Associations Between Ethnic-Racial Identity Attitudes and Mental Health Outcomes Among Adolescents with Chinese Heritage

• In Event: AERA Research in Progress Roundtable Session Three
  In Invited Roundtable: Research-in-Progress RT022 (Friday)

Abstract

Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development is a normative task for adolescents, particularly in the U.S. Yet, ERI of Asian Americans are understudied, and Asian Americans are often mistakenly studied as a homogenous group in prior research. In this study, we focused on Chinese and Chinese American (CAA) adolescents to examine their ERI attitudes towards their Chinese heritage. Additionally, we explored the mental health implications of ERI in CAA adolescents and examined their immigration experiences as a moderator between ERI attitudes and mental health. Results showed that higher self-hatred attitude was associated with greater depression, and immigration experience moderated the link between ethnocentricity and anxiety. Findings highlight the implications of ERI attitudes for CAA’s mental health and suggestions for future research.

Authors

• Shanyilin Jin, Harvard University

• Hua Luo, Florida State University

• Shiyi Ji, Florida State University