Cultural Immersion Camps and Development of Ethnic Identity in Asian American Youth

Yi-Ju Wu,David Matarrita-Cascante,Corliss Outley

doi:10.5195/jyd.2019.708

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore camp outcomes specialized in ethnic identity among Asian American youth after they participated in a residential cultural immersion camp. In this study, the cultural immersion camp is viewed as a mediating factor that channels other influences in such a way as to guide Asian American youth to commit more expressly and more fully to their perception of ethnic identity. The results obtained from 3 cultural immersion camps located in the Western United States reveals that cultural immersion camp experiences significantly increase perceived levels of ethnic identity among Asian American youth. Implications of cultural immersion camp on the development of Asian American youth are discussed.

Highlights

According to the U.S Census (2017), the fastest growing racial group in the United States is the Asian American population, growing 2.2% between July 2014 and 2015, and with an overall population increase of 43% since 2000 (Hoeffel, Rastogi, Kim & Shahid, 2012)
On the last day of camp participants’ parents were invited to attend a camp stage show where campers acted out what they saw as the results or lessons of what they had learned at camp The cultural immersion camps in this study are held annually and target Asian American youth from immigrant families
This study examined the impact of cultural immersion camp experiences on the strength of Asian American youths’ ethnic identity and found these impacts to be significant

Summary

Introduction

According to the U.S Census (2017), the fastest growing racial group in the United States is the Asian American population, growing 2.2% between July 2014 and 2015, and with an overall population increase of 43% since 2000 (Hoeffel, Rastogi, Kim & Shahid, 2012). Within the United States the Asian American population includes people with origins in the Far East (China, Japan, and Korea), Southeast Asia (Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), and South Asia (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal). All of these population groups have unique cultural characteristics and languages, as well as the historical, sociopolitical and economic conditions of their native countries that have shaped their experiences within the United States. These experiences are reflected in how each immigrant population socializes its children and youth to become a part of the U.S culture

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion