UMD Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3

New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.

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The Shift in News Media Framing of Violence against Asians in America: The Vincent Chin Murder Case and Its Legacy
(2024) Browning, Sara Renee; Oates, Sarah A.; Journalism; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The dissertation research project draws on the events surrounding the murder of Chinese American Vincent Chin on June 19, 1982, to examine changes in news framing of violence targeting Asian Americans from 1982 to the present. This dissertation argues that the Vincent Chin murder case, which lasted from 1982-1987, can be considered a critical turning point in news framing of the criminal motive for violence against Asians in the U.S. as well as framing of the Asian victims of such violence. The dissertation further posits that the case played an important role in drawing attention to anti-Asian racism as a widespread, persistent problem in America, helping to shape news framing of more recent cases of criminalized violence against Asians in the U.S., especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of this research is to explore how journalists took notice of Asian Americans’ place in U.S. society as Asians in America transitioned from “fully assimilated model minorities” to racial scapegoats in the public mind. The dissertation accomplishes its purpose using a content analysis of news frames of the Vincent Chin murder case from June 19, 1982, the date of Chin’s death, to December 31, 2022, the last full year of news coverage of the case. The content analysis investigates shifts in news framing of the criminal motive for Vincent Chin’s murder from a random crime unrelated to race to a hate crime. Content analysis also helps to examine shifts in framing of Chin from a hot-tempered young man whose own reckless behavior led to his tragic end to a vulnerable victim worthy of racial justice. Furthermore, the study assesses correlations between key events of the murder case from 1982-1987 and shifts in press framing of the criminal motive and the victim. Lastly, the dissertation uses content analysis to examine similar trends between framing of Chin’s murder and framing of the murders of six Asian women at three separate spas in Georgia on March 16, 2021. This analysis uncovers how the Chin case played a role in more contemporary framing of violence against Asians in America. The research findings inform journalism studies scholarship concerning how news framing of criminalized violence targeting Asian ethnic groups in the U.S. gradually evolved. The study interprets the findings within the context of framing theory and worthy victim theory. Results indicate that although journalists initially both downplayed and ignored anti-Asian racism as a possible motive for Vincent Chin’s slaying, nationwide pan-Asian advocacy group protests played a significant part in drawing news reporters’ attention to the racial aspect of the crime. By the end of the Chin case in 1987, many journalists not only relied on sources to allege a racial motive for Chin’s death, but they also directly condemned anti-Asian racism in their news stories. Thirty-five years following Chin’s death, journalists continued to revive and retell Chin’s story in news reports covering the Georgia murder case. Journalists exhibited little hesitancy in stating directly that the Georgia murders were racial crimes representative of a chronic and intensifying problem.
PARENTAL ETHNIC-RACIAL SOCIALIZATION PROCESSES AMONG CHINESE AMERICAN FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN
(2023) Zhang, Xinyi; Wang, Cixin; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Despite literature suggesting that socializing children of color regarding race and ethnicity is key to protect them against racism in America, little is known about how Asian American young children are ethnically and racially socialized by their parents. In the event of increased anti-Asian racism during COVID-19, it becomes urgent that we address this knowledge gap. The goal of the present study is to understand the parental ethnic-racial socialization processes with Asian American young children from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Fifty-seven low-income (n=36) and middle-and-upper-income (n=21) Chinese American mothers (Mage = 37.14, SD =4.99) of four-to-seven-year-old children (Mage =5.63, SD =0.82, female n=33, 58%) from Maryland and New York were interviewed. The participants shared the frequency and strategies of their ethnic-racial socialization processes and their perception of the effectiveness of these strategies. Using qualitative content analyses, results indicated that: (a) The two income groups shared the same frequency of using each ethnic-racial socialization dimension (cultural socialization, preparation for bias, promotion of mistrust, and egalitarianism and silence about race); (b) Different patterns emerged in the content of how they used preparation for bias and promotion of mistrust; (c) Mothers from the low-income group were more likely to experience discrimination and to share the discrimination experiences with their children to prepare them for bias; (d) Mothers from both of the income groups recognized that their children face model minority stereotypes in the society, but they held different attitudes towards the stereotypes; (e) The two income groups found cultural socialization helpful and promotion of mistrust harmful. More diversity and less consensus were found in their perception of the effectiveness of preparation for bias and egalitarianism and silence about race. The current study is the first study to reveal diversity of ethnic-racial socialization processes among the Chinese American families with young children. It provides empirical support that socioeconomic context is an indispensable variable in understanding ethnic-racial socialization processes in families of color.
