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Model Minority Stereotyping, Perceived Discrimination, and Adjustment Among Adolescents from Asian American Backgrounds

  • Empirical Research
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Abstract

The model minority image is a common and pervasive stereotype that Asian American adolescents must navigate. Using multiwave data from 159 adolescents from Asian American backgrounds (mean age at initial recruitment = 15.03, SD = .92; 60 % female; 74 % US-born), the current study targeted unexplored aspects of the model minority experience in conjunction with more traditionally measured experiences of negative discrimination. When examining normative changes, perceptions of model minority stereotyping increased over the high school years while perceptions of discrimination decreased. Both experiences were not associated with each other, suggesting independent forms of social interactions. Model minority stereotyping generally promoted academic and socioemotional adjustment, whereas discrimination hindered outcomes. Moreover, in terms of academic adjustment, the model minority stereotype appears to protect against the detrimental effect of discrimination. Implications of the complex duality of adolescents’ social interactions are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the schools and individual adolescents who participated in the study. Funding for the study, in part, was made possible by a Wake Forest University SBE grant awarded to LK.

Author Contributions

L.K. designed and coordinated the larger study from which this manuscript is based. T.T. helped to collect data and conceive of the manuscript’s initial research questions. M.W. performed the statistical analyses. All authors participated in the interpretation of the data, drafted specific sections of the manuscript, read, and approved the final product.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Lisa Kiang

  2. Willamette University, Salem, OR, USA

    Melissa R. Witkow

  3. Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    Taylor L. Thompson

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  1. Lisa Kiang
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  2. Melissa R. Witkow
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  3. Taylor L. Thompson
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Correspondence to Lisa Kiang.

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Kiang, L., Witkow, M.R. & Thompson, T.L. Model Minority Stereotyping, Perceived Discrimination, and Adjustment Among Adolescents from Asian American Backgrounds. J Youth Adolescence 45, 1366–1379 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0336-7

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