Internalizing symptoms among Asian American language brokers: The moderating role of values enculturation

Abstract

Objective: Language brokering (LB) is an act of interpreting and translating that immigrants often engage in to help their family members who may not be fluent in the English language. The study examined whether adhering to Asian American values (ie, values enculturation) could moderate the association between LB and internalizing symptoms (eg, depression, anxiety) among Asian American college students. Participants & Methods: An online survey was administered to a sample of 159 Asian American college students who had engaged in LB. Results: Results from the moderation analysis indicated that Asian American values enculturation significantly buffered against the adverse effects of high LB frequency on internalizing symptoms after controlling for gender and generation status. Conclusions: The current study offered insights into the toll that LB could take on Asian American college students’ mental health as well as the potential protective roles of values enculturation.

Keywords:

• Asian American
• counseling
• cultural values
• language brokering
• mental health

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. Specifically, the authors have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial or non-financial interests in the subject matter and materials discussed in this manuscript. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.