Soci 2319 Term Paper

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Apr 3, 2024

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Helen Fleck Asian American Minorities Term paper RATIONALE STATEMENT SECTION The Asian American community is growing and just over the last two years we saw numerous counts of discrimination in America. Immigration was opened in 1965 to professional Asian families which ties in to “the model minority” myth; Asian Americans are referred to as “the model minority,” they are regarded as whiz kids and extremely gifted in school. (Desmond, Emirbayer, 2020) I anticipate that I will have a better understanding of why Asian Americans are regarded as the “model minority” and yet are discriminated against. INTRODUCTION SECTION Sociology is the study of human behavior, development, and social problems. Sociology is important because it helps us to solve issues within the community and respect others. Sociologists study by using qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative methods such as ethnography, or participant observation. Quantitative methods such as surveys, there are two types of surveys, standardized (fixed choice) or open-ended questions. Sociologists perform experiments, assessing a hypothesis under controlled conditions established by the researcher. (Appelbaum et al., 2021) There are five basic social institutions: family, education, religion, government, and economics. Family’s role is to raise children, teach them cultural values and norms. Education’s role is primarily teaching. Religion’s role is regarding the supernatural, such as God. Government has the authority to enforce laws. Economics is the consumption of goods and services, money, and wealth. The focus of this paper is the Asian American minority group. Understanding the Asian American society is important because they are not deeply rooted in America, most are 1 st , 2 nd, or 3 rd generation, whereas African Americans are very deeply rooted. FAMILY STRUCTURE SECTION 1

Helen Fleck Asian American Minorities Term paper Family Conflict, Asian Cultural Values, Perceived Parental Control, and Affectionate Care among Asian American College Students is a journal documenting the parent-child dyad of Asian American families. An experiment evaluated 295 Asian American undergraduates and “their perceived levels of adherence to Asian values, parental control and affectionate care and family conflict.” (Kim et al., 2019) The study found that Asian American women reported higher father control than males; fathers tend to be stricter and more have more rigid expectations on women than men. Men rated their fathers’ affectionate care lower than that of women. The study suggested that the participants view their parent’s control as overly restrictive. It is suggested that affectionate care, in Asian American cultures, may be expressed or communicated differently than that of the Western cultures due to Confucian-based norms of a traditional Asian culture. East Asian cultures follow Guan, which means to love, care for, show concern with firm control and to govern. Asian American parents show love through firm control, Asian American children see what affectionate care looks like due to being in the Western World, this causing family conflict. The journal ends by giving suggestions to counseling professionals working with Asian American undergraduate students to strengthen family bonds. (Kim et al., 2019) Reproductive Justice for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders discussed several topics regarding the reproductive health, immigrant rights and economic justice of Asian American and Pacific Islander women. The journal states that AAPI young women often do not learn about sexual health and reproduction from their families; they end up getting such education from friends, teacher, and the media. There are cultural and legal barriers that prevent access to contraception, abortion, and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. Sex-selective abortion bans have passed in some states, this ban targets AAPI women “seeking abortions due to son preference.” AAPI women also have limited access to culturally appropriate healthcare or the 2

Helen Fleck Asian American Minorities Term paper ability to communicate in the same language. AAPI need to have access to safe and legal abortion, healthcare should be culturally appropriate, and they should also have access to reproductive and sexual healthcare needs throughout their whole life. The journal discussed immigration rights as a substantial number of women from Asian countries as undocumented immigrants. Without immigration status, AAPI women do not have access to insurance, Medicaid, risk deportation and being separated from their families. Also, AAPI women experience physical and sexual violence by an intimate partner; the women feel trapped in violent marriages. Immigrant women and families need access to affordable, quality healthcare; they also need protection from violence. The journal explains that AAPI women are looked at as the “model minority” due to the high earners, however, 11.7% of Asian women were living in poverty. Burmese women only earned 44% of a non-Hispanic white male for annual income for 2015. AAPI families live in multigenerational homes which can cause financial hardships, policies in the workplace should include paid days off for caring for house members/community members. (NAPAWF, 2018) Asian Americans families hold a standard that is different than that of the one we traditional Americans are used to. You don’t question, it’s all about honor and duty. The second article spoke of sexual health rights for women. With Asian Americans being 1 st , 2 nd and 3 rd generation immigrants, a lot of the time, their culture and language, does not allow for them to fully navigate our healthcare system the way it needs to be. Advocates for Asian American women should work together to assist these young women in their needs. EDUCATIONAL TRENDS SECTION 3

