Adherence to Asian values and the use of English names and self-ethnic labels among Asian/Asian-American college students

Abstract

The current study explored the adherence to Asian values and the use of English names and self-ethnic labeling among Asian/Asian-Americans. Fifty undergraduate students completed questionnaires to assess collectivistic values, acculturation, and reasons for using an English name. It was hypothesized that: 1) participants who choose Heritage National labels will have stronger Asian values than participants who choose other labels to describe the self; 2) the main reason for reported use of English names will be to avoid embarrassment and inconvenience for the other; and 3) contrary to current literature conjecture, acculturation and Asian values will be positively correlated. The results indicated that there was no relationship between acculturation scores and adherence to Asian values. However, the results did indicate that more acculturated participants selected hyphenated American labels to describe themselves. Implications for investigating the use of English names when assessing ethnic identity are discussed, along with future directions for research on the International Asian students' experiences.