Diverse Cultures and Shared Experiences Shape Asian American Identities - Study Notes (Pew Research Center, 2023)

Terminology and key definitions

• Asian / Asians living in the United States / U.S. Asian population / Asian Americans are used interchangeably to refer to U.S. adults who self-identify as Asian (alone or in combination with other races or Hispanic identity).
• Ethnicity labels (e.g., Chinese, Chinese origin) refer to ethnic origin groups and are used interchangeably with ethnic origin labels for findings by origin group (e.g., Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese).
• Ethnicity is not nationality. For example, Chinese in this report are those who self-identify as Chinese ethnicity, not necessarily citizens of the PRC.
• Ethnic origin groups include those who identify with one Asian ethnicity only or with one ethnicity plus other races/ethnicities.
• Smaller Asian origin groups (less populous) are grouped as "Other or two or more ethnicities" and are reportable only collectively due to sample sizes.
• Asian origins and Asian origin groups are used interchangeably when describing origins.
• Immigrants are those not U.S. citizens at birth (born outside the U.S., Puerto Rico, or other U.S. territories to non-U.S. citizen parents).
• Immigrant, first generation, and foreign born are used interchangeably to refer to this group.
• Naturalized citizens are immigrants who became U.S. citizens after fulfilling residency and other requirements and taking the oath.
• U.S.-born refers to people born in the 50 states or the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or other U.S. territories.
• Second generation refers to people born in the U.S. with at least one immigrant parent.
• Third or higher generation refers to people born in the U.S. with both parents born in the U.S. or its territories.

Study design, scope, and definitions

• Research focus: Nationwide, representative survey of Asian adults in the U.S. to understand identity, life in America, and related views.
• Field period: July 5, 2022 – January 27, 2023.
• Sample size: 7,006 Asian American adults (surveyed after screening 36,469 U.S. adults).
• Overall margin of sampling error for Asian American respondents: $ext{MOE} = \pm 2.1\%$ at the 95% confidence level.
• Frame and recruitment: Address-based sample (ABS) plus surname-list frames to oversample the five largest origin groups; fielded in English and five Asian languages (Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Hindi, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese).
• Response design: Sequential mixed-mode—initial online response, with paper questionnaire mailed to nonrespondents; pre-incentive of $2$; promised incentives of $10$ for completing extended survey; final mailings including a $10$ Amazon gift code or cash incentive.
• Language accessibility: Web and paper versions in six languages; landings and language toggles for respondents.
• Weights and variance estimation: Base weights and adjustments for nonresponse and unknown eligibility; final adult weights calibrated via raking to ACS benchmarks across ethnicity, age, sex, region, education, housing tenure, nativity, and income. Variance estimation used grouped jackknife with $K=100$ replicates, yielding $101$ total weights per respondent.
• Key measurements: Identity labels used to describe self; perceived street descriptions; social networks (friendship patterns); intermarriage attitudes; views on being American; political affiliations; knowledge of U.S. Asian history; views on the American Dream.

Demographics and population structure (Appendix overview)

• Asian adults in the U.S. (sample year: 2021 ACS reference for context): ~$17.8\text{ million}$, about $7\%$ of the adult population.
• The six largest origin groups (Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese) account for $81\%$ of Asian American adults; the remainder are smaller origin groups or multi-ethnic identifications.
• Median age of Asian American adults (overall) ≈ $43$ years; variation by group (e.g., Japanese ≈ $49$, Indians ≈ $40$).
• Educational attainment (2021): Overall, $51\%$ have a bachelor’s degree or higher; highest among Indian Americans (≈ $72\%$), followed by Korean (≈ $56\%$) and Chinese (≈ $55\%$); Vietnamese lowest among the six largest groups (≈ $33\%$).
• Nativity (2021): About $68\%$ immigrant; Indians (83\%), Vietnamese (74\%), Chinese (72\%), Koreans (69\%), Filipinos (61\%), Japanese (30\%) have the highest to lowest immigrant shares among the six largest groups.
• Naturalization: Among foreign-born, about $64\%$ to $78\%$ are naturalized citizens across groups; Vietnamese (78%), Filipino (76%), Korean (69%) high; Indian (53%), Japanese (35%) lower.
• Time in U.S. (for immigrants): About $51\%$ have lived in the U.S. for over 20 years; Indians are more recent arrivals (40% arrived in the past decade), while Koreans, Vietnamese, Filipino, Japanese show longer settlement histories.

