Research Paper Summaries
In-depth Studies and Scholarly Contributions by Dr. Su Yeong Kim.
Language Brokering
Su Yeong Kim
Nina H. Wu and Su Yeong Kim (2012) provide a comprehensive overview of language brokering, a phenomenon in which children of immigrant families serve as interpreters and cultural mediators for parents and relatives with limited English proficiency. The entry highlights both the pervasiveness of this practice and its complex implications for adolescents’ development, family dynamics, and well-being. Language brokering arises because many immigrant parents face significant challenges navigating institutions, from schools and healthcare to employment and government services. Adolescents, often exposed to English earlier and more intensively through schooling, quickly become the family’s translators. This role positions them as intermediaries between their family’s heritage culture and the U.S. mainstream, granting them access to adult responsibilities well before their peers. Research consistently finds that brokering is common: retrospective and contemporary studies report that 70–100% of Latino and Asian American youths engage in such tasks, often beginning in childhood and increasing during adolescence. The contexts of brokering are diverse. Tasks occur at home (translating mail, filling out forms), in schools (communicating with teachers and staff), and in public spaces such as hospitals, government offices, and stores. Adolescents primarily broker for parents, but also for siblings, relatives, and community members. The complexity of...
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Download PDFAcculturation and Well-Being Among College Students From Immigrant Families
Su Yeong Kim
Seth J. Schwartz, Alan S. Waterman, Adriana J. Umaña-Taylor, Richard M. Lee, Su Yeong Kim, Alexander T. Vazsonyi, Que-Lam Huynh, Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Irene J. K. Park, Monika Hudson, Byron L. Zamboanga, Melina M. Bersamin, and Michelle K. Williams (2013) investigated how multidimensional acculturation relates to well-being in first- and second-generation immigrant college students. The study builds on prior work by treating both acculturation and well-being as multidimensional constructs, thus providing a more nuanced understanding than studies relying on unidimensional proxies such as language use. Participants included 2,774 students from 30 U.S. universities, representing six ethnic groups: White, Black, Hispanic, East/Southeast Asian, South Asian, and Middle Eastern. Roughly 40% were first-generation immigrants, and 60% were second-generation. Acculturation was assessed across three domains: cultural practices (heritage and American), cultural values (individualism and collectivism), and cultural identifications (heritage and American). Well-being was measured with three indicators: subjective (life satisfaction, positive affect), psychological (autonomy, mastery, purpose, positive relations), and eudaimonic (self-realization, personal growth). Structural equation modeling was used to analyze associations across groups. Findings revealed that individualistic values were the strongest positive predictor of psychological and eudaimonic well-being, and to a lesser degree subjective well-being. Both American and heritage identifications were modestly associated...
Acculturation and Culture: A Critical Factor for Asian Americans’ Health
Su Yeong Kim
Yijie Wang and Su Yeong Kim (2013) examined how acculturation and cultural orientation influence the physical and mental health of Asian Americans. Acculturation is defined as adaptation to the mainstream U.S. culture, while retaining one’s heritage culture is termed enculturation. The chapter highlights that these dual processes are crucial to understanding Asian Americans’ health behaviors, service utilization, and well-being. The authors reviewed both unilinear models (which assume that adopting mainstream culture means losing heritage culture) and bilinear models (which treat acculturation and enculturation as independent processes). They argue the bilinear model provides a more accurate and flexible framework, especially for Asian Americans across different generations. Four acculturation strategies are described: integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalization, with integration being the most adaptive and marginalization the least. Empirical studies show mixed findings regarding acculturation’s relationship to mental health. Epidemiological research often suggests that higher acculturation increases risks for depression and anxiety, particularly among later generations. In contrast, psychological studies using behavioral and value-based measures find that low acculturation predicts poorer adjustment due to greater acculturative stress. Stress from language barriers, discrimination, and family conflict is identified as a key pathway linking acculturation to negative outcomes. For adolescents, heritage orientation often protects against...
Good Choices, Poor Choices: Relationship Between the Quality of Identity Commitments and Psychosocial Functioning
Su Yeong Kim
Alan S. Waterman, Seth J. Schwartz, Sam A. Hardy, Su Yeong Kim, Richard M. Lee, Brian E. Armenta, Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Byron L. Zamboanga, Elissa J. Brown, Michelle K. Williams, and V. Bede Agocha (2013) investigated how the quality of identity commitments influences psychosocial functioning in emerging adults. Drawing on eudaimonic identity theory, the study proposed that it is not merely making identity commitments that fosters well-being, but whether those commitments are high quality; that is, personally expressive, intrinsically motivated, and aligned with one’s talents and values. The study used data from the Multi-Site University Study of Identity and Culture (MUSIC), which surveyed 9,650 students across 30 U.S. colleges and universities. Measures included identity exploration, identity commitment, quality of commitment (via the Questionnaire for Eudaimonic Well-Being), and indices of psychosocial functioning: subjective and psychological well-being, self-esteem, internal locus of control, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Analyses compared results both across Marcia’s identity statuses (achievement, moratorium, foreclosure, diffusion) and using continuous measures of identity processes. Findings replicated prior research showing that identity commitments are linked to higher well-being, self-esteem, and internal control, and lower anxiety and depression. However, when commitment quality was introduced, it explained the majority of these associations,...