Reinforcing or challenging the status quo: A grounded theory of how the model minority myth shapes Asian American activism.

Compared to other People of Color in the United States, Asian Americans are often seen as uninterested in activism. Furthermore, the widespread model minority myth (MMM) perpetuates the monolithic image of Asian Americans as successful in society and thus unaffected by racial oppression and uninterested in activism. Despite others' perceptions, Asian American college students have historically engaged in activist efforts and worked to reject the stereotypical views of their racial group as apolitical under the MMM. However, much remains to be learned about the consequences of the MMM on Asian American college students' perceptions and engagement in activism, and how such individuals make sense of the MMM and activism through interacting with their ecological contexts. Thus, the present study addresses this gap in the literature and is guided by the question: How do Asian American college students' perspectives and engagement in activism develop and operate in relation to the MMM? Using a constructivist grounded theory analytic approach, 25 Asian American college students participated in semistructured interviews, and our findings developed a grounded theory of how Asian American college students are embedded within micro- and macrolevel environments (e.g., familial, cultural, and societal contexts) that uphold the MMM and further shape how they make sense of and engage in activism. Results further revealed the consequences of the MMM as a legitimizing ideology on Asian American students' attitudes toward and involvement in challenging and/or reinforcing the status quo. Implications for future research and practice supporting Asian American activism and the broader pursuit for social justice are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The relationship between mother and father racial-ethnic socialization profiles and family cohesion and sociopolitical values among Asian American adolescents.

INTRODUCTION: Although research on racial-ethnic socialization with Asian American families examines academic and psychological outcomes, less is known about whether messages from mothers and fathers are related to their adolescent's Asian American sociopolitical values and family cohesion. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 308 Asian American adolescents, ages 14-18, in the United States in 2021 (Mage = 16.83; standard deviation = 1.15). RESULTS: Using latent profile analysis, we found that there were three socialization profiles for mothers (integration socialization, moderate separation socialization, and high separation socialization) and two for fathers (integration socialization and high separation socialization). The integration socialization reported more maintenance of heritage culture and becoming American messages, with the lowest reports of awareness of discrimination and avoidance of outgroups. The high separation profile had the highest amount of maintenance of heritage culture messages, awareness of discrimination, and avoidance of outgroups but lowest amount of becoming American messages. Looking at profiles for youths' perceptions of mothers, the moderate separation profile had slightly lower scores on maintenance of heritage culture messages, moderate scores on avoidance of outgroups, and higher reports of becoming American and awareness of discrimination compared to the high separation profile. Adolescents with mothers in the integration profile had the greatest mother-child cohesion and highest level of sociopolitical values. With fathers, Asian American adolescents reported greater father-child cohesion in the integration profile, but there were no differences between socialization profiles and youth's Asian American sociopolitical values. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the importance of parental messages on both identity outcomes (i.e., sociopolitical values) and family processes (i.e., family cohesion).

Ignoring race and denying racism: A meta-analysis of the associations between colorblind racial ideology, anti-Blackness, and other variables antithetical to racial justice.

One critical role counseling psychologists can play in dismantling anti-Blackness and eradicating systemic racism is to build on the field's strength in understanding individual-level processes (i.e., systems are created and maintained by individual actors). Drawing on antiracism scholarship, we aimed to better understand how colorblind racial ideology (CBRI), or the denial and minimization of race and racism, may serve as a barrier to engaging in antiracist praxis. Specifically, we conducted a meta-analysis to determine if color evasion (ignoring race) and power evasion (denying structural racism) CBRI were differentially associated with anti-Blackness and processes linked to antiracism. Findings based on 375 effects drawn from 83 studies with more than 25,000 individuals suggest different effects based on CBRI type. As hypothesized, we found that power evasion CBRI was related to increased endorsement of anti-Black prejudice (r = .33) and legitimizing ideologies (r = .24), and negatively associated with a range of other variables associated with antiracism, including social justice behaviors (r = -.31), multicultural practice competencies (r = -.16), diversity openness (r = -.28), and racial/ethnocultural empathy (r = -.35). Consistent with theory, color evasion CBRI was related to increased diversity openness (r = .12). We discuss limitations of our study, as well as outline future directions for research and practice to focus on the role of CBRI in sustaining and perpetuating anti-Blackness and systemic racism. Thus, this meta-analysis has implications for pushing the field of counseling psychology to build the bridge between individual ideologies and creating structural change. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Internalization of the model minority myth and sociodemographic factors shaping Asians/Asian Americans' experiences of discrimination during COVID-19.

