Using Narrative Inquiry for Exploring Biculturalism and Resilience in Korean American Young Adults in New York City

Hannah H.  Kim; Deborah  L.  Vietze

doi:10.29333/ajqr/12711

Hannah H. Kim ¹ ^* , Deborah L. Vietze ²

More Detail

AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 1-24

https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12711

OPEN ACCESS 1230 Views 767 Downloads

Download Full Text (PDF)

Abstract

This research is a qualitative and narrative inquiry to investigate how Korean American youth’s bicultural identity develops and to determine whether that bicultural identity serves a protective function in facing prejudice and discrimination and contributes to developing resilience. Data was collected through in-person interviews with ten second-generation Korean youth in New York City. Their life story narratives were analyzed using over 20 coding categories. The findings showed that the Korean youth felt comfortable embracing both their Korean- and Americanness. Their bicultural identities evolved as they confronted racism, including American stereotypes and prejudices towards them, raising their awareness of their Korean and Asian identity. They believed that biculturalism could be an asset as it could contribute to cultural flexibility and adaptation to the multicultural U.S. society. This study has significance for public health in that (1) it takes a closer look at the issues of identity struggles and discrimination experienced by young people with a minority background as they grow up in the United States; and (2) it provides an opportunity to explore ways to help these youth by understanding their psychological and emotional difficulties and sufferings.

Keywords: biculturalism, identity, life story model, narrative inquiry, resilience.

