Award Date

12-1-2022

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Sociology

First Committee Member

Robert Futrell

Second Committee Member

Tirth Bhatta

Third Committee Member

David Dickens

Fourth Committee Member

Kathleen Bergquist

Abstract

This dissertation investigates relationships between pressures Asian Americans experience to be academically successful and their feelings of depression and stress. The model minority myth (MMM) stereotype characterizes Asian Americans as industrious, intellectually-gifted, assimilating to U.S. values of meritocracy, and achieving higher academic and employment success levels compared to other racial groups in the general population. While many consider MMM a positive stereotype, it also comes with a cost. Prior research demonstrates the tensions that exist among Asian Americans who do not uphold the MMM stereotype and its corollary, the Asian Academic Success Frame. Those unable to meet academic success standards often feeling tensions with their Asian identity. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) Survey 1994-2018, this study looks at the factors contributing towards Asian American Academic Achievement such as acculturation, social capital, and parental expectations to succeed, as well as measuring the perceived depression and stress among the Asian Americans who struggle to complete college and with poor grades in Math, English, History, and Science. The results support and extend prior work by showing how deviating from the success frame can have a further cost in mental well-being among Asian Americans.

Keywords

Academic Achievement; Add Health; Asian Americans; Depression; Model Minority; Stress

Disciplines

American Studies | Asian American Studies | Ethnic Studies | Race and Ethnicity | Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies | Sociology

File Format

pdf

File Size

606 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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