Parental pressure and support toward Asian Americans’ self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and interests in stereotypical occupations: Living up to parental expectations and internalized stereotyping as mediators.

Abstract

This study examined whether living up to parental expectations and internalized stereotyping (i.e., internalizing Asian American stereotypes) mediated the impact of parental pressure and support on occupational outcomes (i.e., self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and interests in stereotypical occupations) among 229 Asian American students from universities nationwide. Results indicated that living up to parental expectations and internalized stereotyping partially mediated the associations between parental pressure and these 3 occupational outcomes. In addition, living up to parental expectations fully mediated the associations between parental support and the 3 occupational outcomes, but internalized stereotyping did not. The results demonstrated the differential role of parental pressure and parental support as well as the mediating role of living up to parental expectations and internalized stereotyping in Asian Americans' occupational outcomes. Future research directions and clinical implications are discussed.