Despite appearing positive, the model minority myth (MMM), or the perception that Asian Americans are "problem-free" minorities, maintains unfair racial hierarchies and discredits the pervasiveness of systemic racism faced by Asian Americans and other Black, Indigenous, and people of Color. This study investigated the role of internalized MMM in Asian/Asian Americans' (A/AA) experiences during the syndemic of COVID-19 and our society's racial reckoning. Using a mixed methods approach, we analyzed A/AA college students' open-ended responses to a query about their experiences as A/AA during COVID-19, which resulted in qualitative themes of Personal and Vicarious Discrimination, Vigilance, Safety due to Ethnicity, Safety due to Environment, and No Difference during COVID-19. We then conducted a series of logistic and linear regression models to examine how internalized MMM and sociodemographic factors (i.e., ethnic group, gender, and generational status) were associated with qualitative themes and quantitative measures of COVID-related discrimination. Overall, findings demonstrated that greater internalized MMM, as well as identifying as South Asian, male, and an international/first-generation immigrant student, were linked to fewer qualitative and quantitative reports of vicarious discrimination. We conclude with implications for research and practice in community psychology that further examine the racialized experiences among A/AA college students and ultimately seek to challenge the MMM and racial hierarchies perpetuating systems of oppression.

Examining awareness of privilege among midwestern college students: An analysis of race/ethnicity, gender, and religion.

Dominant group members often are not aware of the privileges they benefit from due to their dominant group membership. Yet individuals are members of multiple groups and may simultaneously occupy multiple categories of dominance and marginality, raising the question of how different group memberships work in concert to facilitate or inhibit awareness of multiple forms of privilege. Examining awareness of privilege is important as awareness may be linked to action to dismantle systems of privilege that maintain oppression and inequality. Grounded in intersectional scholarship, in this study we examined how occupying intersecting categories of race/ethnicity, gender, and religion corresponded to an awareness of White, male, and Christian privilege. In a sample of 2321 Midwestern college students, we demonstrated that students from marginalized groups broadly reported greater awareness of all forms of privilege than students from dominant groups, and the difference between marginalized and dominant groups was most pronounced when the specific group category (e.g., gender) aligned with the type of privilege (e.g., male privilege). We also tested interactions among race/ethnicity, gender, and religion, only finding an interaction between race/ethnicity and religion for awareness of White and male privilege. These findings helped to clarify that multiple group memberships tended to contribute to awareness as multiple main effects rather than as multiplicative. Finally, we examined mean differences among the eight intersected groups to explore similarities and differences among groups in awareness of all types of privilege. Taken together, these findings quantitatively demonstrate the ways in which group memberships work together to contribute to awareness of multiple forms of privilege. We discuss study limitations and implications for community psychology research and practice.

Perceiving fairness in an unfair world: System justification and the mental health of girls in detention facilities.

Psychologists in the helping professions have long accepted the idea that cognitions have implications for mental health and wellbeing. Community psychologists have further established the importance of context and systems in the etiology of mental health problems. In this paper, we argue that as a discipline that prioritizes social justice, community psychology should consider associations between cognitions about structural and systemic inequality and individual mental health, particularly in marginalized populations. As one illustration of this argument and its complexities, we asked if and to what degree mental health was concurrently associated with adolescents' beliefs in societal fairness (i.e., system-justifying beliefs), attending to gender differences. Our findings were informed by a sample of 196 adolescents residing in detention facilities (49.50% girls; 51.75% Black/Caribbean, 21.68% multiracial; 15.38% Hispanic/Latine; 27.98% LGBTQ+). These youth represent an understudied group in the research literature addressing fairness beliefs and their influence on wellness. Results suggested that boys were more likely to endorse societal fairness compared to girls, but these beliefs were unrelated to their mental health. However, we found a significant gender moderation such that girls who perceived society to be fair reported lower levels of internalizing and externalizing mental health problems. We discuss implications for theory, research, and intervention.