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Helen Fleck Asian American Minorities Term paper Academic and Career Development: Rethinking Advising for Asian American Students discusses the complexity of Asian American students’ academic and career development by addressing the influences of both cultural and racial contexts. (Kodama et al., 2017) Traditionally one would go to college and find meaningful work that makes them happy; Asian Americans families prioritize an academic path towards gainful employment, sometimes in a field the individual is not talented in. Asian American families usually have grand expectations of their children and place a high value on education. (Kodama et al., 2017) Asian cultures believe that one’s career is a key status marker for the family, children feel pressure to choose certain fields of study. The family is a strong influence in making academic and career decisions: students desire to honor their parents, family approval and grand expectations. It discusses how advisors can prepare students for discussions with parents when choosing academic/career pathways. Asian American students rely on peers for advice; however, peers may have the same cultural expectations as their own parents. Race and discrimination have been a problem within the workplace as well as with academic counselors. Asian Americans have experienced where counselors have directed students toward the technical fields, which is potentially a discriminatory and illegal act identified y the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. (Kodama et al., 2017) Lack of Asian American role models are another aspect of race- related influence. Asian American students do not see many Asian American professionals in mainstream media nor are there many Asian American faculty and staff on campuses. (Kodama et al., 2017) Higher education professionals should take a holistic and culturally sensitive approach to exploring academic and career options rather than focusing on individual interests, they should provide a variety of academic and career options and support the students in their academic and career development. (Kodama et al., 2017) 4

Helen Fleck Asian American Minorities Term paper Stress, Stressors, and Academic Performance Among Asian Students in Central California is a study consisting of students aged 18 and older who are Asian American and were enrolled at a mid-sized university in California. The study included undergraduate and graduate students from different majors. The study was looking to see how stress among Asian American students related to eight content areas. The areas focused on were test anxiety, family pressures, financial difficulties, language barriers, culture shock, social support, physiological aspects, and academic performance. The results suggested that test anxiety, academic performance, financial difficulties, and social support had the greatest effect on stress levels with Asian American students. The study suggested that factors like language barriers, culture shock and family pressures were not significant. The study suggested that sleep pattern was affected for students regarding test anxiety, gender, and class standing; female students showed to feel more anxious with tests. The closing suggests that understanding the stressors for Asian American students, health professionals, can better address their needs. (Perez et al., 2019) Both articles spoke of the pressure children and young Asian Americans feel while in school. The pressure to do well, pressure to choose the right field of study. Parents place these a lot of pressure on the students, and statistically it showed that there was a lot of mental health disorders, such as depression. Asian American youth have the pressures to provide and take care of the elderly as they get older, getting prestigious careers and doing well. RELIGION AND SPIRITUAL BELIEFS SECTION Faith, spirituality, and values among Asian-American older adults: an exploratory factor analysis of the Multidimensional Measures of Religion and Spirituality is a research experiment that analyses religiosity and Asian American elders. The research participants are Korean- and 5

