Does Color-Blind Racial Ideology Moderate the Internalization of the Model Minority Myth on Race-Related Stress Among Asian American College Students?

The present study examined the effects on the role of color-blind racial attitudes on the link between internalization of the model minority myth and race-related stress. Using a sample of 309 (176 males and 133 females) Asian American college students, the present study examined the relationship between color-blind racial ideology (i.e., unawareness of blatant racial issues, unawareness of racial privilege and unawareness of institutional racism) on the link between internalization of the model minority myth (i.e., unrestricted mobility and achievement orientation) and race-related stress (i.e., social climate stress, interracial stress, within-group stress, racism stress and achievement stress). Results primarily suggest the denial of blatant racism and racial issues (and not denial of racial privilege and institutional racism) exacerbate the effect of internalizing the model minority myth related to unrestricted mobility, while it buffers the effect of internalizing the model minority myth related to achievement orientation on race-related social stress. Overall, findings of this study suggest that internalization of the model minority myth and the unawareness of race and racism needs to be considered when looking at adjustment of Asian American college students. These findings also suggest that previous differential findings associated with model minority myth and adjustment warrant a closer look at the different implications.