Doctoral Dissertations
Date of Award
8-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Major
Psychology
Major Professor
Kristina C. Gordon
Committee Members
Patrick R. Grzanka, Leticia Y. Flores, Jeremy B. Kanter
Abstract
Previous research suggests that second-generation South Asian immigrants (SAIs) are generally adept at navigating the societal and cultural norms of both American and South Asian culture (Giguère et al., 2010); yet, the extant literature indicates that romantic partnership may serve as a domain in which these individuals cannot integrate the distinct societal expectations of American and South Asian culture and that they may thus feel the need to disavow one side of their bicultural identity to adhere to the social norms of the other (Tummala-Narra, 2013). However, little is known about how second-generation SAIs are experiencing and navigating this potential source of struggle. Through in-depth interviews with 10 individuals who identify as second-generation SAIs, we explored their experiences and narratives around bicultural identity formation and romantic partnership to better understand how this community has been negotiating both internal and external conflicts around these interconnected domains. We took a grounded theory approach to data analysis and engaged in supplementary situational analysis of the collected data to examine how participants’ experiences of these issues have been shaped by systems of power. Further, we drew upon minority stress theory (Meyer, 2003; Frost & Meyer, 2023) to identify and describe participants’ external sources of stress embedded in their social environments as well as internal sources of stress generated by their internalization of negative societal attitudes related to bicultural identity and romantic partnership. Results indicate that second-generation SAIs may attempt to deny/conceal their SAI identity in response to being subjected to oppressive social environments and that they experience White people encouraging them to break South Asian societal boundaries as microaggressive behavior. Further, our findings examine how sexist, patriarchal, heteronormative, and cissexist systems of power contribute to second-generation SAIs experiencing differing levels of stigma, pressure, and confusion around pursuing romantic relationships based on their social positions. We discuss important directions for future clinical work and research conducted with members of this community that are prompted by the findings of the current investigation.
Recommended Citation
Amer, Zahra, "Applying Minority Stress Theory to Second-Generation South Asian Immigrants’ Bicultural Identity & Romantic Partnership Experiences: A Grounded Theory Analysis. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2024.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/10425