Helen Fleck Asian American Minorities Term paper Chinese American elders that live in senior centers or senior housing facilities. The participants are asked a series of questions in the Multidimensional Measures of Religion and Spirituality (MMRS). The questions are categorized into eight factors: 1. The Daily Spiritual Experience 2. The Values and Belief 3. Forgiveness 4. Private Religious Practice 5. Religious/Spiritual Coping 6. Overall Self-Ranking and 8. Organizational Religiousness. The results showed that spirituality and faith help Asian-Americans cope with adapting to a new country, giving a sense of community. Also, religion and faith-based communities offer members services for daily lives such as employment, housing assistance, financial advice, marriage counselling and so on. The research concluded that Asian-American’s participation in faith-based community had positive effects on their overall well-being and mental health. (Ryu et al., 2016) Acceptability of racial microaggressions among Asian American college students: internalized model minority myth, individualism, and social conscience as correlates is a study to see how cultural and religious variable might predict the acceptability of racial microaggressions among Asian American college students. Racial microaggressions are daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental slights or insults towards people of color. The journal stated that even with the negative impact from racial microaggression, Asian Americans may use a coping mechanism for real experiences of racism by ignoring or accepting the microaggressions. The four factors of capturing different types of microaggression an individual can perceive as acceptable: victim blaming, color evasion, power evasion, and exoticizing. The study predicted that the model minority stereotype and individualism will be related to a more acceptability of microaggressions. Many Asian Americans identify with religion, religion can be helpful for an individual who experiences racism. Religion may have an essential role in how a person perceives race and related variables, one religious variable being a person's belief regarding the 6

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Helen Fleck Asian American Minorities Term paper role of the church in engaging race-related issues. The church can be influential in forming one’s perspectives regarding social issues; the study predicted that the greater the perception of social conscience the church has, the less accepting of racial microaggressions the individual would have. Participants were invited and paid $25 for participating in the study. The results of the study showed that Asian American college students were more accepting of racial microaggression when it was stained through individual acts (individualism). The study also concluded that those who identified as Christian were less accepting of racial microaggressions as predicted. Lastly, the study showed that internalization of the model minority stereotype did not significantly predict being more accepting of racial microaggressions, this was different than what was hypothesized. (Law et al., 2019) Religion showed to be very important in both articles. In the first article it discussed how Asian American participation in religion increased their overall wellbeing and mental health. The second article discussed that those who were involved with the church were less likely to accept racial microaggressions. Religion can help people to stay centered. POLITICS AND SOCIAL POLICIES SECTION Emergence of the Asian American Electorate: Awakening the “Next Sleeping Giant” discusses the projected growth of Asian American voters by the year 2040. The project obtained information from the US Census Bureau and used demographic projection techniques based on the 2014 National Population Projections. The authors of the project projected US population growth for 18-year-old and over and broke it down into separate races; Asian Americans, including multiracial Asians, made up the fastest growing demographic. The project charted growth in registered voters, Asian American registered voters by citizen status, and charted 7

Helen Fleck Asian American Minorities Term paper Asian American registered voters age by nativity projected from 2015 to 2040. The project discusses using the results to unify Asian Americans into an effective and cohesive voting bloc. Asian Americans, in 2040, are projected to have 7 percent of the vote and can been seen as the deciding swing vote. The journal ends by stating in order to achieve the potential demographic trajectory it will take hard work and perseverance. Naturalization and voter registration drives and raise political voice to ensure accountability by public officials are a few strategies in bringing greater political influence and social power to the Asian Americans. (Ong, 2015) The Patterns of Asian Americans’ Partisan Choice: Policy Preferences and Racial Consciousness is a study whose goal is to answer why and in what way Asian Americans develop partisan affiliation with the Democratic or Republican Party. (Zheng, 2019) Political socialization, process in which individuals develop their political orientations involving parents, schools and media, was looked at regarding Asian American communities. It was noted that immigrants are still learning English, adopting new norms and values, all of which makes partisan orientation unlikely to apply to Asian American communities. The study tested two hypotheses to see if individuals who hold liberal public policy views are less likely to identify as Republican and individuals who hold a belief that they share political interests with other minority groups are less likely to identify as Republican. (Zheng, 2019) The study used four categories of policies to question in order to determine partisan preference: public policies, socioeconomic attainment, length of residence in the United States, and country of origin of five major sub-Asian groups. (Zheng, 2019) The study showed that about 70 percent of the Asian American population is foreign-born and most of them identified as nonpartisan or independent. The study noted that the influence of socioeconomic attainment was minimal; income, education and ability to speak English proficiently had no statistically significant correlations with 8

