Cultural Values, Intergenerational Transmission of Internalized Racism, Education, and Career Goals in Chinese American Families

The present study is the first of its kind using a dyadic and prospective research design to test whether traditional Asian cultural values and internalized racism among Chinese American adolescents and their first-generation immigrant parents are influential factors in the educational and vocational goals of the adolescents by the time they become young adults. While results show that traditional Asian cultural values and internalized racism were not related to adolescents' educational aspiration or young adults' major choice, results do show an intergenerational correlation in internalized racism. Furthermore, results show that youth who planned to pursue science/health professions had significantly higher levels of internalized racism than those who planned to pursue business/law professions. Findings suggest that internalized racism may restrict parents' expectations and goals for their children and, in tandem, serve as a barrier for youths' self-determination or sense of autonomy in their selection of college majors and career development.