Hyung Chol Yoo

Discrimination and health among Asian American immigrants: Disentangling racial from language discrimination

We examined whether self-reported discrimination based on race and language was associated with the number of chronic health conditions among Asian American immigrants. We also examined whether these relationships were moderated by years in the United States. Data are from adults participating in an Asian American supplement to the 2001 Health Care Quality Survey. Language and racial discrimination in seeking health care were independently associated with increased number of chronic health conditions after controlling for age, sex, education, family income, health insurance, primary language, nativity, and ethnicity. Language discrimination was significantly associated with health conditions even with the presence of racial discrimination in the statistical model. Racial discrimination did not show a significant association in the full analytic model. The relationship between language discrimination and chronic conditions was stronger for Asian immigrants living in the USA 10 years or more compared to more recently arrived immigrants. Language discrimination may be an understudied type of discrimination associated with chronic illness among Asian Americans.

Validation of the subtle and blatant racism scale for asian american college students (SABR-A 2)

This investigation describes the validation of a measure of perceived racism developed to assess racial experiences of Asian American college students. In three studies across two different regions of the United States, there was strong evidence for the validation of the 8-item Subtle and Blatant Racism Scale for Asian American College Students (SABR-A2). The subtle racism subscale refers to instances of discrimination attributable implicitly to racial bias or stereotype, whereas the blatant racism subscale refers to instances of discrimination attributable explicitly to racial bias or stereotype. The two-subscale structure of the SABR-A2 was supported by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and demonstrated discriminant, convergent, and incremental validity, as well as internal reliability and stability over 2 weeks.

Comparing the Ethnic Identity and Well-Being of Adopted Korean Americans with Immigrant/U.S.-Born Korean Americans and Korean International Students.

This study compared the ethnic identity and well-being of Korean Americans who were adopted internationally with immigrant/U.S.-born Korean Americans and Korean international students, as well as the relationship between ethnic identity and well-being for each group. One-hundred seven college students completed measures of ethnic identity and subjective well-being. Immigrant/U.S.-born Korean Americans had higher ethnic identity scores than the other two groups. Immigrant/U.S.-born Korean Americans also had higher positive affect scores than international students. Ethnic identity was positively correlated with positive affect for all three groups (r = .27 to .34) but was negatively correlated with negative affect for international students (r = –.44). Overall, the results suggest that ethnic identity, although slightly lower than in non-adopted peers, is relevant to the well-being of adopted Korean American college students.

Self-reported racial discrimination and substance use among Asian Americans in Arizona.

We examined associations between different forms of self-reported racial discrimination and current substance use (i.e., smoking, alcohol use, and controlled substance use) among Asian Americans living in Arizona. The data are from 271 Asian American adults participating in the 2008 Asian Pacific Arizona Inititative (APAZI) Survey, which is part of a larger collaboration between community members, organizational leaders, and researchers. Asian Americans treated like they were not American because of their race were at increased risk of tobacco use, after controlling for covariates, including age, gender, education, family income, health insurance, nativity status, and language, and other types of racial discrimination. Also, individuals treated differently because of their race were at increased risk of alcohol use and controlled substance use, after controlling for covariates and other types of racial discrimination. The results indicate that Asian Americans experience a wide range of racial discrimination types and some forms of racial discrimination may have greater associations with tobacco, alcohol, and controlled substance use than others.

Role of identity integration on the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and psychological adjustment of multiracial people.

This study examined relations between perceived racial discrimination, multiracial identity integration (i.e., racial distance and racial conflict), and psychological adjustment (i.e., distress symptoms, positive affect, and negative affect) of 263 multiracial adults, using an online cross-sectional survey design. As hypothesized, higher levels of perceived racial discrimination was related to lower levels of psychological adjustment (i.e., higher distress symptoms and negative affect). Also, higher levels of multiracial identity integration with low racial conflict was related to higher levels of psychological adjustment (i.e., lower distress symptoms and negative affect), whereas higher levels of multiracial identity integration with low racial distance was related to higher levels of psychological adjustment (i.e., lower negative affect). Finally, multiracial identity integration (i.e., lower racial conflict) moderated the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and psychological adjustment (i.e., negative affect) with results suggesting multiracial identity integration related to low racial conflict buffers the negative effects of perceived racial discrimination on psychological adjustment. Findings from this study are discussed in terms of future research on the psychological well-being of multiracial individuals and implications for clinical practice with multiracial adults.

Coping with discrimination among Mexican American college students.

