Ethnic Identity, Alienation and Achievement Orientation in Japanese-American Families

Abstract

The need for a strong identification with one's traditional heritage has been a chief tenet voiced in minority group movements. To test the hypothesis that ethnic identity counters the alienative feelings attributed to minority status and supports achievement values, samples of Japanese-American high school students and their mothers were evaluated. These subjects represented Sansei and Nisei Japanese Americans, respectively. They were selected from Buddhist and Christian churches in Denver, Colorado. Buddhist mothers were found to be more ethnically identified than Christian mothers, but their children did not differ in ethnic identity. Buddhist adolescents scored higher in both achievement orientation and alienation compared with Christian adolescents. These differences were discussed in their possible relation to differential home environments.