In recent decades, documented and undocumented Chinese immigrants have arrived in New York City from all corners of the world. With approximately 500,000 inhabitants of Chinese descent, New York has grown into the largest “Chinese city” in the western hemisphere. This presentation reports the results of two ongoing research projects involving interviews with 14-24 year old male and female Chinese American youths as well as autobiographical essays. A central purpose of the projects is to elucidate the psychosocial adaptations of Chinese American youths residing in New York. The presentation will explore topics such as adjusting to a new physical and sociocultural environment, acculturation, economic hardship, language barriers, language brokering, discrimination based on ethnicity and immigration status, identity struggles, struggles with one’s body image, family relationships, tensions between the generations, gender roles and gender-based discrimination, and academic achievement.
Speakers
Uwe P. Gielen, PhD/St. Francis College, Brooklyn
Uwe P. Gielen (Ph.D. in Social Psychology, Harvard University) is Professor of Psychology and Executive Director of the Institute for International and Cross-Cultural Psychology at St. Francis College, New York. His work centers on cross-cultural and international psychology, Chinese American immigrant children, Tibetan studies, international family psychology, and moral development. Dr. Gielen is the senior editor or coeditor of 18 volumes. A fellow of New York Academy of Sciences, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and the Eastern Psychological Association, he has served as president of the Society for Cross-Cultural Research, the International Council of Psychologists, and the International Psychology Division of the American Psychology Association.
Ting Lei, PhD/Borough of Manhattan Community College & Teachers College
Ting Lei (Ph.D. in Human Development, Harvard University) is Professor of Social Sciences at Borough of Manhattan Community College/City University of New York and Adjunct Professor of Educational Psychology at Teachers College/Columbia University. He has been doing research related to psychological anthropology, ethno-psychology, health psychology, and academic motivation. Dr. Lei has published numerous articles in different languages, and was the immediate past chairperson of the Psychology Steering Committee at the New York Academy of Sciences. He conducted the largest longitudinal study on Chinese people during his 11-year tenure at Academic Sinica (Chinese Academy of Sciences) and at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.