Do labels matter? Attitudinal and Behavioral Correlates of Ethnic and Racial Identity Choices among Asian American Undergraduates

Oct 15, 2026

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Explores how Asian American undergraduates choose racial and ethnic identity labels and how those choices relate to attitudes toward racial and ethnic issues, as well as participation in campus organizations. Results indicate relationships that vary by identity group: some groups show complex links between self-identification and attitudes, while other groups show no relationship. Reviews the development of Asian American identity, labeling debates, and theories of racial and ethnic identity to frame these label-choice dynamics.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Relationship between label choices and identity attitudes

Identity label adoption and group differences

Pan-Asian identity programs and assumptions

Historical development of Asian American identity

Labeling debates and ethnic versus racial meaning

Racial and ethnic identity theories and limitations

Racialization of ethnicity and impacts

Do labels matter? Attitudinal and Behavioral Correlates of Ethnic and Racial Identity Choices among Asian American Undergraduates Corinne M. Kodama, Angela Ebreo This study explored the relationship between Asian American students’ choices of racial and ethnic identity labels, their attitudes toward racial and ethnic issues, and involvement in campus organizations. The findings suggest complex relationships between racial and ethnic self-identification and attitudes for some identity groups and no relationship for other groups. In recent years there has been a rise of Asian American student services, from targeted offices and services to Asian American student centers. Generally these programs and services are of a pan-Asian 1 nature, appealing to students’sense of a shared identity. The unstated assumption behind this umbrella identity is that students from Asian ethnic backgrounds have enough in common to be able to identify with each other racially and perhaps even have a common understanding of what Asian American means. Yet given a choice, individuals often choose to identify with their ethnicity (e.g., Chinese) or as ethnicity-American (e.g., Chinese American) . Studies of ethnic groups including Filipinos (Besnard, 2003), Indians (Farver, Narang, & Bhadha, 2002), and Chinese and Koreans (Hong & Min, 1999) showed most participants primarily (or solely) identifying with their specific ethnic group as opposed to Asian American. A study in Southern California showed that two-thirds of Asian American respondents preferred to identify themselves according to their ethnicity compared to only one in six preferring the Asian American label (Lien, Conway, Wong, 2003) . However, six in ten of them did claim the Asian American identity at certain times and understood the utility of it. In other words, people may check the Asian American box on a form, but its use can be contextual or it may not necessarily hold much personal meaning (Kuo, 2001; Phinney, 1996) . Espiritu (1992) described the historical development of an Asian American identity in the mid-1960s when various Asian groups came together for pragmatic political and economic reasons. It was made possible by a U.S.-born generation with fewer language and cultural differences than their parents. However, today the majority of Asian Americans are foreign born (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007), meaning these differences are once again prominent (Kibria, 2002) . The ethnic composition of the Asian American population is changing as 1 For purposes of this paper,“pan-Asian” means “pan-Asian American.” well, with more South and Southeast Asians who have generally identified less with the Asian American label (Espiritu, 1992; Shankar & Srikanth, 1998) . Asian American is a term that some students consider externally imposed, reactive in response to being non-White in a racist culture, and something they identify with by default (Kibria, 1999; Min & Kim, 1999) . This socially constructed term Asian American can be confusing as an identity choice (Kibria, 2000; Shankar & Srikanth, 1998), particularly during the college years (Kibria, 1999; B.W. Kim, 2001, Kuo, 2001) or for second generation Asian Americans (Min & Kim, 1999) . There are additional layers of this labeling debate, with use of the term Asian Pacific American to be inclusive of Pacific Islanders, but some feel this is not accurate as Pacific Islanders have different issues and needs (O.A. Poon, personal communication, November 16, 1006) . In fact, the 2000 census moved Pacific Islanders from a subset of the classification of the Asian American category into the Native American one (Lai & Arguelles, 2003) . Racial identity theories (Cross, 1971; Helms 1995) describe a developmental process for people in understanding and identifying with their race and that of the White majority. These theories focus on the struggle that individuals have with their identity as a non-white person in a racist society (though ther

FAQs

What does the study examine regarding Asian American undergraduates?

It examines the relationship between students’ choices of racial and ethnic identity labels and their attitudes toward racial and ethnic issues, alongside involvement in campus organizations.

What do the findings suggest about label choices and attitudes?

The findings indicate complex relationships for some identity groups between racial/ethnic self-identification and attitudes, while other groups show no relationship.

How does the text explain the difference between racial and ethnic identity concepts?

It argues that Asian Americans may consider identity in terms of ethnicity rather than race, and that existing racial and ethnic identity theories may not fully capture the complexity of students who identify with ethnicity in addition to, or instead of, race.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by jayni