Self-Construal, Family Context, and the Cortisol Awakening Response in First- and Second-Generation Asian American College Students

The current study employed latent difference score modeling to test whether acculturation processes at the level of the individual (i.e., self-construal) and family (i.e., family cultural conflict and family cohesion) explain variability of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) in 181 (58% female) first-generation (1G) and 135 (59.3% female) second-generation (2G) Asian American emerging adult college students (ages 18–23). Acculturation processes across individual and family levels related meaningfully to individual differences in stress physiology. For 1G participants, attenuated CAR was associated with higher individualistic self-construal, family cultural conflict, and family cohesion, which may indicate desensitization of the stress response system due to the chronic burden of acculturation pressures. These processes may differ by generational status, as heightened CAR was associated with higher collectivistic self-construal in 1G students, but higher individualistic self-construal in both 2G males and a comparison sample of European American males.