being an asian american male is really hard actually - Deep Blue

292 Pages·2009·2.29 MB·English

“BEING AN ASIAN AMERICAN MALE IS REALLY HARD ACTUALLY”:
CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY OF ASIAN AMERICAN MASCULINITIES AND
PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING

by

Jennifer Young Yim

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
(Psychology and Women’s Studies)
in The University of Michigan
2009

Doctoral Committee:

Associate Professor Ramaswami Mahalingam, Chair
Associate Professor Edward C. Chang
Associate Professor Anthony S. Chen
Associate Professor Elizabeth R. Cole
© Jennifer Young Yim
2009
This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, my ancestors, and my teachers.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to offer gratitude and thanks to my mentor, advisor, and committee
chair, Dr. Ramaswami Mahalingam, for his unconditional mentorship. I would also like
to thank the members of my committee, Drs. Edward Chang, Elizabeth Cole, and
Anthony Chen, for their generous support in this project. I also give thanks to the
members of the Immigrant Psychology Research Lab for sharing their perspectives on the
use of intersectionality and social marginality in different contexts. And I would like to
thank the Program on Intergroup Relations for their unflagging support and enthusiasm.
I would like to acknowledge the grants that funded this research from the
University of Michigan Psychology Department, Women’s Studies Program, and
Rackham School of Graduate Studies, which made this project possible. I would also like
to acknowledge Apple for allowing me to use iTunes gift cards to promote this study and
reach a wider population. Thank you also to Tyler Dancer and Madi Wachman for their
assistance with data maintenance and proofreading. And thank you to my students who
have all challenged me to think differently about what masculinity means to college
students and for pursuing their dreams to be forces of positive change.
I would like to thank my parents, who were brave enough to immigrate twice and
show us what hard work is really about. And thank you to Jeremy, the little bird who
helped me grow roots.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii
LIST OF TABLES vi
LIST OF FIGURES vii
LIST OF APPENDICES ix
ABSTRACT x
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION 1
II. PRESENT STUDY 36
III. QUANTITATIVE SURVEY
A. METHOD 44
B. RESULTS 50
I. SEM ANALYSIS SERIES 1 55
II. SEM ANALYSIS SERIES 2 59
III. SEM ANALYSIS SERIES 3 67
IV. SEM ANALYSIS SERIES 4 75
C. DISCUSSION 77
IV. QUALITATIVE INTERVIEW
A. METHOD 88
B. ANALYSES AND FINDINGS 95
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i. TACIT PARENTAL MESSAGES 95
II. PARENTAL PERFECTIONISM 114
III. DISCRIMINATION & STEREOTYPES 127
IV. MASCULINITY 155
V. REFERENT GROUPS 162
VI. OUT-GROUP DATING 180
VII. ACTIVE COPING 191
C. DISCUSSION 206
V. GENERAL DISCUSSION 231
VI. LIMITATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 241
VII. CONCLUSION 247
APPENDICES 249
REFERENCES 269
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LIST OF TABLES
Table

1 MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS OF QUANTITATIVE 53
SURVEY VARIABLES

2 INTERCORRELATIONS OF QUANTITATIVE SURVEY 54
VARIABLES

3 DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FOR INTERVIEW 94
STUDY PARTICIPANTS

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LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE

1 RESEARCH MODEL 38

2 SOCIAL MARGINALITY, FAMILY-LEVEL SOCIALIZATION, AND 39
IDEALIZED CULTURAL IDENTITY

3 DUAL PATHWAY MODEL 40

4 EFFECTS OF ACTIVE COPING ON PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL- 41
BEING AND ACADEMIC OUTCOMES.

5a SEM ANALYSIS ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN 55
PERCEIVED PARENTAL PERFECTIONISM, PERCEIVED ASIAN
DISCRIMINATION, AND MM MYTH

5b SEM ANALYSIS ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN 57
PERCEIVED PARENTAL PERFECTIONISM, PERCEIVED ASIAN
DISCRIMINATION, AND MM MALE IDEAL

5c SEM ANALYSIS ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MM 58
MALE IDEAL, MM PRIDE, AND MM PRESSURE

6a DUAL PATHWAY SEM ANALYSIS ASSESSING THE 60
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MM MALE IDEAL, MM PRIDE, MM
PRESSURE, AND JOHN HENRYISM

6b DUAL PATHWAY SEM ANALYSIS ASSESSING THE 61
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOHN HENRYISM AND PERCEIVED
STRESS

6c DUAL PATHWAY SEM ANALYSIS ASSESSING THE 62
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOHN HENRYISM AND DEPRESSION

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6d DUAL PATHWAY SEM ANALYSIS ASSESSING THE 64
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOHN HENRYISM AND ANXIETY

6e DUAL PATHWAY SEM ANALYSIS ASSESSING THE 65
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOHN HENRYISM AND LIFE
SATISFACTION

6f DUAL PATHWAY SEM ANALYSIS ASSESSING THE 66
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOHN HENRYISM AND LIFE GPA

7a DUAL PATHWAY SEM ANALYSIS ASSESSING THE 68
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MM MALE IDEAL, MM PRIDE, MM
PRESSURE, AND PROBLEM SOLVING

7b DUAL PATHWAY SEM ANALYSIS ASSESSING THE 69
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROBLEM SOLVING AND
PERCEIVED STRESS

7c DUAL PATHWAY SEM ANALYSIS ASSESSING THE 70
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROBLEM SOLVING AND
DEPRESSION

7d DUAL PATHWAY SEM ANALYSIS ASSESSING THE 72
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROBLEM SOLVING AND ANXIETY

7e DUAL PATHWAY SEM ANALYSIS ASSESSING THE 73
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROBLEM SOLVING AND LIFE
SATISFACTION

7f DUAL PATHWAY SEM ANALYSIS ASSESSING THE 74
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROBLEM SOLVING AND GPA

8 SEM ANALYSIS ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN 76
PERCEIVED ASIAN DISCRIMINATION, MM MALE IDEAL, AND
ATTITUDES TOWARD OUT-GROUP DATING

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LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix A Perceived Asian Discrimination 250
Appendix B Perceived Parental Perfectionism 251
Appendix C Model Minority Myth Stereotype 252
Appendix D Model Minority Male Ideal 253
Appendix E Model Minority Pride 254
Appendix F Model Minority Pressure 255
Appendix G John Henryism 256
Appendix H Direct Coping 257
Appendix I Perceived Stress 258
Appendix J Depressive Symptoms 259
Appendix K Anxiety Symptoms 260
Appendix L Life Satisfaction 261
Appendix M Disapproval of Out-Group Dating 262
Appendix N Qualitative Interview Protocol 263
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