An investigation of psychological well-being and cultural identity in British Asian Female university students

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether cultural identity was significantly related to well-being in a sample of British Asian female University students. A cohort, correlational design was used. Seventy-seven female university students of Asian descent (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Sri Lankan) all born or educated in Britain (age range: 18–29 years old) were recruited from Royal Holloway, University of London, between September 2003 and January 2004. Measures were used that assessed psychological well-being, identity, and family environment. The results were analysed using multiple-regression analyses. On all the measures of psychological well-being, no statistically significant relationship between identity and well-being was found. British identity and Asian identity did not make an independent contribution to the overall relationship between identity and psychological well-being. Overall, the results did not indicate that identity and psychological well-being were related. Clinical implications are discussed.