Mediating Asian-ness: How and why does Asian Identity Salience vary by Biracial Status?

The following study explores how and why Asian identity salience may vary between biracial and monoracial Asians. This study further aims to find potential mediators—including daily Asian contact, linked fate, group solidarity, and microaggressions—that might explain any group differences in Asian identity salience. I used the 2016 Post-Election National Asian American Survey to explore these research aims. Contrary to expectations, I found that biracial Asians have higher Asian identity salience than monoracial Asians. As expected, linked fate and microaggressions were positively associated with Asian identity salience. Surprisingly, daily Asian contact was negatively associated and group solidarity was not significantly associated with Asian identity salience. Both microaggressions and daily Asian contact can help us understand the higher levels of Asian identity salience among biracial Asians compared to monoracial Asians. In contrast, linked fate suppressed these group differences.