Abstract
This chapter is intended to provide a better understanding of the term “South Asian American.” This will include a description of each of the major South Asian American groups including those who come from India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives (Shankar and Sikanth 1998). General characteristics of people from each of these areas will be described, including specific religious and traditional customs. Next, South Asian American identity will be discussed, providing research findings on navigating a bicultural identity, model minority myth, experiences of discrimination, and impact of gender role and career expectations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
An, N., Cochran, S. D., Mays, V. M., & McCarthy, W. J. (2008). Influence of American acculturation on cigarette smoking behaviors among Asian American subpopulations in California. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 10, 579–587. https://doi.org/10.1080/14622200801979126.
Asian Women in Business. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16, 2016 from http://www.awib.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewpage&pageid=816.
Atkinson, D. R., Morten, G., & Sue, D. W. (1998). Counseling American minorities (5th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). (September, 2016a). Bangladesh country profile. Available online at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12650940.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). (August, 2016b). Bhutan country profile. Available online at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12480707.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). (September, 2016c). Maldives country profile. Available online at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12651486.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). (August, 2016d). Nepal country profile. Available online at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12511455.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). (September, 2016e). Sri Lanka country profile. Available online at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-11999611.
Carter, R. T. (2007). Racism and psychological and emotional injury: Recognizing and assessing race-based traumatic stress. The Counseling Psychologist, 35(1), 13–105.
Carter, R. T., & Sant-Barket, S. M. (2015). Assessment of the impact of racial discrimination and racism: How to use the race-based traumatic stress symptom scale in practice. Traumatology, 21(1), 32.
Chen, M. S., Jr., & Hawks, B. L. (1995). A debunking of the myth of healthy Asian Americans and Pacific islanders. American Journal of Health Promotion, 9(4), 261–268. https://doi.org/10.4278/0890-1171-9.4.261.
Deepak, A. C. (2005). Parenting and the process of migration: Possibilities within south Asian families. Child Welfare, 84(5), 585–606.
Ebreo, S., Leung, & Yi. (2007). In Leong, Inman, Ebreo, Yang, Kinoshita and Fu (Ed.), Health psychology and Asian Pacific Islanders: Learning from cardiovascular disease, Handbook of Asian American Psychology (2nd ed.). Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks.
Fikree, F. F., & Pasha, O. (2004). Role of gender in health disparity: The South Asian context. BMJ, 328(7443), 823–826.
Gee, G. C., Ro, A., Shariff-Marco, S., & Chae, D. (2009). Racial discrimination and health among Asian Americans: Evidence, assessment, and directions for future research. Epidemiologic Reviews, 31(1), 130–151. https://doi.org/10.1093/epirev/mxp009.
Hahm, H. C., Ozonoff, A., Gaumond, J., & Sue, S. (2010). Perceived discrimination and health outcomes: A gender comparison among Asian-Americans nationwide. Women’s Health, 20(5), 350–358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2010.05.002.
Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind (3rd ed.). USA: McGraw-Hill.
Huynh, Q.-L., Devos, T., & Smalarz, L. (2011). Perpetual foreigner in one’s own land: Potential implications for identity and psychological adjustment. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 30(2), 133–162.
Ibrahim, F., Ohnishi, H., & Daya, S. S. (1997). Asian American identity development: A culture specific model for South Asian Americans. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 25(1), 34 Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/235905903?accountid=10920.
Inman, A. G., & Yeh, C. J. (2007). Asian American Stress and Coping. In F. T. L. Leong, A. Ebreo, L. Kinoshita, A. G. Inman, L. H. Yang, & M. Fu (Eds.), Handbook of Asian American psychology (pp. 323–339). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.
Inman, A. G., Devdas, L., Spektor, V., & Pendse, A. (2014). Psychological research on south Asian Americans: A three-decade content analysis. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 5(4), 364.
Inman, A. G., Tummala-Narra, P., Kaduvettoor-Davidson, A., Alvarez, A. N., & Yeh, C. J. (2015). Perceptions of race-based discrimination among first-generation Asian Indians in the United States. The Counseling Psychologist, 43(2), 217–247.
Iwamoto, D. K., Negi, N. J., Partiali, R. N., & Creswell, J. W. (2013). The racial and ethnic identity formation process of second-generation Asian Indian Americans: A phenomenological study. Journal of Multicultural Counseling & Development, 41, 224–239. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1912.2013.00038.x.
Kaduvettoor, A. (2010). South Asian Americans: Perceived discrimination, stress and well-being (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. UMI Number: 3419366.
Kaduvettoor-Davidson, A., & Inman, A. G. (2012). Predictors of cultural values conflict for Asian Indian women. Journal of Multicultural Counseling & Development, 40, 2–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2161-1912.2012.00001.x.
Kaduvettoor-Davidson, A., & Inman, A. G. (2013). South Asian Americans: Perceived discrimination, stress, and well-being. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 4(3), 155–165. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030634.
Kantamneni, N., & Fouad, N. A. (2012). Contextual factors and vocational interests in south Asian Americans’ vocational development. Journal of Career Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072712454699.
Karasz, A., Dempsey, K., & Fallek, R. (2007). Cultural differences in the experience of everyday symptoms: A comparative study of south asian and european american women. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry, 31, 473–497. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11013-007-9066-y.
Kim, J. (1981). The process of Asian American identity development from Sue, et al. (1998). In Multicultural counseling competencies: Individual and organizational development. Thousand Oaks: Sage Productions.
