The Vietnamese American community is now 30 years old and we are beginning to see a third generation emerge—children and adolescents growing up immersed in American pop culture and more concerned about hip hop, Sponge Bob, and the latest reality TV show than current events from Viet Nam or, dare I say it, Paris by Night! Those who know a little something about immigration theory know that the third generation is supposed to be the “American” generation. This is the prediction for any immigrant group, not just Vietnamese Americans. That old model of assimilation by the third generation really does not take into account many significant factors, such as how the term “American” basically means “white.” While I can go on and on about why this is such an outdated and problematic theory, the point of this article is not to disprove the theory, but to show how some young scholars are doing exciting work that measures the acculturation (not assimilation) of Vietnamese Americans and what this means for future generations.

Vietnamese elders often lament the loss of culture, identity, and language among the younger generations. I have heard my father sardonically describe young Vietnamese Americans’ loss of their Vietnamese roots by giving the example that, “O Viet Nam, cha me dat dau con ngoi do. Con o My thi con dat dau cha me phai ngoi do thoi” (In Viet Nam, children do what their parents tell them to, but in America it is the reverse). If indeed Vietnamese Americans are losing their cultural values—that set of ideas and beliefs that makes us distinctly Vietnamese—then how does this bode for the future? What will a fourth- or fifth-generation Vietnamese American person be like? Will she be any different from other Asian Americans in the U.S.? We know the answer is not as simple as an easy yes or no, and we certainly know that being Vietnamese American and retaining Vietnamese values depends on many factors such as immigration flows, communication with Viet Nam, and the accessibility of Vietnamese culture and language in the American mainstream.

To take up this question of how American or how Vietnamese the younger generations of Vietnamese Americans really are, a psychology research team consisting of two young scholars, Que-Lam Huynh and Angela Nguyen, along with their mentor on the project, Dr. Chi-Ah Chun (CSU Long Beach) developed a psycho-metric scale that gauges the behaviors and values of 1.5 and second-generation Vietnamese Americans. In their research, Huynh, Nguyen, and Chun found that contrary to a simplistic understanding of Vietnamese Americans as becoming too Americanized or “white-washed” at the expense of their Vietnamese cultural values, Vietnamese Americans are actually maintaining a strong sense of their Vietnamese identity. Most Vietnamese Americans can actually navigate both American and Vietnamese cultures, all the while remaining true to their Vietnamese roots.

Angela Nguyen and Que-Lam Huynh are both personally and professionally invested in understanding this question of how Vietnamese Americans are adapting to American culture and what happens to their Vietnamese culture during the process. They both belong to Generation Y, but grew up with two very distinct experiences as Vietnamese Americans. Angela was born and raised in Orange County, the cultural capital of overseas Vietnamese. She was surrounded by a large extended family and an even larger Vietnamese social network through church and community. Que-Lam, on the other hand, was born in Viet Nam and came to the U.S. with her mother when she was 11. They lived in Phoenix, Arizona with hardly any Vietnamese around, until she moved to San Diego for college. Que-Lam describes her first impression of Little Saigon in Westminster as a sort of culture shock. The two befriended each other at the University of San Diego where their differing views on Vietnamese American acculturation inspired them to pursue a research project together. Since then both have invested a great deal of time, energy, and resources in turning this project into a multi-part study that utilizes a psychological scale to measure acculturation.

Huynh and Nguyen have worked on this important study in intervals for the past five years. During this time, they have also grown in their academic careers. Angela Nguyen received her B.A. in Psychology at USD, then went on to get her M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at Cal State Long Beach. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Social/Personality Psychology at UC Riverside. Que-Lam Huynh also received a B.A. in Psychology at USD, then obtained her M.A. in Research Psychology at Cal State Long Beach, and is now working on her Ph.D. at UC Riverside in Social/Personality Psychology. Their mentor and consultant, Dr. Chi-Ah Chun, came into contact with the project as Huynh was developing it for her master’s thesis. Dr. Chun works in Clinical Psychology, and focuses her research on Asian American issues.

When asked about the importance of this project, Dr. Chun said, “This is the first instrument that I know of that truly attempts to capture both psychological and behavioral aspects of acculturation. And it’s quite an accomplishment for any scholar, especially graduate students, to have developed such a psychometrically sound instrument. Furthermore, this is one of the few acculturation instruments custom tailored to a specific ethnic population.”

The researchers measured the acculturation of Vietnamese Americans through a survey of those between the age of 18 and 25. They created a psycho-metric scale called the Multidimensional Measure of Acculturation for Vietnamese Americans (MMAVA). Huynh and Nguyen have collected three separate samples, each including over 300 respondents. In 2004, they surveyed 312 Vietnamese Americans, mainly at the Tet Festival (Hoi Cho Tet) in Orange County. The survey includes questions gauging the respondent’s affiliation with Vietnamese behaviors and values. For example, the survey asks respondents to agree or disagree with statements such as “I eat Vietnamese food at home” or “My actions have direct impact on the family name.” It also asks questions pertaining to American culture, such as “I eat American food at home” and “My first priority is doing what is best for me.”

These are only a few examples of a more comprehensive survey, but the main idea is that American and Vietnamese cultural values are measured side-by-side and the results show a majority of the respondents (80 percent of the sample) incorporate both American and Vietnamese cultures. That means that they are bi-cultural rather than more American or more Vietnamese. The sample included mostly second-generation Vietnamese Americans (born in the U.S. or came before the age of 5), but also reflected a significant group of 1.5 and first-generation Vietnamese Americans as well. According to the study, Vietnamese Americans are not losing their culture, although they may not be as well-versed in Vietnamese history, traditions, customs, and language. While some may not act Vietnamese in certain ways (by consuming Vietnamese food or going to Vietnamese events), their values remain Vietnamese.