Coming to Terms with Our Routes: The Impact of Family Estrangement on Asian American Identity

Estrangement is a prevalent and understudied phenomenon, particularly in the Asian American diaspora. Research on Asian American families often frames intergenerational conflict as a cultural clash between assimilated youth and unassimilated elders, reinforcing essentialized views of Asian identity and obfuscating the broader sociopolitical contexts in which these relationships unfold. While cultural identity has been widely problematized, “culture” continues to be utilized as a reductive explanation for complex family dynamics. This study used reflexive thematic analysis to examine 30 in-depth interviews with Asian Americans who experienced family estrangement. Analysis focused on how participants discussed family ruptures, particularly the ways in which culture and identity were deployed. Findings highlighted how participants both challenged and reproduced racialized stereotypes, sometimes using essentialized identifications as a protective strategy. This led to the experience of double displacement, whereby essentialization left participants with a sense of belonging nowhere, neither to the U.S., where they were often subjected to the perpetual foreigner stereotype, nor to the Asian American diaspora. Participants engaged in meaning-making and identity reconstruction through transitional (racial) spaces, relationships with peers, therapists, online communities, and creative practices. Implications include the need for culturally attuned, anti-essentialist clinical and methodological approaches that recognize the impact of intergenerational trauma, racialization, and sociopolitical context on family estrangement and identity. The findings suggest that scholars and clinicians need to develop agility and a critical lens to balance honoring and prioritizing felt experiences as they are described while also being willing to challenge rigid identity constructions that unintentionally reify racist stereotypes.

Author dc:creator

• Sullivan, SuMing

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Park, Yoosun

• Social Work

Language dc:language.iso

en

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/61110

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.upenn.edu:20.500.14332/61110