Helen Fleck Asian American Minorities Term paper partisanship. The political attitude of an individual depends on what one has seen and experienced with Asian Americans. (Zheng, 2019) Asian Americans are not represented in government sufficiently at this time. The first article discusses that by the year 2040, Asian Americans will be considered a swing vote at 7 percent if they vote together. The second article discusses the fact that Asian Americans do not vote Republican or Democrat entirely, they identify as nonpartisan. The first article discussed that Asian Americans need to see and have more representation in government. ECONOMIC TRAJECTORIES SECTION Navigating the Road to Work: Second-Generation Asian American Finance Workers is a study that interviewed 42 Asian American 1.5- and second-generation young adults with most of them graduating from the nation’s top colleges. These young adults all were working in finances, such as investment banking, securities dealing, and portfolio management. Asian American parents want prestigious careers for their children, the perception of finance did not hold that same prestige for Asian parents. The respondents found starting salaries of $80,000 to $100,000 with bonuses, allowing for a luxurious lifestyle and smooth transition upon graduation. Even though majority of the respondents were able to land successful jobs, there is still limited parent approval. (Hyein et al., 2015) Wealth Heterogeneity Among Asian American Elderly discusses wealth distribution and characteristics of elderly Asian Americans as well as ethnic variations and the factors associated with wealth. (Ong et al., 2017) The study used the Survey of Income and Program Participation and the Health and Retirement Study to get an overview of the distribution of wealth among elderly Asian Americans. The sample group was restricted to those aged sixty-five and older and 9

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Helen Fleck Asian American Minorities Term paper who did not live in group quarters. The Health and Retirement Study is a survey conducted every two years on retirement and health. The study measured home equity and other assets against ethnic variations with elderly Asian Americans. It showed that about one-third of elderly Asian Americans own their homes, showing Japanese, Taiwanese, and Asian Indian more likely to own their homes and Southeast Asians less likely. Income from assets was calculated by household, showing that at least half of Taiwanese, Asian Indian and Japanese elderly households had asset income and Southeast Asian groups were two to three times less likely to have income from assets. The study showed that 13 percent of the Asian American elderly live with income below the federal poverty level. (Ong et al., 2017) Elderly Asian Americans are not homogeneous when it comes to the distribution of wealth, some subgroups have assets and own homes, others have no assets and do not own anything. Poverty among the elderly Asian Americans is high. With the young Asian Americans, working, out of college, you find prestigious careers that can bring in $80,000 to $100,000 with bonus in the first year. The problem is that not all the prestigious are accepted by Asian American parents as prestigious. Careers in top finance fields can bring in a lot of money, but its not a “doctor” or a “lawyer.” Culturally Asian Americans look for jobs in the STEM field, not finance. The first article discussed how many Asian Americans are living luxurious lifestyles and yet it was not the prestige their parents anticipated for them. SYNTHESIS SECTION Asian Americans are hard working and determined. They are under pressure to do what their parents want, usually giving up what it is that they want. I learned that many choose careers that do not interest them, they may be good at it but at the end of the day preferred art or writing 10

Helen Fleck Asian American Minorities Term paper over being a doctor. I learned that the healthcare system in America is not set up for the needs of the Asian American patient. I did not realize that culturally there were different practices. Mental health, depression and suicidal ideation, seemed to be very high among college students due to the pressures to succeed. I was more shocked at the parenting; the lack of “love and affection” shown towards younger children is completely differently than the way I raise my children. I enjoyed learning more about a group of people, even though it is a very diverse group, that I am exposed to daily. I love being more aware of different cultures. 11

Soci 2319 Term Paper

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