Connection to Collectivist Culture and Adjustment in U.S. Children of Asian Origins

• In Event: Educational Needs and Experiences of Immigrant Students in the United States

Abstract

This study analyzed the extent to which stronger connections to collectivist culture was associated with lowered risk for adjustment problems in Asian immigrants, 1st generation Asian Americans, Asian adoptees, and non-immigrant caucasian children. Using the gene-culture coevolution framework, this study conducted a secondary data analysis of two interlinked national surveys, the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH; N = 91,642) and the 2007-08 National Survey of Adoptive Parents (NSAP; N = 2,089). Results indicated that rates of ADD/ADHD, conduct problems, anxiety, and depression was Immigrants < Adoptees < 1st generation Americans < Non-Immigrants, and for externalizing problems, Asian immigrants and 1st generation Asian Americans both scored lower than Asian adoptees and the reference group.

Authors

• Tony Xing Tan, University of South Florida

• Travis Marn, University of South Florida