Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi Americans (APIDA) have been marginalized throughout U.S. history. In the late 1800s, Asian immigrants were described as “yellow peril, a term popularized to instill fear of job loss at the hands of Asian immigrants. As APIDA gained citizenship, “perpetual foreigner was coined to emphasize that even as U.S. citizens, APIDA are not fully American (Armenta et al., 2013). With the educational and financial success of some APIDA, the term “model minority from the 1960s reinforced the stereotype of APIDA as the exemplar racial minority group (Yoo et al., 2010). Now during COVID-19, the term “kung-flu virus is used to blame APDIA for the pandemic.

The model minority myth, in particular, is harmful because it: 1) ignores the heterogeneity of APIDA groups and obscures academic struggles within APIDA subgroups; 2) distorts and minimizes actual experiences of racism faced by APIDA; 3) positions APIDA hierarchically between whites and other racial minority groups; and 4) assumes that APIDA do not need resources and support.

This study draws on Critical Race Theory (CRT) to elucidate how racism has become normalized and is perpetuated through social structures and institutions. CRT in particular highlights how the model minority myth is a form of anti-blackness. This study uses a sequential, explanatory mixed-methodological design to: 1) test a conceptual model in which the internalization of the model minority myth predicts adverse outcomes (i.e., psychological distress, sense of belonging, and academic success) in APIDA college students (N=304); and 2) conduct focus groups with select survey respondents (N=30) to gain a deeper understanding of the findings from the survey study including the role of critical consciousness.

Preliminary results suggest that APIDA college students are experiencing high levels of psychological distress and manifesting the internalization of racism differently. Additionally, certain APIDA subgroups (e.g., South Asians, males) exhibit significantly different levels of internalized racism and critical consciousness than their peers.

By 2055, APIDA immigrants will surpass Latinx to become the largest immigrant group in the U.S., yet APIDA continue to be invisible in research (Museus, 2009). This study aims to deepen understanding of how internalized racism impacts psychosocial outcomes on an individual level so that we can address how institutions (e.g., higher education) can support APIDA college students in resisting anti-APIDA discrimination.