References

Adams, G. R., & Marshall, S. K. (1996). A developmental social psychology of identity: Understanding the person-in-context. Journal of Adolescence, 19(5), 429–442. https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.1996.0041
Arnett, J. J. (2018). Adolescence and emerging adulthood (6th ed.). Pearson/Prentice-Hall.
Asian American Federation Census Information Center. (2019). Profile of New York city’s Korean Americans: 2019 edition. Asian American Federation. https://www.aafederation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2019kr.pdf
Atkinson, D. R., & Gim, R. H. (1989). Asian-American cultural identity and attitudes toward mental health services. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 36(2), 209–212. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.36.2.209
Bamberg, M. (1997). Positioning between structure and performance. Journal of Narrative and Life History, 7(1–4), 335–342. https://doi.org/10.1075/jnlh.7.42pos
Baumeister, R. F., & Muraven, M. (1996). Identity as adaptation to social, cultural, and historical context. Journal of Adolescence, 19, 405–416. https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.1996.0039
Bruner, J. S. (1986). Actual minds, possible worlds. Harvard University Press.
Bruner, J. S. (1990). Acts of meaning. Harvard University Press.
Chen, S. X., Benet-Martínez, V., & Bond, M. H. (2008). Bicultural identity, bilingualism, and psychological adjustment in multicultural societies: Immigration-based and globalization-based acculturation. Journal of Personality, 76(4), 803–837. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00505.x
Chen, X., & Padilla, A. M. (2019). Role of bilingualism and biculturalism as assets in positive psychology: Conceptual dynamic GEAR model. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 2122. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02122
Cheng, C-Y., Lee, F., Benet-Martínez, V., & Huynh, Q-L. (2014). Variations in multicultural experience: Influence of bicultural identity integration on socio-cognitive processes and outcomes. In V. Benet-Martínez & Y.-Y. Hong (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of multicultural identity (pp. 276–299). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199796694.013.025
Côté, J. E. (1996). Sociological perspectives on identity formation: The culture-identity link and identity capital. Journal of Adolescence, 19(5), 417–428. https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.1996.0040
Côté, J. E., & Levine, C. G. (2002). Identity formation, agency, and culture: A social psychological synthesis. Lawrence Erlbaum.
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. Norton.
Fivush, R. (1991). The social construction of personal narratives. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 37(1), 59–81. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23087339
Gjerde, P. F. (2004). Culture, power, and experience: Toward a person-centered cultural psychology. Human Development, 47, 138–157. https://doi.org/10.1159/000077987
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. Strategies for qualitative research. Aldine.
Gregg, G. S. (2007). Culture and identity in a Muslim society. Oxford University Press.
Habermas, T., & Bluck, S. (2000). Getting a life: The emergence of the life story in adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 126(5), 748–769. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.5.748
Hammack, P. L. (2008). Narrative and the Cultural Psychology of Identity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 12(3), 222–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868308316892
Jones, J. M., Dovidio, J. F., & Vietze, D. L. (2014). The psychology of diversity: Beyond prejudice and racism. Wiley-Blackwell.
Juang, L. P., & Syed, M. (2019). The evolution of acculturation and development models for understanding immigrant children and youth adjustment. Child Development Perspectives, 13(4), 241–246. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12346
Jung, E., & Lee, C. (2004). Social construction of cultural identity: An ethnographic study of Korean American students. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 32(3), 146–162. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15456889ajc1203_2
Kibria, N. (1997). The construction of ‘Asian American’: Reflections on intermarriage and ethnic identity among second-generation Chinese and Korean Americans. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 20(3), 523–544. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.1997.9993973
Lee, J. S. (2002). The Korean language in America: The role of cultural identity in heritage language learning. Language, Culture, and Curriculum, 15(2), 117–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908310208666638
Lee, R. M. (2005). Resilience against discrimination: Ethnic identity and other-group orientation as protective factors for Korean Americans. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52(1), 36–44. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.52.1.36
Lee, R. M., Falbo, T., Doh, H. S., & Park, S. Y. (2001). The Korean diasporic experience: Measuring ethnic identity in the United States and China. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 7(3), 207–216. https://doi.org/10.1037/1099-9809.7.3.207
Marks, A. K., Patton, F., & Coll, C. G. (2011). Being bicultural: A mixed-methods study of adolescents’ implicitly and explicitly measured multiethnic identities. Developmental Psychology, 47(1), 270–288. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020730
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98(2), 224–253. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.98.2.224
Marshall, M. N. (1996). Sampling for qualitative research. Family Practice, 13(6), 522–525. https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/13.6.522
McAdams, D. P. (1985). Power, intimacy, and the life story: Personological inquiries into identity. Guilford Press.
McAdams, D. P. (1987). A life-story model of identity. In R. Hogan & W. Jones (Eds.), Perspectives in personality (Vol. 2, pp. 15–50). JAI.
McAdams, D. P. (1990). Unity and purpose in human lives: The emergence of identity as a life story. In A. I. Rabin, R. A. Zucker, R. A. Emmons, & S. Frank (Eds.), Studying persons and lives (pp. 148–200). Springer.
McAdams, D. P. (1993). The stories we live by: Personal myths and the making of the self. Morrow.
McAdams, D. P. (1995). What do we know when we know a person? Journal of Personality,63(3), 365–396. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1995.tb00500.x
McAdams, D. P. (1996). Personality, modernity, and the storied self: A contemporary framework for studying persons. Psychological Inquiry, 7(4), 295–321. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli0704_1,
