Closure Ideology among Asian Americans: Three Studies on Group Threat, Ideology, and Mental Illness 公开

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

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Sociology
Degree	Ph.D.
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Sociology, Theory and Methods Asian American Studies Sociology, Ethnic and Racial Studies
关键词	Discrimination Boundaries Race Asian Americans Mental Health
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Alyasah Sewell, Emory University Karen Hegtvedt, Emory University
Committee Members	Regine Haardoerfer, Emory University Frank Lechner, Emory University Cathryn Johnson, Emory University Tim Dowd, Emory University

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