(PS5-B29) The Role of Asian American Ethnic Identity on Depression and Trait Anxiety

Aim: Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial and ethnic minority group in the USA with a projected size of 40.6 million in 2050. Among other minoritized groups, ethnic identity—the feeling of belonging to a particular ethnic group—serves as a protective factor against mental health symptoms. However, for Asian Americans, extant research has shown mixed findings, indicating that ethnic identity does not uniformly protect against mental health symptoms.  Thus, the role of ethnic identity on mental health remains unclear for Asian Americans.  Accordingly, this secondary analysis examined the relationship between ethnic identity and symptoms of depression and trait anxiety. It is hypothesized that higher ethnic identity would be negatively associated with depression and anxiety, and therefore serve as a protective factor.

Method: Asian Americans (N=199; M_age = 22.98; SD = 3.91; East Asian=53.5%, South Asian=29.6%, Southeast Asian=17.1%) were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk and an urban, northeastern college to complete a 45-minute online survey. Eligible participants 1) were between ages 18 and 30; 2) had both biological parents born in Asia; 3) lived in the US since age 14; and 4) presently reside in the US. Ethnic identity was measured by the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure, depression symptoms by the Beck Depression Inventory, and trait anxiety by the State Trait and Anxiety Inventory. Two linear regressions respectively tested for the association between ethnic identity and depression symptoms and ethnic identity and trait anxiety.

Results: Ethnic identity was significantly associated with higher symptoms of depression, F (1,197) = 4.23, b = 2.18, SE = 1.06, t = 2.06, 95% CI [.09, 4.26], p = .04. Similarly, in the second model, ethnic identity was significantly associated with higher trait anxiety, F (1, 197) = 18.27, b = 4.28, SE = 1.00, t = 4.27, 95% CI [2.30, 6.25], p < .001.  

Conclusion: Although preliminary, these results showed that among young adult Asian Americans, higher levels of ethnic identity were significantly associated with higher symptoms of depression and trait anxiety. These findings diverge from some of the current literature but may point to the complex role of ethnic identity among Asian Americans. Unlike other minoritized groups, Asian Americans with higher levels of ethnic identity with their culture of origin may plausibly show more stress and internal conflict, manifesting in higher depression and anxiety symptoms. In comparison, Asian Americans with lower ethnic identity may show lower acculturative stress and greater assimilation with the dominant culture, thereby lowering risk of depression and anxiety. Future research should replicate this study on a larger sample and consider the role of acculturation and age of immigration.