There is limited research directly examining the process of how Mexican American college students cope with unique experiences of racial discrimination. The present study used a multiple mediation model to collectively examine the indirect effects of engagement (i.e., problem solving, cognitive restructuring, expression of emotion, and social support) and disengagement (i.e., social withdrawal, self-criticism, problem avoidance, and wishful thinking) coping strategies on the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and subjective well-being of 302 Mexican American college students. Results suggested that perceived racial discrimination was negatively correlated with subjective well-being. Moreover, of the engagement coping strategies examined, only problem solving had a significant mediating effect that was associated with elevations in subjective well-being. Specifically, perceptions of racial discrimination were positively related to problem solving, which, in turn, was positively related to subjective well-being. Of the disengagement coping strategies examined, self-criticism, wishful thinking, and social withdrawal had a significant mediating effect that was negatively associated with subjective well-being. Specifically, perceptions of racial discrimination were positively related to self-criticism, wishful thinking, and social withdrawal, which, in turn, were negatively related to subjective well-being. Ultimately, these findings highlight the indirect and complex ways in which multiple coping strategies are used to effectively, and sometimes not effectively, deal with racism experienced by Mexican Americans college students.

Racial and ethnic socialization as moderators of racial discrimination and school adjustment of adopted and nonadopted Korean American adolescents.

This study investigated the roles of racial and ethnic socialization in the link between racial discrimination and school adjustment among a sample of 233 adopted Korean American adolescents from White adoptive families and 155 nonadopted Korean American adolescents from immigrant Korean families. Adopted Korean American adolescents reported lower levels of racial discrimination, racial socialization, and ethnic socialization than nonadopted Korean American adolescents. However, racial discrimination was negatively related to school belonging and school engagement, and ethnic socialization was positively related to school engagement for both groups. Racial socialization also had a curvilinear relationship with school engagement for both groups. A moderate level of racial socialization predicted positive school engagement, whereas low and high levels of racial socialization predicted negative school engagement. Finally, ethnic socialization moderated the link between racial discrimination and school belonging, which differed between groups. In particular, ethnic socialization exacerbated the relations between racial discrimination and school belonging for adopted Korean American adolescents, whereas ethnic socialization buffered this link for nonadopted Korean American adolescents. The findings illustrate the complex relationship between racial and ethnic socialization, racial discrimination, and school adjustment.

Validation of the internalization of the Model Minority Myth Measure (IM-4) and its link to academic performance and psychological adjustment among Asian American adolescents

There is limited research examining psychological correlates of a uniquely racialized experience of the model minority stereotype faced by Asian Americans. The present study examined the factor structure and fit of the only published measure of the internalization of the model minority myth, the Internalization of the Model Minority Myth Measure (IM-4; Yoo et al., 2010), with a sample of 155 Asian American high school adolescents. We also examined the link between internalization of the model minority myth types (i.e., myth associated with achievement and myth associated with unrestricted mobility) and psychological adjustment (i.e., affective distress, somatic distress, performance difficulty, academic expectations stress), and the potential moderating effect of academic performance (cumulative grade point average). Results suggested the 2-factor model of the IM-4 had an acceptable fit to the data and supported the factor structure using confirmatory factor analyses. Internalizing the model minority myth of achievement related positively to academic expectations stress; however, internalizing the model minority myth of unrestricted mobility related negatively to academic expectations stress, both controlling for gender and academic performance. Finally, academic performance moderated the model minority myth associated with unrestricted mobility and affective distress link and the model minority myth associated with achievement and performance difficulty link. These findings highlight the complex ways in which the model minority myth relates to psychological outcomes.

Construction and Initial Validation of the Multiracial Experiences Measure (MEM)

This article describes the development and validation of the Multiracial Experiences Measure (MEM): a new measure that assesses uniquely racialized risks and resiliencies experienced by individuals of mixed racial heritage. Across 2 studies, there was evidence for the validation of the 25-item MEM with 5 subscales including Shifting Expressions, Perceived Racial Ambiguity, Creating Third Space, Multicultural Engagement, and Multiracial Discrimination. The 5-subscale structure of the MEM was supported by a combination of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Evidence of criterion-related validity was partially supported with MEM subscales correlating with measures of racial diversity in ones social network, color-blind racial attitude, psychological distress, and identity conflict. Evidence of discriminant validity was supported with MEM subscales not correlating with impression management. Implications for future research and suggestions for utilization of the MEM in clinical practice with multiracial adults are discussed.

The Role of Social and Personal Identities in Self-Esteem Among Ethnic Minority College Students

This study examined the latent personal-social identity profiles that emerged from simultaneous consideration of ethnic, national (United States), and personal identities among ethnic minority college students (N = 3,009) as well as how personal and social identities are jointly associated with self-esteem. Results indicated that the structure of personal-social identity profiles significantly differed across ethnicity, but also indicated some commonalities. The study identified three profiles among Blacks, four among Asian Americans, and two among Latinos. Some personal-social identity profiles were common across multiple ethnic groups, but others were unique within one specific ethnic group. Overall, the profiles indicated important associations between ethnic identity, U.S. identity, and personal identity. These profiles were linked with self-esteem such that individuals who reported high levels of multiple social and personal identities had the highest self-esteem compared to other profiles.