The Effects of Subtle Racial Discrimination on Mood: Examining the Mediating Role of Cognitive Appraisal for Asian Americans
(2022) Ahn, Lydia; Kivlighan, Dennis M; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The present study examined the effects of inducing the cognitive strategies of self or other-blame in response to a racist situation on situational mood with Asian American emerging adults. I manipulated responses to racism using a 2-group (randomized, between-subjects experimental design) to examine differences in self- versus other-blame. Participants watched a vignette about a common subtle racism event and were randomly assigned to the self or other-blame condition. Those in the self-blame condition were assigned a speech task to describe what they could have done to change the situation and those in the other-blame condition were asked to describe how the perpetrator is racist. After the manipulation check, there were 120 total Asian American emerging adults (Mage = 20.04, SD = 2.18; 60.8% female) in the sample; specifically, 100 participants in the other-blame condition and 20 participants in the self-blame condition successfully completed the experimental task. Multiple path analyses were used to examine the effects of the condition (self vs. other-blame) on vocal acoustics and language used during the speech task, and in turn their self-reported anger and depression, while controlling for critical consciousness and prior depression and anger. Vocal pitch mean and range were measured through the software Praat (Boersma & Weenink, 2005) and language words were assessed using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC; Pennebaker et al., 2015), while anger and depression were measured through the Profile of Mood States-Short Form (POMS-SF; Shacham, 1983). Results indicated that those in the other-blame group had greater pitch mean and used more positive emotion words, cognitive mechanism words, and less tentative words. There were no differences in self-reported anger and depression between the two conditions. Implications touched on the importance of racism attributions on speech and language.
Moderating Effects of Critical Consciousness and Acculturative Stress on the Relation Between Racism and Low-Income Asian Americans’ Mental Health
(2022) Lee, Eunmyoung Alice; Shin, Richard; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Anti-Asian racism has been a pervasive challenge for Asian American communities (Sue et al., 2007), which has increased by nearly 150% from 2019-2020 post the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (Yam, 2021). An expansive body of research has found that racism is significantly related to an array of negative mental health outcomes among Asian Americans (Hahm et al., 2010). However, there remains a dearth of research specifically examining mental health outcomes among low-income Asian Americans, who may be at greater risk for stress due to exposure to both racism and classism. The present study examined the relation between racism and psychological outcomes amongst low-income Asian American adults. Critical consciousness and acculturative stress were examined as potential moderators in that relation. A sample of low-income Asian American adults (N = 365) participated in an online survey to respond to measures on demographic information, racism, psychological distress, psychological well-being, critical consciousness, and acculturative stress. Results showed that racism was a significant predictor of psychological distress and psychological well-being while controlling for age and subjective social status among low-income Asian Americans. The moderation analyses found that acculturative stress was a significant moderator in the association between racism and psychological well-being whereas critical consciousness was not a significant moderator in the association between racism and psychological well-being nor distress. Clinical implications and recommendations for future research are also discussed.
