setting. The second study used vignettes of possible stressors with unsolicited or solicited coping techniques. Results supported our hypothesis, with Asian Americans reporting better outcomes from unsolicited support and European Americans showing little difference between support types.

The Effects of Being Born in the United States on the Job Satisfaction of Asian Americans

2000 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 347-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles N. Weaver
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Asian Americans ◽  
Asian American ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Other ◽  
European American ◽  
Full Time ◽  
European Americans ◽  
The U.S

Analysis of the responses of Asian American ( n = 178), African American ( n = 1,026), and European American ( n = 8,118) full-time workers to 21 nationwide surveys representative of the U.S. labor force from 1972 through 1996 showed the job satisfaction of Asian Americans compared to that of the other two groups was affected by whether subjects were born in the United States. In addition, there were no gender differences in job satisfaction among African Americans and European Americans who were and were not born in the U.S., but there were such differences among Asian Americans.

scholarly journals Cultural Differences in the Impact of Social Support on Psychological and Biological Stress Responses

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 831-837 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelley E. Taylor ◽  
William T. Welch ◽  
Heejung S. Kim ◽  
David K. Sherman
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Asian Americans ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Supportive Services ◽  
Biological Stress ◽  
European Americans ◽  
Social Support Seeking ◽  
Support Seeking ◽  
The Impact

Social support is believed to be a universally valuable resource for combating stress, yet Asians and Asian Americans report that social support is not helpful to them, resist seeking it, and are underrepresented among recipients of supportive services. We distinguish between explicit social support (seeking and using advice and emotional solace) and implicit social support (focusing on valued social groups) and show that Asians and Asian Americans are psychologically and biologically benefited more by implicit social support than by explicit social support; the reverse is true for European Americans. Our discussion focuses on cultural differences in the construal of relationships and their implications for social support and delivery of support services.

Stepping Aside for Elderly Persons in American versus East-Asian Cultures

2001 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 664-666
Author(s):  
Broshel Lenea Baker ◽  
Jay Hewitt
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Group ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Asian Americans ◽  
Asian American ◽  
East Asian ◽  
The Other ◽  
European American ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
European Americans

In the current study, younger (15–30 years of age) and older (60+ years of age) Asian-American and European-American individuals ( N = 160) were observed as they approached someone of the same ethnic group on a walkway at a city market. The interaction was recorded if one stepped aside and let the other pass. Younger Asian-Americans tended to step aside for older Asian-Americans. No such trend was observed among European-Americans. Results were discussed in terms of cultural values.

scholarly journals Context Diversity Predicts the Extent to Which the American Identity Is Implicitly Associated with Asian Americans and European Americans

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thierry Devos ◽  
Melody Sadler
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Asian Americans ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
American Identity ◽  
Minority Representation ◽  
European Americans ◽  
Using Data

Prior research documents that Asian Americans are implicitly seen as less American than European Americans (implicit American = White effect). The aim of the present research was to test whether this effect is weaker in more ethnically diverse metropolitan areas. Data from the 2010 U.S. Census were utilized to compute three indicators of context ethnic diversity: minority representation, variety, and integration. Implicit ethnic-American associations were assessed using data collected through Project Implicit. A total of 304 metropolitan areas were included in the analyses. The sample (N = 271,006) included 44.8% White and 31.7% Asian participants; it was composed mostly of relatively young adults (M = 26.54, SD = 11.16) and included more women (60.9%) than men. Respondents completed an Implicit Association Test measuring associations between the concepts “American” vs. “foreign” and two ethnic groups (“Asian American” vs. “European American”). Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling. The implicit American = White effect was less pronounced in metropolitan areas characterized by higher proportions of Asian Americans (minority representation). The presence of multiple ethnic groups (variety) was associated with a weaker implicit American = White effect only when minority representation was high. Greater dispersion of ethnic groups at the neighborhood level (integration) was not a source of reliable variation in implicit ethnic-American associations. These findings highlight the value of a multi-faceted perspective on context ethnic diversity. The extent to which the American identity is implicitly associated with Asian Americans and European Americans fluctuates as a function of socio-structural characteristics of local contexts.

