Risk and resilience among Asian American youth: the impact of discrimination and low authenticity on self-representation.

Luthar, SS, Ebbert, AM, and Kumar, NL (2021). Risk and resilience of Asian American youth: effects of discrimination and low authenticity in self-representation. American Psychologist, 76(4), 643-657. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000764

Commentary

This study examines the adaptation patterns of Asian American students, a neglected population in developmental science.

National reports declare that such schools are at risk for increased problems among teens.

Asian American students are often referred to as the model minority, and little is known about the problems they face, especially in an academically competitive environment.

The results of previous studies on culturally salient issues have been investigated and

(a) Determine areas of relative strength and weakness in the adaptation of Asian Americans compared to Caucasians.

(b) Identified relevant salient in-group processes.

These examined risk modifiers included perceptions of ethnic discrimination, parental perfectionism, internalized achievement pressure, authenticity of self-expression, and proximity to adults in school; outcomes included depression, anxiety, and isolation in school.

The study results showed that Asian Americans did better than whites on anxiety and school isolation, but the effect size was small.

In contrast, the targeted students did less well on all risk modifiers and had larger effect sizes on discrimination.

The regression results showed that the consistent association among Asian Americans was for discrimination and authenticity.

These findings underscore the need for increased awareness of discrimination, which can be unrealistic for students who do not believe it exists.