Perceived Discrimination and Psychological Distress Among Asian Americans: Does Education Matter?

Using data from the National Latino and Asian American Study, this work examines if and how perceived everyday discrimination
is associated with psychological distress among Asian Americans and whether this association varies by important structural
factors as education and place of education. Findings reveal that perception of discrimination is associated with increased
levels of psychological distress. Most importantly, education moderates the discrimination-distress association such that
the detrimental effect of discrimination is stronger for Asian Americans with college or more levels of education than for
Asian Americans with less than college levels of education. Place of education further conditions the moderating effect of
education: The foreign-educated Asian Americans with higher levels of education are affected most negatively by discrimination
compared to others. This study highlights (1) the significant joint role of education and place of education in conditioning
the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological distress, and (2) unique features of education in improving
our understanding of Asian Americans’ mental health.