How Asians in the U.S. describe their identity

• Self-described identity vs pan-ethnic labels:
  • About $52\%$ say they most often describe themselves by ethnicity (alone $26\%$; with American $25\%$).
  • About $28\%$ describe themselves using pan-ethnic labels ( Asian $12\%$; Asian American $16\%$).
  • About $51\%$ use American on its own or with ethnicity/American labels (American alone $10\%$; ethnicity + American $25\%$; American + Asian American $16\%$).
  • About $6\%$ prefer regional terms (e.g., South Asian, Southeast Asian).
• Ethnicity and origin patterns by group:
  • Indian adults most likely to use their ethnicity alone (≈ $41\%$).
  • Japanese least likely among the six largest groups to use ethnicity alone (≈ $14\%$).
  • For the other groups, roughly 23–41% use ethnicity alone or with “American.”
• Regional and regionalized labels:
  • Pan-ethnic or regional labels (Asian, Asian American, East/South/Southeast Asian) are more common among some groups (e.g., Japanese and Chinese more likely to use pan-ethnic labels than others).
• The pan-ethnic term Asian American emerged in the 1960s and became the principal identity label in U.S. discourse; individuals differ in whether Asian/Asian American fits their self-description.

Perceived cultural diversity within the Asian American population

• Across Asians in the U.S., about 90\% say Asians have many different cultures, while 9\% say Asians share a common culture.
• Among all U.S. adults, 80\% say Asians in the U.S. have many different cultures, and 18\% say they share a common culture.
• This supports a widely held view of diversity within the group, contrasting with a minority that sees a single shared culture.

Street perception and visibility

• When asked how most people would describe them walking past on the street:
  • 60\% say most people would describe them as Asian.
  • 12\% say they would be described as Chinese.
  • 9\% say they would be described as mixed race or multiracial.
  • 7\% say Hispanic or Latino; 5\% say White; 3\% say Arab/Middle Eastern; 3\% say Other.
• Generational differences in perceived street identity: immigrants more likely to be viewed as Asian; U.S.-borns show more variation in how others categorize them.

Shared experiences and connections with other Asians in the U.S.

• Social connectedness: 59–60\% say what happens to Asians in the U.S. affects their own lives at least to some extent; about two-thirds (≈ 68\%) say it is extremely or very important to have a national leader advocating for U.S. Asian concerns.
• Immigrant ties vs U.S.-born: Immigrants are more likely to say their life is affected by events affecting Asians in the U.S. than are U.S.-born Asians; generational declines in perceived shared fates (e.g., 66% among non-citizen immigrants vs 54% among naturalized citizens).
• Across generations, shares who feel a shared fate with other U.S. Asians decline: about two-thirds among 2nd generation, around half among 3rd+ generation.

What being American means to Asian Americans

• Core traits viewed as important to being “truly American” (Asian Americans vs general public):
  • Accepting diverse racial and religious backgrounds: 94% of Asian Americans; 91% of all U.S. adults.
  • Believing in individual freedoms: 92% of Asian Americans; 94% of all adults.
  • Respecting U.S. political institutions and laws: 89% of Asian Americans; 87% of all adults.
• Other factors considered important in the American dream (shared with general population):
  • Freedom of choice in how to live one’s life: 96% (Asian Americans); 97% (All U.S. adults).
  • Good family life: 96% (Asian Americans); 94% (All U.S. adults).
  • Retiring comfortably: 96% (Asian Americans); 94% (All U.S. adults).
  • Owning a home: 86% (both groups).
  • Owning a business: 30% (Asian Americans) vs 27% (All adults).
• Slight differences on other components (e.g., being born in the U.S. or being Christian are less central for being truly American among Asians than in the general population).