Understanding the informal help-seeking process of Korean emerging adults living in the U.S.: Influence of the family context
(2022) Yoo, Jee Hun; Curbow, Barbara; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Korean Americans are a major Asian subgroup in the U.S., and epidemiological data demonstrate that rates of mental health symptoms are higher among Korean American emerging adults compared to other Asian American counterparts. Seeking and receiving appropriate support are important ways to cope with mental health burden, but there is a dearth of literature on how Asian Americans seek help from friends and family members. Available studies suggest that various sociocultural factors influence the informal help-seeking process among Asian Americans. As family context has a significant impact on children’s sociocultural development, examining such contextual factors can help understand some of the mechanisms and correlates of informal help-seeking. In this dissertation study, I explored the characteristics and associations among family communication patterns, relevant sociocultural factors (i.e., perceived parental support, emotional self-control, relational concerns, face loss concerns), and informal help-seeking intentions using a sample of 201 Korean American emerging adults (ages 18 – 29) drawn from an online survey. In paper 1, factor analysis showed that different help sources can be grouped into three domains (i.e., formal sources, family members, and partner and friends), with intention to seek help being the highest towards partner and friends, followed by family members and formal sources. Characteristics of higher acculturation were positively associated with help-seeking intention towards partner and friends. In paper 2, mediation analyses revealed that participants with parents fostering unrestrained communications perceived receiving more informational support from parents, which in turn was associated with higher intention to seek parental support. Participants with parents emphasizing conformity in beliefs and values perceived receiving less emotional and implicit support from parents, which in turn was associated with lower intention to seek parental support. The negative association between conformity orientation and perceived emotional support was only significant among participants identifying as American or bi-cultural. In paper 3, bivariate analyses showed that conversation orientation was positively associated with informal help-seeking intention, while conformity orientation, emotional self-control, relational concerns, and face loss concerns were negatively associated. Mediation analyses indicated that participants with parents stressing conformity in beliefs and values were more likely to endorse suppression of emotional expression and be concerned with potential loss of face from help-seeking, which in turn were associated with lower intention to seek help from family and friends. Findings from this dissertation study point to the utility of examining family contextual factors to better understand the informal help-seeking process among Korean American emerging adults. More studies on Asian Americans’ informal help-seeking are needed to find more culturally appropriate ways to address the mental health needs of this population.
THE WOMEN AND TAIKO MOVEMENT: QUESTIONING GENDERED LEADERSHIP THROUGH EMBODIED PRACTICE
(2021) Coe, Allison Paige; Witzleben, J. Lawrence; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The tradition of North American taiko drumming has been rife with discussion on gender passed down from its Japanese origin. It is known that women, and even more so Asian American women, feel empowered performing taiko. Despite this feeling of empowerment, there has been minimal leadership roles held by female taiko players, roles such as: solo artists, workshop leaders, and composers. Women are also left out of the mainstream narrative of taiko drumming, which centers on masculine performance and performance styles. A coalition formed and launched the Women and Taiko movement—dedicated to solving these issues through webinars and by enhancing the visibility of female leadership. This movement expanded, including the first all-female, professional level taiko performance and women-created compositions. This thesis discusses this movement as a social movement that seeks to disrupt gendered systems of power and embodied knowledge through pragmatic solutions formed through discussions and by performance.
Emerging Adult East Asian Women Witnessing Racism Events: To Act or Not to Act
(2020) Thai, Christina Jean; Hill, Clara E; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Racial discrimination acts continue to occur and impact the lives of people of color. One mechanism that may help in halting discriminatory behavior is bystander intervention. While there have been studies on bystander intervention during discriminatory events, there is little research on how other people of color intervene during these events. This present study focuses on bystander interventions by emerging adult East Asian American women. As Asian Americans, they are often perceived as more privileged than other people of color and as women they been socialized to “keep their head down.” This present study utilized a qualitative methodology to investigate how they determine whether or not to intervene when they witnessed racism events. Our results showed that participants had three response types: minimized response/did not react, nonaggressive challenged perpetrator, and supported the target. Some of our most interesting findings were that participants voiced that they were motivated to help because of their relationship with the target and/or perpetrator and were inhibited by their fear of retaliation, being unsure of how to respond, and difficulty determining if an event was racist.
