Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand how many Asian American adults have hidden a part of their heritage and their reasons for doing so. Hiding one’s heritage can include food, culture, clothing or religious practices.
This analysis is based on a nationally representative survey of 7,006 Asian adults. The survey sampled U.S. adults who self-identify as Asian, either alone or in combination with other races or Hispanic ethnicity. It was offered in six languages: Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), English, Hindi, Korean, Tagalog and Vietnamese. Responses were collected from July 5, 2022, to Jan. 27, 2023, by Westat on behalf of Pew Research Center.
The survey included large enough samples of the Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese populations to report the findings for each group separately. These are the six largest origin groups among Asian Americans. These groups include those who identify with one Asian ethnicity only, either alone or in combination with a non-Asian race or ethnicity. For more details on how the survey was conducted, read the methodology. For the questions used in this analysis, read the topline questionnaire.
As part of the survey, respondents were asked if they have ever hidden a part of their heritage from people who are not Asian. Those who answered yes were asked in a follow-up open-ended question on why they do so. Pointwise mutual information was used to identify the 100 most distinctive terms that distinguish responses from U.S.-born and foreign-born respondents. The terms identified through this method represent the language that characterizes how respondents from either group answered the open-ended question.
The demographic analysis of Asian Americans is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey from 2022 provided through Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) from the University of Minnesota. In this analysis, Asian Americans are defined as those who report their race as Asian, either alone or in combination with other races or Hispanic ethnicity.
The focus group analysis is based on 66 focus groups of Asian adults. The Center conducted these focus groups virtually from Aug. 4 to Oct. 14, 2021, with 264 total participants from 18 Asian origin groups. Quotations are not necessarily representative of the majority opinion in any particular group. Quotations may have been edited for grammar, spelling and clarity.
In this analysis, “immigrants” are people who were not U.S. citizens at birth but later came to the U.S. – in other words, those born outside the 50 U.S. states or the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories to parents who are not U.S. citizens.
“U.S. born” refers to people born in the 50 U.S. states or the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories, as well as those born elsewhere to parents who are U.S. citizens.
“Second generation” refers to people born in the 50 states or the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories with at least one immigrant parent.
“Third or higher generation” refers to people born in the 50 states or the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories, with each parent also born in one of those places.
Survey respondents’ primary language is based on their self-described speaking and reading abilities. People who are “origin language dominant” are more proficient in the Asian origin language of their family or ancestors than in English (i.e., they speak and read their Asian origin language “very well” or “pretty well” but rate their ability to speak and read English lower). “Bilingual” refers to those who are proficient in both English and their Asian origin language. People who are “English dominant” are more proficient in English than in their Asian origin language.
Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. The Center’s Asian American portfolio was funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with generous support from The Asian American Foundation; Chan Zuckerberg Initiative DAF, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation; the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; the Henry Luce Foundation; the Doris Duke Foundation; The Wallace H. Coulter Foundation; The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation; The Long Family Foundation; Lu-Hebert Fund; Gee Family Foundation; Joseph Cotchett; the Julian Abdey and Sabrina Moyle Charitable Fund; and Nanci Nishimura.
We would also like to thank the Leaders Forum for its thoughtful leadership and valuable assistance in helping make this survey possible.
The strategic communications campaign used to promote the research was made possible with generous support from the Doris Duke Foundation.