Identity by nativity and generational status

• Immigrant vs U.S.-born differences in describing identity:
  • Immigrants: 56\% describe themselves by ethnic labels (alone or with American) vs 41\% of U.S.-born Asians.
  • U.S.-born Asians: 46\% describe themselves with ethnicity in combination with American or as American alone; 29\% identify with Asian or Asian American alone or with American.
  • Asian immigrants are less likely to identify as American in any form than U.S.-born Asians (14\% vs 21\% for American alone; 18\% vs 3\% for Asian American among naturalized vs noncitizens).
• Time in the U.S. and identity:
  • Among those who arrived in the past 10 years: 65\% describe themselves by ethnicity (alone or with American), and 54\% describe themselves using only their ethnicity.
  • Among those who have been in the U.S. for more than 20 years: 59\% describe themselves by ethnicity (alone or with American); 21\% describe themselves by ethnicity alone.
• Friends and social circles by nativity:
  • Those who immigrated recently (past decade) more likely to have friends who are Asian or of the same ethnicity (≈ 60\%) than those in longer residence (≈ 50–56\%).
  • U.S.-born Asians more likely to have friends not of their ethnicity (≈ 25\% not of their ethnicity but still Asian) than immigrants (≈ 19\%).
• Summary trend: Ethnicity-based identity declines with time in the U.S.; American-identity labels increase with generational status and time since arrival.

Patterns of friendships and social networks

• Overall, about half of Asian Americans (51\%) report that all or most of their friends in the U.S. share their own ethnicity or are Asian.
• By origin group: Vietnamese, Indian, Chinese, Korean, and Filipino respondents show relatively high shares of friends who share their ethnicity (roughly 50–55%), while Japanese respondents report about 34%.
• Immigrant status matters: Immigrants are more likely than U.S.-born Asians to have friends who share their ethnicity (≈ 45% vs ≈ 19–32% across generations).
• Generational differences among U.S.-born groups: 2nd generation ≈ 39–45% report all/most friends sharing ethnicity; 3rd+ generation ≈ 32–33%.

Intermarriage attitudes and comfort with exogamy

• Comfort with family intermarriage (close relative marrying outside their race/ethnicity):
  • All Asian adults: around 86–87% would feel comfortable if a close family member married someone not Asian or someone Asian from a different Asian ethnicity.
  • Filipino adults show particularly high comfort: ≈ 93–94% would be comfortable with a non-Filipino or non-Filipino Asian partner.
• By nativity and gender:
  • U.S.-born women are most comfortable with intermarriage (≈ 95%), foreign-born men least comfortable (≈ 82%), with U.S.-born men and foreign-born women in between.
  • Younger adults (18–29) slightly more comfortable with intermarriage than older cohorts (91% vs 76% for 65+).
• Intermarriage with fellow Asians of a different ethnicity is also high (U.S.-born women ≈ 96% comfortable; U.S.-born men ≈ 90%).

Political life and party identification among Asian American voters

• Among registered voters who identify as Asian or lean toward a party:
  • Democrats or Democratic-leaning: ≈ 62%
  • Republicans or Republican-leaning: ≈ 34%
  • Overall U.S. registered voters: roughly split (47% Democratic vs 48% Republican).
• By origin group:
  • Filipino: ≈ 74% Dem-leaning
  • Chinese: ≈ 73% Dem-leaning
  • Indian: ≈ 68% Dem-leaning
  • Korean: ≈ 67% Dem-leaning
  • Vietnamese: ≈ 51% Dem-leaning (closer to swing or Republican side than others)
  • Japanese: ≈ 63% Dem-leaning
• By demographics: women tend to tilt more Democratic; higher education (postgraduate) correlates with stronger Democratic identification (≈ 70% of postgraduates vs ~49% among those with HS or less).

