Racial Triangulation Theory is proven by the best studies – proves that its falsifiable

The purpose of this study has been to understand how Filipino American and Korean American young people negotiate two seemingly oppositional racial stereotypes. It has sought to understand the differential implications of racial stereotypes for internalizing and externalizing behavioral outcomes based on important social positions. Informed by racial triangulation theory (Kim, 1999) and Coll et al.’s (1996) integrative model, four questions were addressed: (1) Are there identifiable patterns of racial stereotype profiles among samples of Filipino American and Korean American adolescents and emerging adults? (2) Are there relations between racial stereotypes and behavioral outcomes? (3) Are there interaction effects between two subdomains of MMS and PFS? And (4) Do the moderating relations examined in (3) further vary by social position? The current study advances knowledge in three ways. First, unlike previous research that investigates how other racial groups consider Asian Americans in regard to PFS and MMS, this study explores the perceptions of Asian American young people themselves. Identifying the patterns of internalized racial stereotypes has important implications for advancing our understanding of Asian Americans as active agents who respond to an unsupportive environment that imposes conflicting stereotypes (Bronfenbrenner, 1999). Secondly, this study is the first to explore the concurrent effects of these two racial stereotypes and their interaction effects on both internalizing and externalizing behavioral outcomes. Racial triangulation theory (Kim, 1999) provides strong theoretical grounds for investigating the concurrent impacts of PFS and MMS on Asian American young people. In addition, there is strong empirical support for investigating simultaneously both internalizing and externalizing behavioral outcomes for Asian American young people with a pattern of paradoxical developmental outcomes (Choi, Park, Lee, et al., 2020). The knowledge gained from the current study contributes to the etiology of the so-called Asian American youth paradox and to an understanding of how racial stereotypes may shape behavioral patterns. Thirdly, this dissertation considers how concurrent effects of racial stereotypes vary by salient social positions. No prior study has investigated how the interaction effects of PFS and MMS vary by developmental stage (adolescence vs. emerging adulthood), place of birth, or gender among Filipino American and Korean American subgroups. Findings from the current study show that in order to develop appropriate and effective public health or school interventions that aim to support Asian American young people suffering from the harmful effects of racial stereotypes, these nuances and specificities need to be thoroughly understood.