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Title: Different Stripes of the Tiger: A Comparison of Assimilation Outcomes Between Vietnamese Americans and other Asian American Ethnic Groups

Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis

Publication Year: 2004

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Abstract: Up to this point in the study of intergroup contact, the conventional definition of assimilation has focused primarily on behavioral aspects (acculturation). This research broadens this narrow conception to include more structural, institutional, and socioeconomic examples of racial/ethnic integration into mainstream American society by analyzing four categories of assimilation outcomes (socioeconomic, occupational and entrepreneurial, residential, and martial) between five different Asian American ethnic groups (Asian Indians, Chinese, Filipinos, and Koreans), with a particular focus on Vietnamese. As one of the most recent and most controversial arrivals onto the American racial/ethnic landscape, Vietnamese share many commonalities with more established Asian ethnic groups but also possess several distinctive characteristics that ultimately make their assimilation patterns quite unique. Across these diverse assimilation outcomes, the results generally show that the majority of Vietnamese Americans experience very little disadvantage or inequality when it comes to these achieving structural integration. At the same time, a small minority of Vietnamese still struggle and continue to suffer the legacies of their refugee experiences and comparative lack of human capital. For example, Vietnamese who are self-employed are still predominantly located in low-wage service sectors whereas other self-employed Asian Americans are moving into more professional-type sectors. Additionally, Vietnamese exhibit very high residential segregation rates in California (much higher than any other major Asian ethnic group), although this high degree of spatial isolation seems to have little negative impact on the overall residential quality of life for middle-class and affluent Vietnamese. Measures of marital assimilation (specifically rates of intermarriage with Whites) are where Vietnamese seem to show the most discrepancies between them and other Asian Americans and where they exhibit lower levels of structural assimilation most clearly. I hypothesize that Vietnamese have been able to overcome initial challenges on their way to achieving relatively high structural assimilation in a relatively short amount of time by utilizing collective cultural resources and by maintaining a strong sense of ethnic solidarity. These mechanisms have allowed Vietnamese to weave together a pattern of achievement and mobility combined with tradition and cohesion within the context of the ever-evolving American mainstream.

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Authors: Le, C.N.

Institution: University at Albany, SUNY

Department: Department of Sociology

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Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Publisher Location: Albany, NY

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Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Race and Ethnicity

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