Le, T., & Gardner, S. K. (2010). Understanding the doctoral experience of Asian international students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields: An exploration of one institutional context. Journal of College Student Development, 51, 252–264. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.0.0127.
Leonard, K. I. (1997). The New Americans: The South Asian Americans. CT: Greenwood Press.
Leong, F. T. L. (2001). The role of acculturation in the career adjustment of Asian American workers: A test of Leong and Chou’s (1994) formulations. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 7, 262–273.
Ma, P. W., Desai, U., George, L. S., San Filipo, A. A., & Varon, S. (2014). Managing family conflict over career decisions: The experience of asian americans. Journal of Career Development, 41, 487–506. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845313512898.
Masood, N., Okazaki, S., & Takeuchi, D. T. (2009). Gender, family, and community correlates of mental health in south asian americans. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 15, 265–274. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014301.
Migration Policy Institute. (February, 2008). Spotlight on the foreign born of Pakistani origin in the United States. Available online: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/spotlight-foreign-born-pakistani-origin-united-states/.
Misra, R. (2013). Critical Health Issues Impacting Asian Indian Americans. In G. J. Yoo et al. (Eds.), Handbook of Asian American Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2227-3_2.
Mukherjea, Arnab. (2010). A critical examination and revisioning of minority health frameworks, research methodologies, and intervention models addressing South Asian American health disparities. UC Berkeley: Public Health. Retrieved from: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/3q52x0n7
Nadimpalli, S. B., Cleland, C. M., Hutchinson, M. K., Islam, N., Barnes, L. L., & Van Devanter, N. (2016). The association between discrimination and the health of Sikh Asian Indians. Health Psychology, 35(4), 351–355. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000268.
Ng, J. C., Lee, S. S., & Pak, Y. K. (2007). Contesting the model minority and perpetual foreigner stereotypes: A critical review of literature on Asian Americans in education. Review of Research in Education, 31(1), 95–130.
Nguyen, C. P., Wong, Y. J., Juang, L. P., & Park, I. J. K. (2015). Pathways among asian americans’ family ethnic socialization, ethnic identity, and psychological Well-being: A multigroup mediation model. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 6, 273–280. https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000026.
Paradies, Y., Ben, J., Denson, N., Elias, A., Priest, N., et al. (2015). Racism as a determinant of health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One, 10(9), e0138511. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0138511.
Park, K. (2010). Americans from India and other south Asian countries. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark.
Pascoe, E. A., & Smart Richman, L. (2009). Perceived discrimination and health: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 135(4), 531.
Patel, N. R. (2007). The construction of south-Asian-American womanhood. Women & Therapy, 30, 51–61. https://doi.org/10.1300/J015v30n03_05.
Patel, S., & Islam, N. (2013). Emerging South Asian Americans and Health. In G. J. Yoo et al. (Eds.), Handbook of Asian American Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2227-3_8.
Pew Research Center. (June, 2012). The rise of Asian Americans. Available online: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/06/19/the-rise-of-asian-americans/.
Pew Research Center. (2015). 5 facts about Indian Americans. Retrieved online at: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/30/5-facts-about-indian-americans/.
Pew Research Center. (n.d.). Religion in America. Available online: http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/.
Poon, O. (2014). “The land of opportunity doesn’t apply to everyone”: The immigration experience, race and asian American career choices. Journal of College Student Development, 55, 499–514. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2014.0056.
Poon, O., Squire, D., Kodama, C., Byrd, A., Chan, J., Manzano, L., & Bishundat, D. (2015). A critical review of the model minority myth in selected literature on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in higher education. Review of Educational Research. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315612205.
ProximityOne. (2015). America’s Asian population demographic patterns and trends. Available online: http://proximityone.com/asian_demographics.htm.
Raj, A., & Silverman, J. G. (2003). Immigrant south Asian women at greater risk for injury from intimate partner violence. American Journal of Public Health, 93(3), 435–437. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.93.3.435.
Sandil, R., Robinson, M., Brewster, M. E., Wong, S., & Geiger, E. (2015). Negotiating multiple marginalizations: Experiences of south Asian LGBQ individuals. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 21(1), 76–88. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037070.
Saw, A., Berenbaum, H., & Okazaki, S. (2013). Influences of personal standards and perceived parental expectations on worry for asian american and white american college students. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 26, 187–202. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2012.668536.
Shankar, L. D., & Sikanth, R. (1998). A part, yet apart: South Asians in Asian America. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Shen, F. C. (2015). The role of internalized stereotyping, parental pressure, and parental support on asian americans’ choice of college major. Journal of Multicultural Counseling & Development, 43, 58–73. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1912.2015.00064.x.
Shen, F. C., Liao, K. Y., Abraham, W. T., & Weng, C. (2014). Parental pressure and support toward asian americans’ self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and interests in stereotypical occupations: Living up to parental expectations and internalized stereotyping as mediators. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 61, 241–252. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036219.
South Asian Americans Leading Together [SAALT] & Asian American Federation. (2012). A Demographic Snapshot of South Asians in the United States: July 2012 Update. Retried December 16, 2016 from http://saalt.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Demographic-Snapshot-Asian-American-Foundation-2012.pdf
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kaduvettoor-Davidson, A., Weatherford, R.D. (2018). South Asian Identity in the United States. In: Perera, M., Chang, E. (eds) Biopsychosocial Approaches to Understanding Health in South Asian Americans. Cross-Cultural Research in Health, Illness and Well-Being. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91120-5_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91120-5_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-91118-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-91120-5
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)