Grandparent–Grandchild Relationships and Ethnic Identity in Asian and Asian American Undergraduate Students

ABSTRACT

This study examined how Asian and Asian American grandparent–grandchild relationships related to ethnic identity in the context of COVID-19-related racial discrimination. Asian and Asian American grandchildren (N = 102) answered questions about discrimination, ethnic identification, grandparent–grandchild relationships, and ethnic behaviors. There was no significant relationship between exposure to discrimination and strength of ethnic identity, but strength of ethnic identity was a significant predictor of frequency of synchronous contact with grandparents and ethnic behaviors. Findings suggest that stronger ethnic identities in Asian and Asian American undergraduate students could be related to better relationships with their grandparents.

KEYWORDS:

• Asian American
• discrimination
• ethnic identity
• grandparents
• grandchildren

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contribution

This is one of the first studies to target Asian American undergraduate students’ perspectives on grandparent–grandchild relationships and it demonstrates that ethnic identity may be one of many factors related to Asian and Asian American undergraduate students’ intergenerational relationships.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Washington University Office of Undergraduate Research's Academic Year Undergraduate Research Award.