Acculturation processes and mental health of Asian Indian women in the United States: A mixed-methods study.

Abstract

Acculturation theories and research find that both new culture acquisition and heritage culture attachment are associated with positive outcomes. However, gender-related analyses are rare. In this mixed-method study of 73 Asian Indian American women who were first- or second-generation immigrants from Kerala, India, those classified as behaviorally bicultural, assimilated, separated, or marginalized did not differ significantly in well-being. Being older and married was related to higher self-esteem; unmarried women reported more Kerala attitudinal marginalization. With age, marital status, immigrant generation, and both cultural behavioral orientations controlled, Kerala attitudinal marginalization (but not Anglo attitudinal marginalization) correlated moderately with both lower self-esteem and more severe depressive symptoms. Content analysis of open-ended question data suggested associations among more intricate and multifaceted acculturation processes and psychological well-being via the rewards and challenges the women described. Attaining the “best of both worlds” that some mentioned meant selective adoption and rejection of facets of each culture: family connectedness and control, freedom and moral decline, opportunity, and discrimination. For these women, status-related characteristics (being younger and single representing lower status), discrimination experiences, and attitudinal rejection of their heritage culture (although it accords women lower status than men) had negative psychological outcomes.

Factors associated with COVID-19-related mental health among Asian Indians in the United States

“…We speculate that a higher prevalence of mental health symptoms in Asian Indians could be due to the presence of COVID-19-related and other stressors. For example, stressors that may not be COVID-19-related are: acculturation, language preference, religion, and cultural barriers ( Mann et al., 2017 ; Joseph et al., 2020 ). COVID-19-related stressors may have also contributed to the high prevalence of mental health problems.…”

Navigating asthma—the immigrant child in a tug‐of‐war: A constructivist grounded theory

“…The tug‐of‐war we observed is linked to Indian immigrants' efforts to preserve their strong collectivistic cultural orientation, which emphasises collective needs and expectations of the family, community and society over individual preferences (Nayar, 2011; Raina et al, 2020). Migration studies have shown that people's transitions from a primarily collectivistic society to an individualistic community are likely to be challenging, particularly if they continue to maintain collectivistic views (Joseph et al, 2020). For example, the stigma associated with asthma in the Indian community restricted children's inhaler use in public because they were afraid of being judged by people from their community.…”

A phenomenological inquiry into support-seeking experiences for women survivors of sexual violence in the South Asian diaspora.

“…South Asian survivors also may fear discrimination. Specifically, women fear speaking up as it may lead to rejection from their cultural communities, something defined by their communities’ respective patriarchs (Adam & Schewe, 2007; Joseph et al, 2020). This ultimately leads to underreporting and lack of support seeking (Dartnall & Jewkes, 2013; Das, 2021b).…”