Closure Ideology among Asian Americans: Three Studies on Group Threat, Ideology, and Mental Illness Open Access
Gibson, Ryan (Summer 2020)
Abstract
Theorists of group competition argue that when dominant racial group members perceive threats, they become more controlling of their social boundaries, but does the same control of social boundaries emerge for groups occupying the middle of social hierarchies? In this dissertation, I explore the relationship between threat and social boundaries for Asian Americans, a fast-growing racialized group within the United States, whose status within the American racial hierarchy is complex. Like most racial groups situated within racist societies, Asian Americans experience prejudice, racial bias, and discrimination, but their relatively high levels of income and education compared to other groups instantiate a status unique among non-Whites in the U.S. For this reason, many scholars suggest that Asian Americans comprise a racial bourgeoisie, a triangulated status between White Americans at the top and Black Americans at the bottom. Whereas scholars often hypothesize about how dominant and subordinate group members may frame perceptions of threat, fewer theorize about how such triangulated groups may react. In the first two chapters of this dissertation, I investigate how Asian Americans beliefs about their group boundaries, which I term closure ideology, are associated with perceptions of threat. In Chapter 1, I examine the association between group status threat, the perception that discrimination is a major impediment to Asian Americans generally, and closure ideology. In Chapter 2, I examine the relationship between perceptions of interpersonal discrimination and closure ideology. Last, in Chapter 3, I investigate the potential psychological ramifications of closure ideology, assessing associations between perceptions of discrimination, closure ideology, and mental illness. Ultimately, this series of studies empirically advance critical questions and novel theorizations about the causes and consequences of social boundaries among Asian Americans.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction: .....................................................................................................................................................1
Chapter 1: How Does Threat Impact Asian American Boundaries? An Analysis of Group Threat and Closure Ideology
Introduction and Background...........................................................................................................14
Methods ...............................................................................................................................................26
Results ..................................................................................................................................................31
Discussion............................................................................................................................................34
References............................................................................................................................................40
Tables....................................................................................................................................................46
Chapter 2: Discriminatory Transformations: Examining the Racialized Assimilation of Asian Immigrants
Introduction and Background...........................................................................................................54
Methods ...............................................................................................................................................63
Results ..................................................................................................................................................67
Discussion............................................................................................................................................71
References............................................................................................................................................76
Tables....................................................................................................................................................81
Chapter 3: Is Closure Ideology a Driver of Variation in Discrimination-Related Mental Illness?
A Study of Asian Immigrants
Introduction and Background...........................................................................................................88
Methods ...............................................................................................................................................99
Results ................................................................................................................................................102
Discussion..........................................................................................................................................109
References..........................................................................................................................................113
Tables..................................................................................................................................................122
Conclusion:....................................................................................................................................................129
About this Dissertation
School | |
---|---|
Department | |
Degree | |
Submission | |
Language |
|
Research Field | |
Keyword | |
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor | |
Committee Members |
Primary PDF
Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Actions |
---|---|---|---|
|
Closure Ideology among Asian Americans: Three Studies on Group Threat, Ideology, and Mental Illness () | 2020-07-09 21:07:48 -0400 |
|
Supplemental Files
Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Actions |
---|