The general patterns of psychosocial development of Asian American traditional-age undergraduate students

The purpose of this study was to explore the general patterns of psychosocial development of Asian American traditional age undergraduate students. In particular, the current study investigated the relationships between age, gender, GPA, and ethnicity on the psychosocial development of these students.; The data for this study were collected on 168 Asian American undergraduates from fifteen colleges and universities across the nation. Psychosocial development was measured via the Student Development Task and Lifestyle Inventory. The statistical analysis employed in this study included Pearson Product-Moment correlation, analysis of variance, and standard multiple regression.; It was concluded that age, gender, GPA, and ethnicity affected the psychosocial development of Asian American students. The primary finding of this study was that age predicted the psychosocial development poorly for Asian American students. Instead, GPA was found to be significantly and positively related to more aspects of the psychosocial development. In terms of gender differences, Asian American students exhibited similar patterns to their counterparts from other racial backgrounds—female and male Asian American undergraduates developed differently only on aspects of managing healthy lifestyle and intimate relationships. Moreover, there were only very small within-group differences in the aspect of establishing and clarifying purpose for Asian American undergraduates. In addition, the results of the study indicated that the SDTLI exhibited acceptable psychometric properties when applying to the current sample of Asian American students. However, there were indications of possible cultural insensitivity in the constructs of the SDTLI when the assessment of Asian American students' performance was examined through a cross-cultural perspective.; The findings of this study are useful to student affairs professionals and practitioners in the areas of both research and practice. The findings add new information to the literature on Asian American students in particular, and on students of color in general. The findings can be used in designing and providing more appropriate programs and support services targeting Asian American students' special needs. In addition, the study provides more empirical investigation into the applicability of the SDTLI and Chickering's psychosocial development model to Asian American students.