Intergenerational Trauma and Coping Among Southeast Asian Americans

Leones, Kyla

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/123021 Copy

Description

Title

Intergenerational Trauma and Coping Among Southeast Asian Americans

Author(s)

Leones, Kyla

Issue Date

2024-05

Keyword(s)

• intergenerational trauma
• Southeast Asian

Abstract

Previous studies show that perceived parental trauma can affect the next generation’s overall mental well-being, and it can be directly related to the child’s emotional distress (Han, 2004; Ly, 2022). Factors such as parenting style and the child’s attachment style may influence this phenomenon (Han, 2004; Ly, 2022). As many Southeast Asian families have experienced traumatic events, such as wars, displacement, poverty, internment camps, and discrimination by previous generations (Bith-Melander et al., 2017), it is crucial to understand how parental trauma may affect children’s mental well-being. In this study, we examined how factors such as ethnic identity, intergenerational conflict, coping, and self-care relate to emotional distress and post traumatic growth from perceived parental trauma. We predicted that self-care and collectivistic coping moderate the relationship between perceived parental trauma, emotional distress, and post-traumatic growth. We also predicted that intergenerational conflict and ethnic identity mediate the association between intergenerational conflict and perceived parental trauma and emotional distress. A sample of 151 self-identified Southeast Asian Americans completed an online survey consisting of the Multiethnic Identity Measure-Revised (Phinney & Ong, 2007), Intergenerational Congruence in Immigrant Families-Child Scale (Ying & Han, 2007), Harvard Trauma Questionnaire-Revised (Cambodian Version; Mollica et al., 1992), Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-25 (Cambodian Version; Mollica et al., 1992), Collectivistic Coping Scale (Heppner et al., 2006), Post Traumatic Growth Inventory (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996), Self-Care Practices Scale (Lee et al., 2019), and a demographics questionnaire. We found that self-care moderates the association between perceived parental trauma and emotional distress. Interestingly, collectivistic coping does not moderate the relationship between perceived parental trauma and emotional distress, but it is positively correlated to post-traumatic growth. In addition, intergenerational conflict and ethnic identity partially mediate the relationship between perceived parental trauma and emotional distress.

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Bibliography

Type of Resource

still image

Language

eng

Copyright and License Information

Kyla Leones 2024

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