Social Anxiety and Assertiveness: The Role of Self-Beliefs in Asian Americans and European Americans

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie K. Aoki ◽  
Jack Mearns ◽  
Sharon E. Robinson Kurpius
Keyword(s):  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Asian Americans ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Negative Mood ◽  
Mood Regulation ◽  
Socially Anxious ◽  
European Americans ◽  
Self Construal ◽  
Race Ethnicity

There is scholarly disagreement about whether Asian Americans are more socially anxious and less assertive than European Americans. We examined this question by exploring the interrelations among race/ethnicity, social anxiety, assertiveness, and self-beliefs related to mood regulation and sense of self. Participants were 72 Asian Americans and 63 European Americans who completed measures assessing negative mood regulation expectancies (NMRE), self-construal, social anxiety, and assertiveness. Moderated regression analyses revealed that independent self-construal, a self-belief, predicted both social anxiety and assertiveness regardless of participant race/ethnicity. Also, less social anxiety predicted more assertiveness, regardless of one's NMRE, also a self-belief. The most powerful predictors of assertiveness were social anxiety and self-construal. These findings suggest that when working with clients experiencing concerns about social anxiety or assertiveness, mental health counselors should explore their clients' self-beliefs, regardless of whether clients are Asian American or European American.

Ethnic Minority-Majority Status and Mental Health: The Mediating Role of Perceived Discrimination

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Cokley ◽  
Brittany Hall-Clark ◽  
Dana Hicks
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Asian Americans ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Perceived Discrimination ◽  
Latino Americans ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
European Americans ◽  
The Relationship

This study examines the role of perceived discrimination as a mediator of the relationship between ethnic minority-majority status and mental health in a sample of college students, of whom 246 were members of an ethnic minority (African American, Latino American, or Asian American) and 167 were European Americans. Ethnic minority students were significantly higher in perceived discrimination and significantly lower in mental health. African Americans were most likely to perceive racial discrimination, followed by Latino Americans, Asian Americans, and European Americans. Asian Americans reported the poorest mental health. Results of mediational analyses by ethnic status (minorities and majority) and across ethnic group pairings (Americans and European Americans, Latino Americans and European Americans, Asian Americans and European Americans) confirmed in every instance that perceived discrimination accounts for a modest part of the relationship between ethnic minority-majority status and mental health. We address the implications for mental health practice on college campuses.

Parent–Child Closeness and Parents’ Meaning in Life in Personal Meaning in Life

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-305
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Yu ◽  
Edward C. Chang
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Differences ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Personal Meaning ◽  
European American ◽  
European Americans ◽  
Role Of Parents ◽  
Parent Child

We examined for ethnic differences in how parent–child closeness and parents’ meaning in life predict personal meaning in life between 187 Asian American and 201 European American college students. Results indicated that parent–child closeness predicted a significant amount of variance in personal meaning in life for both groups. Furthermore, parents’ meaning in life added a significant amount of variance, above and beyond parent–child closeness, in predicting personal meaning in life for Asian Americans, but not for European Americans. Our findings indicate that although parents play some role in contributing to college-aged individuals’ meaning in life, there are still important ethnocultural nuances to consider. Findings from the present study provide a foundation for further research to continue examining the role of parents and familial relationships in meaning in life and other well-being outcomes. Further discussion of the study’s findings and implications are discussed.

Embracing cultural similarities and bridging differences in supportive communication

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hairong Feng
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Asian Americans ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
Supportive Communication ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Support Provision ◽  
European Americans ◽  
Similarities And Differences

This paper critically reviews cultural similarities and differences between European Americans and Asians or Asian Americans found in contemporary supportive communication research. In addition to research primarily examining and reporting cultural differences of social support between European Americans and Asians or Asian Americans, recent research in culture and social support has been focusing on examining both cultural similarities and differences. Broad similarities across cultures have been found regarding evaluations of support provision goals, messages, behaviors, ratings of support provision beliefs, attitudes, and intentions, likelihood of seeking support and so forth. These findings therefore provide us an alternative lens to examine supportive communication across cultures: rather than highlighting cultural differences, we instead want to attend to both cultural similarities and differences. Theoretically, this transition allows us to have a comprehensive understanding about support processes across cultures. Practically, this change of focus provides bridging opportunities and helps enhance understanding between European Americans and Asians or Asian Americans during supportive interactions.

Residential Mobility, Personality, and Subjective and Physical Well-Being

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigehiro Oishi ◽  
Margarita Krochik ◽  
Dana Roth ◽  
Gary D. Sherman
Keyword(s):  
African Americans ◽  
Asian Americans ◽  
Residential Mobility ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Well Being ◽  
European American ◽  
New Town ◽  
European Americans ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Residential Moves

Frequent residential moves in childhood may be stressful. Because introverts find making new friends in a new town more difficult than extraverts, the authors predicted that residential moves would be more negatively associated with well-being among introverts than among extraverts. To test this hypothesis, the authors collected salivary cortisol samples from morning to evening for two consecutive days, in addition to self-reports of well-being. In general, the authors found support for this prediction among European American participants but not for African Americans or Asian Americans. Extraversion seems to buffer the stress of residential moves among European Americans, whereas it does not seem to play as important a role to this end among African and Asian Americans.

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