Strangers still? The experience of discrimination among Chinese Americans

This study investigates the perceptions of discrimination within an Asian American community. Over 1,500 Chinese Americans were interviewed regarding experiences with unfair treatment due to their race or ethnicity and their language and or accent. Demographic variables, acculturation level, and amount of contact opportunity. were used to predict perceived discrimination using multiple hierarchical logistic analyses. Approximately 21 % of Chinese Americans reported being unfairly treated in their lifetime. The specific predictors varied depending on whether the discrimination was due to race and ethnicity, or language and accent. Retention of cultural practices, age of immigration, and contact opportunity were associated with racial discrimination. Only contact opportunity was associated with language and accent discrimination. Implications are discussed with respect to perceptions of similarity, the contact hypothesis, and bicultural adjustment. (C) 2002 John Wiley Sons, Inc.