TITLE:
Do Positive School Experiences and Preference for American Culture Moderate the Association between School-Based Ethnic Discrimination and Mental Health for Filipino American Adolescents?
AUTHORS:
Tzu-Fen Chang, Eun-Jin Han, Esther E. Onaga, M. Brent Donnellan
KEYWORDS:
Filipino American Adolescents; Discrimination; Mental Health; Cultural Preference; School Experiences
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.4 No.11,
November
22,
2013
ABSTRACT:
This
study examines short-term and longitudinal associations between school-based
discrimination and mental health, (i.e., self-esteem and depression) and the
moderating roles of “preference for American culture” and positive school
experiences, for 684 Filipino American adolescents drawn from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal
Study (CILS).
Our findings suggest that school-based discrimination predicted increased
levels of depression and lower levels of self-esteem in short-term but not in
long-term. The shortterm negative associations between discrimination and
mental health were not moderated by levels of preference for American culture,
and positive school experiences decrease the negative association between
discrimination and self-esteem. Implications from this study are discussed.