McAdams, D. P. (2001). The psychology of life stories. Review of General Psychology, 5(2), 100–122. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.5.2.10
McLean, K. C. (2005). Late adolescent identity development: Narrative meaning making and memory telling. Developmental Psychology, 41(4), 683–691. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.41.4.683
McLean, K. C., & Pratt, M. W. (2006). Life’s little (and big) lessons: Identity statuses and meaning-making in the turning point narratives of emerging adults. Developmental Psychology, 42(4), 714–722. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.42.4.714
Miller, P. J., Fung, H., & Mintz. J. (1996). Self-construction through narrative practices: A Chinese and American comparison of early socialization. Ethos, 24(2), 237–28044. https://doi.org/10.1525/eth.1996.24.2.02a00020
Min, P. G. (2011). Koreans’ immigration to the United States: History and contemporary trends (Report No. 3). The Research Center for Korean Community, Queens College of CUNY Research. https://oak.go.kr/central/journallist/articlepdf.do?article_seq=18492
Min, P. G., & Kim, R. (2000). Formation of ethnic and racial identities: Narratives by young Asian-American professionals. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 23(4), 735–760. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870050033702
Murray, H. A. (1938). Explorations in personality. Oxford University Press.
Nelson, K. (2003). Self and social functions: Individual autobiographical memory and collective narrative. Memory, 11(2), 125–136. https://doi.org/10.1080/741938203
Palmer, J. D. (2007). Who is the authentic Korean American? Korean-born Korean American high school students’ negotiations of ascribed and achieved identities. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 6(4), 277–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348450701542272
Park, I. J. K. (2007). Enculturation of Korean American adolescents within familial and cultural contexts: The mediating role of ethnic identity. Family Relations, 56, 403–412. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2007.00469.x
Park, I. J. K., Schwartz, S. J., Lee, R. M., Kim, M., & Rodriguez, L. (2013). Perceived racial/ ethnic discrimination and antisocial behaviors among Asian American college students: Testing the moderating roles of ethnic and American identity. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 19(2), 166–176. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028640
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. SAGE Publications.
Pew Research Center. (2021, April 29). Koreans in the U.S. fact sheet. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/fact-sheet/asian-americans-koreans-in-the-u-s/
Quintana, S. M., Aboud, F. E., Chao, R. K., Contreras-Grau, J., Cross, W. E., Hudley, C., Hughes, D., Liben, L. S., Nelson-Le Gall, S., & Vietze, D. L. (2006). Race, ethnicity, and culture in child development: Contemporary research and future directions. Child Development, 77(5), 1129–1141. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00951.x
Riessman, C. K. (1993). Narrative analysis. SAGE Publications.
Rogoff, B., Mistry, J., Goncu, A., & Mosier, C. (1993). Guided participation in cultural activity by toddlers and caregiver. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 58(8), 1–179. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1166109
Schachter, E. P. (2004). Identity configurations: A new perspective on identity formation in contemporary society. Journal of Personality, 72(1), 167–200. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-3506.2004.00260.x
Schachter, E. P. (2005). Context and identity formation: A theoretical analysis and a case study. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20(3), 375–395. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558405275172
Schwartz, S. J., Meca, A., Cano, M. A., Lorenzo-Blanco, E. L., & Unger, J. B. (2018). Identity development in immigrant youth: A multilevel contextual perspective. European Psychologist, 23(4), 336–349. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000335
Schwartz, S. J., Montgomery, M. J., & Briones, E. (2006). The role of identity in acculturation among immigrant people: Theoretical propositions, empirical questions, and applied recommendations. Human Development, 49, 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1159/000090300
Shin, J. Y., D’Antonio, E., Son, H., Kim, S-A, & Park, Y. (2011). Bullying and discrimination experiences among Korean-American adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 34(5), 873 883. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.01.004
Shrake, E. K., & Rhee, S. (2004). Ethnic identity as a predictor of problem behaviors among Korean American adolescents. Adolescence, 39(155), 601–622.
Thorne, A., & Nam, V. (2007). The life story as a community project. Human Development, 50, 119–123. https://doi.org/10.1159/000100941
U.S. Census Bureau (2020, April 30). Asian and Paciﬁc Islander population in the United States. https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2020/demo/aian-population.html

Citation

Kim, H. H., & Vietze, D. L. (2023). Using Narrative Inquiry for Exploring Biculturalism and Resilience in Korean American Young Adults in New York City. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 7(1), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12711

Kim, H. H., and Vietze, D. L. (2023). Using Narrative Inquiry for Exploring Biculturalism and Resilience in Korean American Young Adults in New York City. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 7(1), pp. 1-24. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12711

Kim HH, Vietze DL. Using Narrative Inquiry for Exploring Biculturalism and Resilience in Korean American Young Adults in New York City. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2023;7(1), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12711

Kim, Hannah H., and Deborah L. Vietze. "Using Narrative Inquiry for Exploring Biculturalism and Resilience in Korean American Young Adults in New York City". American Journal of Qualitative Research 2023 7 no. 1 (2023): 1-24. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12711

Kim, Hannah H. et al. "Using Narrative Inquiry for Exploring Biculturalism and Resilience in Korean American Young Adults in New York City". American Journal of Qualitative Research, vol. 7, no. 1, 2023, pp. 1-24. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12711

Kim HH, Vietze DL. Using Narrative Inquiry for Exploring Biculturalism and Resilience in Korean American Young Adults in New York City. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2023;7(1):1-24. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12711