Between Assimilation and Filial Piety: Young Asian Americans’ Reconciliation of Self-Sacrifice and Self-Actualization

Abstract

This thesis investigates the intergenerational knock-on effects of the looming retirement crisis on young second-generation Asian Americans. Scholars increasingly recognize aging society as posing a multifaceted set of policy challenges. In response, I develop the concept of the filial piety dilemma to denote the struggle that Asian Americans face in balancing self-sacrifice and self-actualization. In this thesis, the dilemma centers around the moral conundrum faced by Asian Americans in deciding to prioritize individual fulfillment or their ability to provide support to their parents in retirement. Through qualitative and quantitative data analysis of twenty-seven interviews, I address the key questions of whether the specter of the retirement crisis induces pressure on young Asian Americans to provide support to their parents, how they think through and respond to the filial piety dilemma, and what knock-on effects arise from dealing with the dilemma. This research finds striking variation in how filial pressures of caretaking arise and how participants planned on responding to such expectations. Moreover, we find that the psychological and financial implications of the filial piety dilemma can impact the occupational choices of Asian Americans and cause mental turmoil. Taken together, this thesis paves way for an understanding of the intergenerational effects of retirement insecurity on the Asian American community.