Knowledge of U.S. Asian history and sources of information

• Self-reported knowledge: About $24\%$ say they are extremely or very informed about U.S. Asian history; another $24\%$ say they are little or not informed; the remaining are somewhat informed.
• Sources for informed respondents:
  • Internet: $82\%$
  • Media: $75\%$
  • Family and friends: $63\%$
  • College/university courses: $49\%$
  • Elementary through high school: $39\%$
• Knowledge gaps and education: Less informed groups tend to rely more on informal sources; formal education exposure is uneven across nativity and generation.

Language of origin and the “distinctive language” in open-ended responses

• Qualitative follow-up highlighted several themes when describing why people hid parts of their heritage:
  • Fear of embarrassment or discrimination; desire to avoid awkward questions; need to explain aspects of heritage.
  • U.S.-born respondents more likely to mention lack of understanding among non-Asians; phrases like “lack [of] understanding.”
  • Foreign-born respondents more likely to include phrases like “American culture” and to describe a need to explain to others.
  • Terms like “prejudice,” “to avoid being uncomfortable,” and “to feel more comfortable” appear among foreign-born respondents.
• Overall, the qualitative findings echo Pew’s 2021 focus groups: many respondents describe the Asian label as too broad; many feel compelled to explain or justify their heritage in everyday interactions.

The American Dream and what being “truly American” means

• Important components of the American Dream (per Asian Americans):
  • Freedom of choice in how to live one’s life (≈ 96%)
  • Good family life (≈ 96%)
  • Retiring comfortably (≈ 96%)
  • Owning a home (≈ 86%)
  • Having a successful career (≈ 60–70% depending on group) and making valuable contributions to the community (≈ 72%)
  • Owning a business (≈ 30%)
• Comparative note: Similar shares of all U.S. adults cite freedom of choice, family life, retirement, and home ownership as important; higher shares of Asian Americans emphasize career and community contributions.
• Perceived attainability of the American Dream:
  • About $72\%$ believe they are on their way to achieving or have already achieved the American Dream; about $27\%$ say it is out of reach.
  • Among largest origin groups, Japan is most likely to say they have achieved the American Dream (around $39\%$).
  • Younger adults and immigrants show different trajectories: older adults more likely to report having achieved the Dream; recent immigrants more likely to say they are on the way.
• Intergroup comparisons show Asian Americans are slightly more optimistic about progress toward the Dream than the general U.S. adult population in terms of progression and reach.

Being typical American vs. feeling different

• A split exists among Asian Americans regarding being a typical American:
  • Overall: around $45\%$ say they are a typical American; $52\%$ say they are very different from a typical American.
• Generational and group variation:
  • Japanese adults: about $64\%$ consider themselves typical Americans (higher than the overall average).
  • Korean (≈ $40\%$) and Chinese (≈ $36\%$) show relatively lower shares of typical American self-identification.
  • Filipino (≈ $51\%$) and Indian (≈ $46\%$) lie in-between.
  • U.S.-born Asians more likely to view themselves as typical Americans (roughly $69\%$) than immigrants (about $37\%$).
  • Among generations: 2nd generation ≈ $13\%$ consider themselves American alone; 3rd+ generation ≈ $21\%$; immigrants ≈ $7\%$ (overall).

Connections to other Asians in the U.S. and national leadership needs

• National leadership importance: About $68\%$ say it is extremely or very important for the U.S. Asian community to have a national leader advancing its concerns; about $10\%$ say it is a little or not at all important.
• By group: Filipino and Chinese respondents most strongly emphasize the need for a national leader (≈ $74\%$ and $73\%$, respectively). Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, and Indian respondents also show high levels of importance (≈ 63–69%).
• By gender: Asian American women more likely than men to say it is extremely or very important (≈ 73% vs 64%).
• Immigrant vs U.S.-born perspectives: Immigrants (≈ 70%) place high importance on leadership; U.S.-born (≈ 64%) also view leadership as important but slightly less so.

