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Cultural Orientation as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Chinese American Adolescents’ Discrimination Experiences and Delinquent Behaviors

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among Chinese American adolescents’ discrimination experiences, cultural orientations, and delinquent behaviors. Data were collected from three hundred and eleven Chinese American adolescents (58% girls) and their parents when the adolescents were 7th or 8th graders and again 4 years later. The data analyses demonstrated that adolescents’ perceptions of discrimination and victimization experiences were significantly related to their delinquent behaviors conditionally based upon their cultural orientation. Specifically, adolescents’ high Chinese cultural orientation amplified the negative impact of discriminatory experiences on delinquent behaviors whereas high Western cultural orientation protected them against that impact. The significance of both ethnic and mainstream cultural orientations for understanding ethnic minority adolescents’ adjustment and improving their adjustment outcomes is discussed.

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Acknowledgments

Support for this research was provided through awards to Su Yeong Kim from (1) Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD R03HD051629 (2) Office of the Vice President for Research Grant/Special Research Grant and Summer Research Assignment from the University of Texas at Austin (3) Jacobs Foundation Young Investigator Grant (4) American Psychological Association Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs, Promoting Psychological Research and Training on Health Disparities Issues at Ethnic Minority Serving Institutions Grant (5) American Psychological Foundation/Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology, Ruth G. and Joseph D. Matarazzo Grant (6) California Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, Extended Education Fund (7) American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, Massachusetts Avenue Building Assets Fund and (8) Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD R24HD042849 grant awarded to the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin.

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  1. Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, School of Human Ecology, University of Texas at Austin, One University Station, A2700, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Shiying Deng & Su Yeong Kim

  2. Department of Educational Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, One University Station, D5800, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Phillip W. Vaughan

  3. Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, One University Station, A1700, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Jing Li

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  1. Shiying Deng
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Correspondence to Su Yeong Kim.

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Deng, S., Kim, S.Y., Vaughan, P.W. et al. Cultural Orientation as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Chinese American Adolescents’ Discrimination Experiences and Delinquent Behaviors. J Youth Adolescence 39, 1027–1040 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9460-6

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