Maintenance of heritage culture, internalized racism, and family conflict on self-esteem among Asian Americans

Lui (2015) suggested that intergenerational family conflict can arise between immigrant children and parents due to differences in mainstream U.S. culture and traditional heritage culture. Thus, the present study examined whether Asian American college students' internalized racism and perceived mothers' and fathers' maintenance of heritage culture were related to intergenerational family conflict and, in turn, self-esteem. Data were collected from 465 self-identifying Asian American college students around the United States ( = 19.60, = 2.21). A path analysis revealed that when controlling for participant age, gender, and generational status, greater internalized racism and mothers' maintenance of heritage culture messages were linked to greater intergenerational family conflict with mothers and, in turn, lower self-esteem. In addition, internalized racism and greater perceived maintenance of heritage culture from fathers were positively related to intergenerational family conflict with fathers, but intergenerational family conflict with fathers was unrelated to self-esteem. Implications include teaching Asian American college students about the effects of internalized racism and developing interventions to mitigate mental health challenges and family conflicts among Asian Americans. Results highlight how larger macrosystems affect family dynamics and the well-being of Asian Americans and the need to improve the racial climate in the United States. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).