Identity by origin group: pan-ethnic vs. regional vs. ethnic terms

• Use of ethnic origin terms (ethnicity alone or with American) varies by origin:
  • Indian: about 41% use ethnicity alone to describe themselves (highest among the six largest groups).
  • Korean: about 30%; Filipino: about 29%; Chinese: about 26%; Vietnamese: about 23%; Japanese: about 14%.
• Use of pan-ethnic labels (Asian or Asian American) is highest among Japanese (≈ 39%) and Chinese (≈ 35%), higher than Vietnamese (≈ 25%), Filipino (≈ 20%), Korean (≈ 20%), Indian (≈ 15%).
• Regional identity labels (e.g., East Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian): Indian adults more likely to identify regionally (≈ 9%) than other groups; other groups show lower regional labeling.
• The “Other” origin groups and those identifying with two or more Asian ethnicities are more likely to describe themselves as Asian (≈ 23%) than the overall average (≈ 12%).
• Across immigrant generations, use of ethnicity labels declines with time in the U.S., while American identity labels rise.

Intergenerational and nativity patterns in identity and friendships

• Ethnicity-based descriptions among immigrants vs. U.S.-born:
  • Immigrants: 56% use ethnicity alone or with American; 28% use ethnicity with American or as Asian American; 15% use ethnicity alone (approximate from combined categories).
  • U.S.-born: 41% use ethnicity alone or with American; 29% use ethnicity with American; 21% use American alone or as Asian American.
• Generational shifts in friendship composition:
  • Immigrants are more likely to have friends who share their ethnicity (≈ 56% among those who arrived 10 years or less; ~50–60% among longer-tenured immigrants).
  • U.S.-born Asians: mixed patterns, with smaller shares reporting all/most friends sharing their ethnicity (roughly 38–51% depending on generation and origin).

Hiding heritage: prevalence and reasons by nativity/generation

• Prevalence: Approximately 1 in 5 (≈ 20%) of Asian adults report having hidden a part of their heritage from non-Asians.
• Group differences in hiding heritage: Korean (≈ 25%), Chinese (≈ 19%), Filipino (≈ 16%), Vietnamese (≈ 18%), Japanese (≈ 14%).
• Age differences: Younger adults (18–29) more likely to hide heritage (≈ 39%) than older groups (≈ 12% for 50–64 and ≈ 5% for 65+).
• Gender differences: Women slightly more likely to hide heritage than men (≈ 22% vs 17%).
• Education differences: Bachelor’s (≈ 22%) and Postgrad (≈ 23%) more likely to have hidden heritage than HS or less (≈ 16%).
• Nativity differences: U.S.-born Asians more likely to hide heritage (≈ 32%) than foreign-born (≈ 15%); second generation ≈ 38% vs third-or-higher ≈ 11%.
• Open-ended reasons reveal differences: U.S.-born respondents emphasize lack of understanding and discrimination fears; foreign-born respondents emphasize explanation to others and the intrusion of “American culture” into heritage discussions.
• Qualitative link: Findings echo Pew’s 2021 focus groups on identity, interaction, and explanation needs in cross-cultural settings.

Historical awareness and the making of Asian American identity

• Historical knowledge: About 1 in 4 Asian adults (≈ 24%) say they are extremely or very informed about the history of Asians in the U.S.; another 24% say they are little or not informed; the rest are somewhat informed.
• Sources of knowledge for those who are at least somewhat informed:
  • Internet: 82%
  • Media: 75%
  • Family and friends: 70%
  • College/university courses: 49%
  • Elementary through high school: 39%
• The history of Asian Americans includes the transcontinental railroad, exclusion acts, Japanese American internment, Southeast Asian refugee waves, and broad post-1960 immigration trends.
• The term Asian American emerged in the 1960s in Berkeley as part of a political movement to organize a diverse population and counter exclusionary histories.
• The survey highlights that Asian Americans may differ in which groups they consider “Asian,” with broad support for East/Southeast/South Asian categories but substantial disagreement about Central Asians (Afghans/Kazakhs) as Asian (≈ 43%).

