Asian-Jewish couples share remarkably similar values — but they're not rearing their children like Tiger Mother Amy Chua, a new study reports. Noah Leavitt and Helen Kim — a married couple and both sociologists at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash. — interviewed 37 Asian-Jewish couples over two years. The families lived in Northern and Southern California, Philadelphia and New York City. They included Asian-American men married to Jewish women and Jewish men married to Asian-American women, as well as straight and gay couples. Their ages ranged from 20s to 70s; some were parents ... Read More
College Reversal?
January 18, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
Some research has found that once Asian-American kids hit college, they no longer outstrip white students academically — if they’re living away from home. For example, a study of 452 students at UC Irvine led by University of Denver psychologist Julia Dmitrieva found that while both white and Asian-American students’ freshman year grades dipped below their 12th-grade GPAs, Asian-Americans’ fell dramatically, while white Americans’ dropped only slightly. “There’s a reversal of ethnic differences in college grades, at least temporarily,” Dmitrieva says. That reversal ... Read More
Do Asian-American Parents Push Their Kids?
January 18, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
Asian-American parenting might look pushy and pressuring to Western eyes. But that’s not so, say researchers, pointing to studies where Asian-American kids say their parents’ guidance is warm and loving. Of course, these researchers didn’t look at the parenting of Amy Chua, author of the just-published Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Chua rightly thinks parents should hold high expectations and encourage kids to work hard and achieve competence. But she tells of doing so herself through harsh pressure, such as threatening to take away her daughter’s toys, holiday presents, and even ... Read More
Asian-American Parenting and Academic Success
December 13, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
Why do so many Asian-American kids do so well in school? Researchers are zeroing in on one important reason: the unique style of Asian-American parenting. A visit to the University of California's most selective campuses shows how very well Asian-American kids do academically: While Asian Americans constituted 14 percent of the state population in 2008, this fall they made up about 40 percent of the freshman class at UCLA and 37 percent of the entering class at University of California, Berkeley. But it's not just in California, and it's not just in college. The 2000 Census found that ... Read More
The Scrutable Asian
March 18, 2009 • By • Leave a Comment
Jack Bauer, after all, tortures past this difference. And so it was a little bit of a surprise when I saw a recent episode of a new Fox show called Lie to Me. In the show, Tim Roth stars as Dr. Cal Lightman, who spent years in various far-off tribal places and has returned with a deep knowledge of facial expressions. He is able to detect lies by matching up emotions such as anger, fear and disgust to corresponding facial movements. He uses this skill to help various crime-fighting agencies. An interesting premise. (A show based on a savant truth teller who helps the police is not new. ... Read More
Raising Awareness About a Silent Killer
December 5, 2008 • By • 1 Comment
As many as 2 million Americans live with chronic hepatitis B. Without treatment, one-quarter of them will die from liver cancer or cirrhosis, but many don't even know they're infected. New research describes a public health program to help the hardest-hit ethnic groups deal with the disease. Though the incidence of hepatitis B has declined in the U.S. since the introduction of a vaccine in 1982, it's still a leading cause of death among Asian Americans and Pacific islanders. About 1 in 10 foreign-born Asian Americans has the disease — 20 times the rate among the population as a whole and ... Read More
