VA Acculturation Study: [p.2]

I sat down with Que-Lam and Angela to discuss their methods and research findings. My goal was to understand what’s at stake for their project, and what significance it holds for the Vietnamese American community at large. While Dr. Chun has attested to their study’s impact on psychology research, I want to understand how we can translate these findings into real-world value.

NHA: Can you talk about the methods you used in this project? How did you select people for the study?

Angela Nguyen: We’ve always used surveys. We never used convenient samples, such as when you call up your friends and talk to them. We’ve always targeted VSAs [Vietnamese Student Associations] and UVSA [Union of Vietnamese Student Associations], Vietnamese Culture Night, and Tet Festivals. The first two years we mainly targeted Vietnamese Culture Nights. The second two years, thanks to the generous support of UVSA, we were out at Hoi Cho Tet in Little Saigon for all three days, from morning to night. We asked anyone who passed by the booth, “Are you 18 to 25 years old? Would you like to take a survey?” And we had a raffle as an incentive for them to participate. So we didn’t discriminate in any way, except for age.

NHA: From reading your media summary, it sounds like the project has taken on a larger dimension and significance. Can you talk a little bit about the purpose of the project, what the stake is for you both in seeing it through now?

Que-Lam Huynh: Well, originally I think we started [the project] because there was not a whole lot of research on Vietnamese Americans, especially in acculturation, at least not one done the way we thought it should have been done. And as we’re looking at the research, it’s more about Vietnamese refugees in the ‘70s and early ‘80s, or it was research on the Vietnamese people or Vietnamese Americans in relation to the war and how they feel about the war or about Americans’ feelings about the war. Then the research kind of died down during the ‘80s and ‘90s, and now there is a resurgence of it. Now it’s more about Vietnamese American Studies and how we are adapting to life here, what we’re doing with two identities and two cultures, the politics of the Vietnamese American community. I think that’s the purpose of our study today, to contribute to the literature that’s so small.

AN: There are very few Vietnamese Americans in psychology, so that leads to very little research on Vietnamese Americans. We’re trying to tell people that Vietnamese Americans are here and we’re here to stay, and it’s important to look at us and see how we’re integrating into American society.

NHA: You mentioned that the generation gap was one of the things you hoped to breach through this study.

AN: Yeah, one of the other purposes was to dispel the myth that younger generations are way white-washed and Americanized or assimilated. We wanted to address that because we are part of the younger generation and we don’t think we are all that assimilated or Americanized, and maybe not everyone else [in these age groups] is either. And by dispelling the myth, we’re able to have other people understand the younger generations better. Our parents might say, “Maybe you aren’t that American, you’re still pretty Vietnamese.” And that would create better parent-child relations, or intergenerational relations, which eventually, and this is the bigger picture, will create a more cohesive community where people from different generations are working together.

NHA: Did you have any memorable experiences while you were out there collecting data?

QLH: Most people were really nice and really helpful. The first time we did the survey we were scared. We thought, “OK, we are going to get rejected today.” But people were really helpful. We had a booth [at Tet] so we were encouraging people to come in for warmth, and handing out candy. Overall it was a really positive experience.

AN: In terms of memorable experiences, people are interested in the research. They ask questions. Some people would say, “Oh, you’re in psychology, I want to go into that!” Then that would open up other conversations.

QLH: Parents want to have a summary of our research so they can give it to their kids [laughter all around]. I’ve gotten a lot of that. Parents say, “Can I have my kid email you?” or “My daughter really needs to know about this!” and “When are you going on the radio?”