South Asian Americans: Perceived Discrimination, Stress and Well-being

Download or read book South Asian Americans: Perceived Discrimination, Stress and Well-being written by Anju Kaduvettoor and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: South Asians have historically experienced discrimination in the United States (Sheth, 1995) and continue to experience discrimination today (Inman, Yeh, Maden-Bahel, & Nath, 2007). In fact, recent political and economic climates as well as demographic changes have made racism-related stress more salient for South Asian communities in the United States (Inman, 2006; Inman et al., 2007). For example, increases in discrimination for this group after September 11th, 2001, leave this group vulnerable to the negative consequences of racism and discrimination (Inman et al., 2007). Perceived discrimination and resulting discrimination related stress can be harmful for individuals in terms of their physical and psychological health (e.g., Utsey, Ponterotto, Reynolds, & Cancelli, 2000). More specifically, perceived discrimination potentially results in depression and anxiety (Cassidy, O'Connor, Howe & Warden, 2005) and negative effects on one's self-esteem and life satisfaction (Utsey, Payne, Jackson & Jones, 2002). Relatedly, researchers hypothesize that the relationship between discrimination and well-being variables (e.g., self-esteem) may be mediated or explained by variables such as perceived stress (e.g., Carter, 2007). Furthermore, others (e.g., Harrell, 2000) have theorized that moderating variables such as generational status may also influence outcomes of experiencing discrimination. While research illustrates the mental health effects of discrimination among other communities, it has not comprehensively examined the effects of these experiences on South Asians' well-being. Thus, this study examined the potential mediating role of racism related stress and the potential moderating role of generational status in the experience of discrimination for 210 South Asians living in the United States. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the General Ethnic Discrimination Scale (Landrine, Klonoff, Corral, Fernandez & Roesch, 2006), the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). Results showed that the hypothesized structural equation model fit well for first and second generation South Asians; yet, mediation and moderation were not supported. However, perceived discrimination significantly related to perceived stress for both groups of South Asians. Implications for theory, research and practice are included.