Perceived Discrimination Experiences And Mental Health Of Asian American Women

ABSTRACT: Prior research links reported experiences of racist and sexist events with psychological symptomatology of racial/ethnic minority persons and women, respectively (e.g., Bowen-Reid & Harrell, 2002; Fischer & Holz, 2007; Moradi & Risco, 2006; Moradi & Subich, 2002). No published study to date, however, has examined the simultaneous links of perceived racist and sexist events with mental health for Asian American women. The present study examined a model that tested direct and indirect relations among perceived discrimination, sense of personal control, psychological distress, self-esteem, acculturation, and enculturation in a sample of Asian American women. Path analysis of the model indicated that (a) perceived racist events were related to greater psychological distress, indirectly through sense of personal control, (b) perceived sexist events were related directly to greater psychological distress, (c) acculturation to U.S. culture was related to less psychological distress and greater self-esteem, indirectly through sense of personal control and (d) enculturation to culture of origin was related to less psychological distress and greater self-esteem, indirectly through sense of personal control.