The good life in cultural context: Examining Asian young adults’ psychological well-being and narratives of negative experiences

Few narrative identity studies have investigated how common correlates of well-being in the U.S. (redemption, contamination, agency, and communion) relate to the good life for non-U.S., racial minority populations. The current study assessed whether Asian young adults’ (N = 197) degree of acculturation to Euro-American values is associated with both the use of these narrative themes and how these themes relate to well-being. Asian young adults narrated two negative events, one pertaining to their ethnic identity and another pertaining to a low point in the life story. Narratives were reliably coded for redemption, contamination, agency, and communion. While there was no association between narrative themes and acculturation, agency was associated with lower well-being for less acculturated individuals. Results suggest that past studies documenting a positive relation between PWB and agency may not generalize to Asian samples.

Duke Scholars

Author Sarah Elizabeth Gaither Psychology & Neuroscience