Acculturation in context: The self-esteem of Chinese immigrants

Despite the resurgence of immigration in the United States and a renewed scholarly interest in the effects of social context, social psychologists have not sufficiently explored the joint relationships between acculturation and neighborhood ethnic composition as influences on immigrants' self-esteem. Using a sample of adult Chinese immigrants, I examine the effects of English language use, Chinese cultural participation, and neighborhood Chinese composition on self-esteem. Immigrants who primarily use English have higher self-esteem than those who primarily use Chinese. In contrast, neither Chinese cultural participation nor neighborhood Chinese composition is related significantly to self-esteem. Neighborhood co-ethnicity, however has significant moderating effects. English language use is related most positively to self-esteem in predominantly non-Chinese neighborhoods, and Chinese cultural participation is related positively to self-esteem only in predominantly Chinese neighborhoods. I discuss these conditional relationships in light of their implications for acculturation theory, self-esteem research, and research on ethnic identity. The results demonstrate how the concept of social context may help bridge research in these disparate areas.