Cultural orientation in Southeast Asian American young adults

Abstract

The study assessed cultural orientation in a group of 188 Southeast Asian American American-born and early-arriving (by age 5) young adults using the General Ethnicity Questionnaire--Southeast Asian and American versions. The sample included 98 Vietnamese, 45 Cambodian, and 45 Hmong college students in California. As hypothesized and in support of the bidimensional model, overall orientation to ethnic and American cultures were independent of each other, and predicted, respectively, by ethnic and American cultural domains. The three ethnic groups did not vary on level of cultural orientation, but their endorsement of ethnic and American cultures differed across domains. Specifically, they enjoyed American mass media and cultural activities more than ethnic media and activities, and were more fluent in English than their ethnic language. However, they expressed greater ethnic pride and a stronger overall Southeast Asian orientation than American pride and orientation.