What counts as Asian? Perceptions of who is Asian (pan-ethnic scope)

• Perception of who is Asian among respondents:
  • East Asians: 89% consider them Asian.
  • Southeast Asians: 88% consider them Asian.
  • South Asians: 67% consider them Asian.
  • Central Asians: 43% consider them Asian (less consensus).
• Implications: There is broad cross-group consensus on East/Southeast/South Asia as part of “Asian,” but notable divergence on Central Asian inclusion (Afghans, Kazakhs, etc.), reflecting evolving Census classifications.
• Census context: Before 2020, Central Asians were not categorized as Asian by the Census Bureau; post-2020 reclassification includes Afghans, Kazakhs, etc. in the Asian category (with nuanced historical coding for other groups like Iranians).

Distinctive language and open-ended responses (hiding heritage)

• The study used pointwise mutual information to identify terms that distinguished open-ended responses between U.S.-born and foreign-born groups.
• The analysis highlighted terms and phrases that reflect differences in experience, such as calls to explain, American culture, prejudice, and discrimination, as well as language that points to a lack of understanding among non-Asians.
• The qualitative findings underscore different narrative frames between nativity groups in explaining why heritage is hidden and how interactions with non-Asians occur.

Appendices: Demographic profile (key takeaways)

• Population share and origin group distribution (2021 ACS-based context):
  • Chinese: 22% of Asian adults; Indian: 20%; Filipino: 17%; Vietnamese: 9%; Korean: 8%; Japanese: 6%; Other or two or more: 19%.
• Sex distribution: Male 47%, Female 53% of Asian adults.
• Age distribution: 18–29: 22%; 30–49: 41%; 50–64: 21%; 65+: 16%.
• Education: HS or less 27%; Some college 22%; Bachelor’s 29%; Postgrad 22%.
• Nativity: Foreign born 68%; U.S. born 32%; Citizenship: 75% citizens; 25% noncitizens.
• Foreign-born subgroups by duration in the U.S.:
  • 0–10 years: 27%; 11–20 years: 23%; 21+ years: 51% (of foreign-born).
• By origin group (foreign-born within each group): high immigrant shares among Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino; Japanese least likely to be foreign-born (30% immigrant).

Notable numerical anchors and formulas from the methodology

• Base weight: $BW<em>k = \frac{1}{p</em>k}$ where $p_k$ is the probability of selection for mailing address k.
• Household weight adjustments: final household weight accounts for unknown eligibility and nonresponse by cross-classification in strata, region, and frame (ABS vs surname lists).
• Adult weight construction: final adult weight = (truncated number of adults per household; max 3) × base household weight; calibrated to ACS benchmarks via raking across dimensions: ethnic group, age, sex, region, education, housing tenure, nativity, and income.
• Variance estimation: grouped jackknife with 100 replicates; 101 weights per respondent to reflect design-based variability.

Summary takeaways

• Identity among Asian Americans is diverse and shares common threads: heavy emphasis on ethnicity-rooted labels among many, substantial use of American identity among others, and meaningful regional and generational variation.
• Most Asians in the U.S. perceive strong connections to other Asians and view events affecting the Asian community as personally relevant, though this sense of shared fate varies by generation and nativity.
• The idea of being “truly American” is widely shared with the general public in core values (diversity, freedoms, respect for institutions), but Asians differ in emphasis on factors like English proficiency and, to a lesser extent, being born in the U.S. as markers of being truly American.
• Intermarriage is broadly accepted and supported within Asian American communities, with variations by generation, gender, nativity, and age.
• Political leanings among Asian American voters skew Democratic/lean Democratic overall, with substantial variation by origin group and education.
• Knowledge of U.S. Asian history remains uneven; most rely on informal channels for information, underscoring the need for accessible education about Asian American histories.
• The Pew study underscores both the commonality of shared experiences and the diversity of identities across subgroups, highlighting the complexity of what it means to be Asian American in contemporary U.S. society.