Racial discrimination and the moderating effects of racial and ethnic socialization on the mental health of Asian American youth

2021/08/10 by Michael Park, Yoonsun Choi, Miwa Yasui +2 · 34 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Asian americans #Clinical psychology #Developmental psychology #Ethnic group #Mental health #Migration and Labor Dynamics #Migration, Health and Trauma #Political science #Psychiatry #Psychology #Racial and Ethnic Identity Research #Racial differences #Social psychology #Socialization

paper · open access · doi:10.1111/cdev.13638

published in Child Development 92(6), 2284-2298 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2021/08/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

Abstract This study investigates trajectories of racial discrimination, racial and ethnic socialization (RES), and their interaction effects with social positions (nativity and gender) on mental health. A longitudinal study of 786 Filipino American (FA) and Korean American (KA) youth from the Midwestern United States (Mage.Wave1 = 15) confirmed that discrimination increased and significantly contributed to the upward trend of mental health distress, whereas the impact of RES differed by its type and by ethnicity. For example, promotion of mistrust and ethnic-heritage socialization were protective among U.S.-born FA youth, but for KA youth, preparation for bias was protective regardless of nativity and gender. This study highlights the importance of considering social positions to better understand the role of RES in youth psychological adjustment.

Citations

• Intersectionality and research in psychology.
• Parents' ethnic-racial socialization practices: A review of research and directions for future study.
• Psychological Variables as Predictors of Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Among Minority and Immigrant Adolescents1
• Mothers' and Fathers' Racial Socialization in African American Families: Implications for Youth
• Racial/ethnic discrimination and well-being during adolescence: A meta-analytic review.

Cited by

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• Khmer Girls in Action and healing justice: Expanding understandings of anti-Asian racism and public health solutions. [europepmc]
• The mental health of Asian American adolescents and young adults amid the rise of anti-Asian racism. [europepmc]
• Psychological Distress and Behavioral Vigilance in Response to Minority Stress and Threat among Members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Community during the COVID-19 Pandemic. [europepmc]
• The Longitudinal Impact of Family, Religious, and School Support on the Mental Health of Filipino and Korean American Youth Across Adolescence. [europepmc]
• Framing resilience linked to parental ethnic-racial socialization as hidden: A hidden resilience conceptual framework. [europepmc]
• Measures of family process: Psychometric properties and invariance testing across South Koreans, Korean Chinese, and Korean Americans. [europepmc]
• Profiles of Asian American parent‐ and adolescent‐reported ethnic‐racial socialization: A person‐centered analysis [europepmc]

Related

• The role of critical ethnic awareness and social support in the discrimination–depression relationship among Asian Americans: Path analysis.
• Racial-ethnic Identity Pairings and Mental Health of Second-generation Asian Adolescents
• A Longitudinal Investigation of Discrimination and Mental Health in Chinese International Students: The Role of Social Connectedness
• Ethnic Identity and Major Depression in Asian American Subgroups Nationwide: Differential Findings in Relation to Subcultural Contexts
• Trajectories of perceived adult and peer discrimination among Black, Latino, and Asian American adolescents: Patterns and psychological correlates.