The Role of Collective Self-Esteem for Asian Americans Experiencing Racism-Related Stress: A Test of Moderator and Mediator Hypotheses Christopher T. H. Liang University of La Verne Ruth E. Fassinger University of Maryland This study examined the role of four dimensions of collective self-esteem (CSE) as a moderator and mediator in the relationship between racism-related stress and psychological adjustment among 134 Asian American college students. CSE was not found to moderate the effects of racism-related stress on self-esteem problems, interpersonal problems, or career problems. However, the results of mediator analyses indicated that public CSE is a mechanism that explains the relationship between racism-related stress and self-esteem problems and interpersonal problems but not career problems. No other dimensions of CSE were found to be significant mediators. The implications for these findings for research and practice are discussed. Keywords: Asian American, racism, collective self-esteem, racism-related stress Psychological stress has been explained to occur when general life events in a person’s environment are perceived and appraised by that individual to be harmful but demand a coping response that is more than that individual is capable of making (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). According to stress theories, a variety of mental health and physical outcomes are related to the exposure to stress and the capacity for individuals to access resources to cope. It also has been argued that racism is a source of chronic stress that may negatively impact an individual’s well-being (Dion, 2002; Harrell, 2000). Harrell proposed that racism-related stress is the psycho- logical response that is specifically due to direct or indirect expo- sure to racism. According to Harrell, racism-related stress involves “the race-related transactions between individuals or groups and their environment that emerge from the dynamics of racism, and that are perceived to tax or exceed existing individual and collec- tive resources or threaten well-being” (p. 44). Basing her model on established models of stress (e.g., Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), depending on the resources available to an individual, racism- related stress will result in higher levels of psychological, physi- ological, social, or functional problems for people of color. Although Lazarus and Folkman (1984) have argued that coping strategies mediate the effects of an event, others have argued that coping should be treated as a moderator variable (see Holmbeck, 1997). In short, the mediator hypothesis assumes that the manner by which an individual understands or reacts to stress determines the impact of the stressor on health outcomes. Thus, the stressful event determines the response, which in turn contributes to the relationship between stressor and psychological outcome. Argu- ments that coping serves to moderate the effects of a stressor assume that a person’s characteristics will either protect or endan- ger an individual’s well-being after experiencing the stressful event. Collective self-esteem (CSE) has been argued to serve as either a mediator or moderator in the relationship between racism- related stress and psychological adjustment. Empirical examina- tions of these intervening variables have reflected these two view- points. The purpose of this present study is to test these two competing models to understand the role of CSE in the relationship between the experiences of racism-related stress and psychological adjustment among Asian American college students. The Costs of Racism The role of racism in the psychological functioning of racial minorities has garnered renewed empirical attention in recent years. Prior research has examined the relationship between racism and the psychological, physiological, and subjective well-being of targeted individuals and groups. Those studies have found positive relationships between the experience of racism and physiological stress (e.g., Fang & Myers, 2001; McNeilly et al., 1996) and inverse relationships between racism and both life satisfaction and self-esteem (e.g., Broman, 1997; Jackson et al., 1996) among African American adults and college students. Experiences with racism have been argued to manifest in specific ways for each racial minority group (Liang, Li, & Kim, 2004). For instance, although African American individuals contend with stereotypes of being lazy or dangerous, Asian Americans have been labeled as the “model minority” (Wu, 2002). Further, although Latino/as may be stereotyped as undocumented migrants, Asian Americans are likely to be perceived as being perpetual foreigners with “strange” and “exotic” customs (Takaki, 1998). Leong (1998) also has discussed how Asian Americans must negotiate occupational ste- reotypes (e.g., quiet and passive), occupational steering, and glass ceilings at work. Thus, racism likely will vary across people from different racial groups. Scholars have begun to examine the effects of racism on Asian Americans’ psychological functioning (e.g., Christopher T. H. Liang, Department of Psychology, University of La Verne; Ruth E. Fassinger, Department of Counseling and Personnel Ser- vices, University of Maryland, College Park. This article is based on the dissertation of the first author, completed under the supervision of the second author. We thank Marylu McEwen and Alvin E. Alvarez for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Christo- pher T. H. Liang, Department of Psychology, University of La Verne, La Verne, CA 91750. E-mail: cliang@ulv.edu Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology Copyright 2008 by the American Psychological Association 2008, Vol. 14, No. 1, 19 –28 1099-9809/08/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/1099-9809.14.1.19 19