Internalized model minority myth among Asian Americans: Links to anti-Black attitudes and opposition to affirmative action.

OBJECTIVES: The current study contributes to the field's limited knowledge about the sociopolitical consequences of internalized Model Minority Myth (MMM) among Asian Americans. In particular, we examine how the MMM serves as a legitimizing ideology, in which the perpetuation of beliefs about society as fair ultimately maintain racial inequality. METHODS: Using path analysis with 251 Asian American college students, we tested a model linking internalized MMM (i.e., attitudes towards Asian Americans as achievement oriented and as having unrestricted mobility, compared to other racial minorities) to anti-Black attitudes and opposition to affirmative action for Black Americans. We examined direct effects of internalized MMM on such outcomes, as well as indirect effects through other legitimizing ideologies, including just world beliefs and racial colorblindness. RESULTS: Findings demonstrated that greater levels of internalized MMM among Asian American college students predicted greater anti-Black attitudes and opposition to affirmative action. Greater internalized MMM achievement orientation and unrestricted mobility also directly predicted greater just world beliefs and colorblindness. Results from our test of indirect effects showed that internalized MMM achievement orientation and unrestricted mobility both indirectly predicted opposition to affirmative action through colorblindness, and unrestricted mobility also indirectly predicted anti-Black attitudes through colorblindness. Also, achievement orientation and unrestricted mobility indirectly predicted anti-Black attitudes through just world beliefs. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings have implications for research and practice that promotes awareness of and seeks to challenge the MMM, anti-Blackness, and beliefs about affirmative action among Asian Americans. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Validity of the Malay EQ-5D-3L in the Malaysian Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia Population.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the cross-sectional convergent and known-group validity of the Malay-language EQ-5D-3L instrument in children and adults with transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT). METHODS: A cross-sectional health-related quality of life survey involving TDT patients from 12 different treatment centers across Malaysia was conducted using the Malay PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales and the Malay EQ-5D-3L questionnaire. Patients with non-TDT and other hemoglobinopathies were excluded. Convergent, discriminant, and known-group validity of the EQ-5D-3L was assessed against the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales in children. In the adult population, known-group validity of the EQ-5D-3L was assessed using an a priori hypothesis between patients' demographic characteristics and health outcomes obtained from literature. RESULTS: A total of 370 children and 225 adults were sampled. The mean (standard deviation) EQ-5D-3L scores of the children were 0.892 (0.082) and the adults were 0.887 (0.085). Convergent and discriminant validity was identified when correlated with the PedsQL domain in children. In both groups, known-group validity was evident when comparing groups of patients with reported problems to the group of patients with no reported problems on the EQ-5D-3L domains based on the a priori hypothesis derived from literature. CONCLUSION: This study found convergent, discriminant, and known-group validity of the Malay EQ-5D-3L in a population-based sample of patients with TDT. Hence, the instrument is valid for the assessment of health-related quality of life in children and adults with TDT in Malaysia.

Distinguishing "I don't see color" from "Racism is a thing of the past": Psychological correlates of avoiding race and denying racism.

