Asian American College Students as Model Minorities: An Examination of Their Overall Competence

• Published in: Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology 2001-02, Vol.7 (1), p.59-74
• Main Authors: Ying, Yu-Wen, Lee, Peter Allen, Tsai, Jeanne L, Hung, Yuan, Lin, Melissa, Wan, Ching Tin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Asian Americans; California; Racial Differences; Racial Relations; Self Concept; Undergraduate Students
• ISSN: 1099-9809
• DOI: 10.1037//1099-9809.7.1.59

Educational success among Asian Americans has led to their being labeled the "model minority." At the U of California, Berkeley (UCB), Asian American students have higher grade point averages (GPAs) than Hispanic & African American but not white students, supporting the notion that Asian Americans are more successful compared with other racial minorities. However, success in the classroom does not implicate effective functioning in life, & nonacademic criteria ought to be considered in assessing the validity of the model minority image. Given the increasing diversification of the US, cross-racial engagement may be an additional contributor to overall competence. This was empirically tested in a group of 642 undergraduates at UCB, including 291 Asian, 197 White, 20 African American, 67 Hispanic, & 56 multiracial students. Overall, competence was operationalized by sense of coherence, ie, the extent to which the world is experienced as comprehensible, manageable, & meaningful (A. Antonovsky, 1979, 1987). As predicted, Asian Americans had significantly fewer numbers of cross-racial groups represented in their friendship network than did students of all other races. Lower cross-racial engagement & being Asian (as compared with white) were related to a lower sense of coherence, whereas lower GPA was not. Within the Asian American subsample, cross-racial engagement was again significantly associated with greater coherence, whereas GPA again was not. Thus, extending the definition of success to overall competence, these findings raise questions about the applicability of the model minority label to Asian Americans, despite their academic achievement. Future studies need to assess the reasons for their limited cross-racial engagement & lower sense of coherence & to examine means to assist the development of these strengths. 3 Tables, 57 References. Adapted from the source document.