“What Are We?” A Narrative Study of the “Trickiness” of Identity for Asian American College Students
(2018) Kim, Yoolee Choe; Park, Julie J.; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Asian Americans are a significant and growing population in U.S. higher education, yet their positionality within the U.S. racial landscape has often been unclear. Acknowledged as neither Black nor White, Asian Americans have occupied an often marginalized yet nonetheless racialized position, which has disguised much of their lived experience as racial beings. This study sought to understand how Asian American college students see themselves as racial beings by exploring the role and salience of race and its intersections with other social identities. Using intersectionality as a theoretical framework, this narrative inquiry study was guided by the following research questions: (a) how do Asian American college students describe and make meaning of their racial identity; (b) in what ways, if any, do their other social identities, such as gender, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, religion, ability status, socioeconomic class, and immigrant generation status, interact with the way Asian American college students describe and make meaning of their racial identity; and (c) how do Asian American college students experience the intersections of their multiple social identities? Following in-depth interviews with four Asian American college students representing a range of identity backgrounds, individual narratives were written for each participant, telling the story of how they came to make meaning of their racial identity, other salient identities, and their intersections. A metanarrative was then generated based on the commonalities of participants’ stories. Through these narratives, the lived experiences of Asian Americans as racial beings were centered. For these four participants, identifying as Asian American was a conscious choice whose meaning was created through reflection on experiences with race, often in conjunction with intersecting identities. Systems of power, oppression, and privilege acted upon those intersections and indelibly shaped the way participants made meaning of their identities, as illuminated by intersectional analysis. The study’s findings indicate paths for future research on Asian American identity development, particularly using critical theoretical perspectives that foreground the influence of systems of power and oppression. The findings also suggest implications for supporting Asian American students and for developing and integrating intersectional approaches in order to create more socially just and inclusive institutions.
Perceived Ethnic-Racial Socialization and Parenting Styles on Asian American College Students' Depressive Symptoms
(2018) Ahn, Lydia HaRim; Miller, Matthew J; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The present study examines how perceived mothers’ culturally relevant parenting styles and ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) are associated with depressive symptoms among 280 Asian American college students (M =19.53, SD = 1.57). We hypothesized that perceived ERS will predict depressive symptoms, and perceived authoritarian, authoritative, and training parenting styles will moderate this association. We used a cross-sectional, quantitative design to measure this model through an online questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were dependent on the parenting style and the type of ERS message. Results indicated that 1) training parenting style (high in guidance and care for children) was negatively associated with depressive symptoms, 2) the combination of promotion of equality messages and training parenting style was negatively linked with depressive symptoms, and 3) authoritarian parenting was positively correlated with depressive symptoms. Findings highlight the importance of culturally sensitive parenting on mental health.
The Health Implications of Stress among Asian Americans in the US and Chinese In China: the Effects of Perceived Stress and Caregiving Stress on Cardiovascular Risk Factors
(2018) Lu, Xiaoxiao; Lee, Sunmin; Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Prior research suggests that stress plays a role in the etiology and progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD). To lend a more accurate depiction of the associations between stress and CVD risk factors, this dissertation used a comprehensive approach to conceptualizing stress by assessing two dimensions of stress: perceived stress and caregiving stress. The objective of this dissertation was to investigate the associations between multiple dimensions of stress and the risk factors of CVD. This dissertation also explored the potential mechanisms that underlie the relationships between stress and CVD risk factors. In Paper 1 (Chapter 3), we assessed the associations between perceived stress and hypertension across varying levels of social support and social network among 530 Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese Americans. Results indicated that individuals with high perceived stress were 61% more likely to have hypertension compared to those with low levels of perceived stress (Odds Ratio (OR): 1.61, 95% Confidence interval (CI): 1.15, 2.46). Social support had a direct beneficial effect on hypertension, irrespective of whether individuals were under stress. In Paper 2 (Chapter 4), we used five waves of longitudinal data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey to examine the association between parental caregiving and blood pressure among 2,586 Chinese women. We found that parental caregivers were associated with higher systolic (β-coefficient (β) = 1.16; p ≤ 0.01) and diastolic blood pressure (β = 0.75; p ≤ 0.01) compared with non-caregivers across multiple waves. In Paper 3 (Chapter 5), we investigated the relationship between caregiving trajectory and Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) among 1,636 Chinese women. Three caregiving trajectories were identified by using group-based trajectory analysis. Results showed that ‘rising to high-intense’ caregivers (OR = 1.90; 95% CI: 0.90, 4.00) and ‘stable low-intense’ caregivers (OR = 1.56; 95% CI: 1.06, 2.29) were associated with higher risk of MetS compared with non-caregivers. This dissertation is innovative in its examining the associations of multiple dimensions of stress with CVD risk factors among Asian subgroups. Findings from the proposed study will be used to develop future stress management interventions, and incorporating culturally and linguistically appropriate strategies into community outreach and education to decrease cardiovascular disease risk within the Asian population.

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