Scholars have proposed 2 separable dimensions of racial colorblind ideology: the first is centered on "not seeing color" (i.e., color evasion), and the second is centered on denying racism (i.e., power evasion). Yet, to date, there is no psychometric evidence for this distinction. In this article, we aim to fill this gap by establishing the presence of and characterizing differences between these 2 dimensions using both variable-centered and person-centered approaches. Study 1A (n = 707) provides exploratory factor analytic evidence supporting the separability of power and color evasion. Study 1B (n = 710) provides confirmatory evidence of this factor structure and evidence of discriminant validity. In Study 1B, 3 latent profiles based on power and color evasion were identified: acknowledgers (low color evasion, low power evasion), evaders (high color evasion, average power evasion), and deniers (average color evasion, average power evasion), which differed on relevant variables (e.g., modern racism, support for affirmative-action). In Study 2 (n = 546), these profiles were replicated and extended by examining differences in attitudes and desire to engage in campus diversity activities. Implications for racial colorblind ideology theory and practical applications are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Christian and Political Conservatism Predict Opposition to Sexual and Gender Minority Rights through Support for Christian Hegemony.

Although significant strides have been made for sexual and gender minority (SGM) rights in the United States, there continues to be opposition to SGM rights from many conservative Christians and political conservatives. In this study, we investigate this opposition by examining support for Christian hegemony (i.e., the idea that Christianity should be the norm and Christians should be in power in the United States) and unawareness of Christian privilege (i.e., unearned advantages for Christians) as religiopolitical variables that help to explain the association between Christian and political conservatism and opposition to a host of SGM rights (same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption, nondiscrimination policies in jobs and housing for SGMs, and bills regarding transgender public bathroom use). Based on structural equation modeling analysis with heterosexual cisgender Christian (n = 688) and Areligious (n = 327) students, we demonstrate that support for Christian hegemony and unawareness of Christian privilege help to explain the association between Christian and political conservatism and opposition to SGM rights. These findings advance our understanding of a new type of religious-based variable focused on religious power and privilege to help understand conservative religious and political opposition to SGM rights. Limitations, implications, and directions for future research also are discussed.

A Social Network Analysis of Friendship and Spiritual Support in a Religious Congregation.

Religious congregations are social settings where people gather together in community to pursue the sacred (Pargament, 2008). Such settings are important to understand as they provide a context for individuals to develop relationships, share ideas and resources, and connect individuals to larger society (Todd, 2017a). Yet, research to date has not deeply examined the inherently relational nature of religious congregations. Thus, in this study, we used social settings theory (Seidman, 2012; Tseng & Seidman, 2007) to develop and test hypotheses about relationships within one Christian religious congregation. In particular, we used social network analysis to test hypotheses about relational activity, popularity, and homophily for friendship and spiritual support types of relational links. Our findings demonstrate how relational patterns may be linked to participation in congregational activities, occupying a leadership role, a sense of community and spiritual satisfaction, stratification, socialization, and spiritual support. Overall, this advances theory and research on the relational aspects of religious congregations, and more broadly to the literature on social settings. Limitations, directions for future research, and implications for theory and religious congregations also are discussed.

Racial Colorblindness and Confidence in and Likelihood of Action to Address Prejudice.

In this study, we examined the association between racial colorblindness and inaction to address prejudice. Conceptualized as a type of legitimizing ideology that maintains societal inequality, we hypothesized that colorblindness would be associated with less confidence in and lower likelihood of engaging in action to address prejudice. Our study examined the role of affective variables in explaining the link between colorblindness and inaction, as well as explored potential racial group differences. We used multigroup structural equation modeling analysis to test for measurement and structural invariance of our hypothesized model across White, Asian American, and Underrepresented racial minority (i.e., African American, Latinx American, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Native American, and Multiracial students from Underrepresented groups) college students. In Study 1 (n = 1,125), we found that greater colorblindness was indirectly associated with less confidence in action through affective variables (e.g., intergroup empathy, and positive and negative emotions during intergroup interactions). In Study 2 (n = 1,356), we found that greater colorblindness was indirectly related to less likelihood of action through intergroup empathy. In both studies, we demonstrated measurement and structural invariance across racial groups, indicating that our hypothesized model functioned similarly across White, Underrepresented, and Asian American students. Our findings have implications for future research and practice to challenge colorblindness and to promote engagement in actions to reduce prejudice.