Examining the Interactions Among Family Dynamics, Acculturation, Spiritual Well-Being, and Asian American Culture

This paper evaluates the interactions among family dynamics, acculturation, and spiritual well-being and Asian American culture. Articles included examine the shift of psychology towards an inclusion of religiosity and spirituality, and multicultural perspectives, especially regarding Asian American culture and acculturation. The importance of family of origin influence is also examined. Author believed healthier family dynamics and higher acculturation towards western culture would be significantly related to healthier spiritual, existential, and religious well-being. The author combined the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales -- Fourth Edition (FACES-IV), Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation scale (SLASIA), Spiritual Well-being (SWB) scale, and demographic questions into an electronic survey, which was disseminated among Asian Americans. Univariate and multivariate analyses of variance were conducted for various factors. Results indicated a significantly negative relationship between Family Disengagement and Spiritual Well-Being, and a positive significant relationship between Family Enmeshment and Existential Well-Being. Family Chaos was significantly and negatively related to Spiritual, Religious, and Existential Well-Being. No significant relationship was found between SL-ASIA acculturation scores and any of the four family health scales. A cluster analysis was also used to explore whether homogeneous subgroups of respondents could be identified. Four meaningful groups were found. Explanations of results are explored. Limitations and future areas of research are examined as well.