# Responses to Racial Discrimination in Asian American Parents and Youth

> **NIH NIH R21** · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · 2022 · $282,310

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the U.S., yet the pressing need to address mental
health has been woefully underrecognized, with little resources designated to address these concerns. Asian
American adolescents report the highest level of racial discrimination by peers relative to other racial groups, a
major issue given the robust relationship between discrimination and mental health. Critically, Anti-Asian
discrimination and assaults have increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic with blame cast on
Asians for bringing about the pandemic. Despite the urgent needs and the concerns expressed by parents
about discrimination, few studies have examined how Asian American parents and adolescents recognize and
respond to anti-Asian racial discrimination. Through survey and virtual videotaped observations that take place
in their homes, our project will examine how Chinese American parents and adolescents determine whether an
incident is discriminatory and problematic. Through the sample of 116 dyads, we will also study how Chinese
American parents and their adolescent children (16-18 years) talk about racial bias. Parents and children are
asked to discuss what they would do when confronted by a hypothetical scenario with which they are the target
of an act of racial bias (e.g., being blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic in a public space). Our objective is to
describe the ability to recognize and the means in which parents and adolescents respond emotionally and
behaviorally to such a situation. Both non-verbal and verbal content obtained from the observational sessions
will be captured. These include analysis of emotional expressions as well as what parents and adolescents
state they would do in such a situation (e.g., explain to the perpetrator that they are wrong, use humor). We will
also examine any suggestions or expectations that parents and adolescents would have for one another if
such an encounter were to occur. We will examine how parent and youth characteristics (their report of
discrimination, ethnic identity) and the parent-child communication style accounts for observed behaviors. How
these behaviors relate to self-reported parent and youth mental health and adjustment (depression and anxiety
symptoms, and self-esteem) will be determined. Observational studies on parent-child conversations about
encountering racial bias against their own group is rare and has not been conducted with Asian American
families. This project is novel as the observational approach lays the groundwork for understanding specific
features in the response to racial bias.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10525317
- **Project number:** 1R21HD107512-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** CINDY H LIU
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $282,310
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-04 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10525317

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10525317, Responses to Racial Discrimination in Asian American Parents and Youth (1R21HD107512-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10525317. Licensed CC0.

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