Desiree Baolian Qin

Gendered Perspectives in Psychology: Immigrant Origin Youth

In this article, we contend that the field of psychology has largely failed to foreground the role of gender in its study of immigration. Here, we review studies that address gender and migration focusing on the experience of children and adolescents. We provide developmental perspectives on family relations, well-being, identity formation, and educational outcomes, paying particular attention to the role of gender in these domains. We conclude with recommendations for future research, which include the need to consider whether, and if so, how, when, and why it makes a difference to be an immigrant, to be from a particular country, or to be female rather than male. We argue that it is important to consider socioeconomic characteristics; to consider resilience as well as pathology; and to work in interdisciplinary ways to deepen our understanding of the gendered migratory experience of immigrant origin youth.

Being "Good" or Being "Popular" Gender and Ethnic Identity Negotiations of Chinese Immigrant Adolescents

In the last two decades, a corpus of research has been conducted to understand immigrant adolescent ethnic identity formation. However, few studies have examined the intersection of gender and ethnic identity. In this paper, drawing on mainly qualitative data collected on 72 Chinese immigrant adolescents, I present findings on the gendered expectations at home and school for Chinese immigrant adolescents and how they negotiated these expectations in constructing their identity. Findings suggest that while both Chinese immigrant girls and boys faced conflicting expectations at home and school, how they negotiated these differences differed. By examining issues related to gender, ethnicity, and identity, this paper also sheds light on the gendered pattern of educational outcomes of the new second generation.

“My Culture Helps Me Make Good Decisions” Cultural Adaptation of Sudanese Refugee Emerging Adults

The last two decades have witnessed growing research on the experiences of children and youth after migration or resettlement. However, nearly all of this research focuses on children and youth who arrived in the country with their parents. We know little of the unique experiences of refugee youngsters who came to this country without parental company. How do they negotiate the different cultures in the absence of parents? In this article, we draw on in-depth interview data with 19 Sudanese emerging adults who came to the United States as unaccompanied refugee minors to examine issues of acculturation and adaptation. Our findings show that having a strong root in their native culture and identity helped them make good choices, maintain focus, and avoid distractions associated with negative aspects of the U.S. youth culture. Our participants also discussed the importance of learning the new ways. As a result, those who maintained their native culture and combined it with the positive aspect of the U.S. culture were the ones who did best in their adaptation. Our research confirms previous findings on immigrant and refugee youth with parents that a bicultural orientation is the best for adaptation. Our findings also illustrate a more specific and agentic process of cultural appropriation with a flexible orientation.

Sudanese Refugee Youth: Resilience Among Undefended Children

Sudanese refugee youth who were separated from their parents by civil war represent an extreme example of undefended children. James Garbarino (Lost boys: Why our sons turn violent and how we can save them. New York, NY, Free Press, 1999; No place to be a Child: Growing up in a war zone. Lexington, MA, Lexington Books, 1991) has pointed out that children exposed to war and some children in American cities share a common experience of learning early in life that adults around them cannot protect them. Like other children with this experience, the Sudanese youth developed strategies for survival through self-reliance, self-care, and the formation of strong peer groups. However, for the most part these youth found strategies that promoted positive development, unlike many other children facing high levels of risk. In this chapter we will review findings from our research concerning the youth’s own perspectives on the risks they faced and the protective factors that helped them during their lives in Africa as refugees. We address three questions: How did the youth experience separation and ambiguous loss after separation from their parents? From their perspective, what were the risks they faced in Africa during flight and in the refugee camps? What protective factors buffered their exposure to these risks?

Maternal Monitoring Knowledge Change and Adolescent Externalizing Behaviors in Low-Income African American and Latino Families

Drawing on a sample of 318 African American and 354 Latino urban, low-income families, we identify maternal monitoring knowledge trajectories and examine which trajectory predicts fewer late-adolescent externalizing problems and which family and neighborhood factors predict trajectories with positive implications for late-adolescent externalizing behaviors. The majority of adolescents in both groups perceived long-term high levels of maternal monitoring knowledge throughout adolescence—stably high for the African American sample and high for the Latino sample. Long-term high levels of knowledge predicted fewer general late-adolescent externalizing problems for both groups and fewer late-adolescent delinquent behaviors for the African American sample. Family routine and mother–adolescent trust predicted long-term high levels of knowledge for both groups. For the African American sample, family routine and neighborhood cohesion predicted stably high levels of knowledge via the mediation of mother–adolescent trust. We discuss implications for improving positive adolescent development and family environments for both groups.

Socioeconomic Status and Child/Youth Outcomes in Asian American Families

Decades of research has established the important role of socioeconomic status (SES) in children’s education and psychosocial outcomes. Nevertheless, systematic research on the role of SES in families from immigrant backgrounds remains limited. In this chapter, we review research on the intriguing and complex role of SES in Asian American families. We aim to address: How has family SES been conceived in Asian societies and how may this notion of SES have influenced Asian American families and child/youth educational and psychosocial outcomes? Our review shows that family SES powerfully shapes immigrant family experiences before and after migration. It structures family resources and investment in Asian American families, which has important implications for children’s educational and psychosocial outcomes. Our review also suggests that a number of protective factors including maintaining the traditional Asian perception of the fluid nature of family SES, support from family, and co-ethnic community can buffer the negative effect of low SES on Asian American children’s educational outcomes. We conclude with implications and recommendations for future research.

A Study of Place Attachment to Home, Acculturative Stress, and Psychological Adjustment Among Korean Youth in the United States

This study examined the relationships between place attachment to home, acculturative stress, and psychological adjustment among Korean youth in the United States. In particular, this study sought to better understand how place attachment to home and acculturation stress impacts upon youth`s psychological adjustment, as measured by depression and self-esteem. The subjects consisted of 225 Korean youths (113 males and 111 females) residing in Michigan in the USA, of whom 47.6% attended middle school while 52.4% of whom attended high school. The instruments utilized were the acculturative stress scale (Sandhu and Asrabadi, 1994), the place attachment scale (Choi, Lee, & Han, 2009), Radloff`s depression scale (CES-D), and Rosenberg`s self-esteem scale. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to assess the predictive effects of place attachment to home and acculturative stress on youth`s psychological adjustment, alongside controlling demographic variables. The findings indicated that place attachment to home and acculturative stress impacted upon depression and self-esteem, as experienced by the youths examined. These results have implications for our understanding of the importance of both youths` place attachment to home and acculturative stress in the acculturation process.