The Effects of Managing Dual Cultural Identities on the Self Perception of Female Indian American Undergraduate Students at Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University

Female Indian American students pursuing higher education face an increased amount of pressure and prejudice as a result of their dual cultural identities. The convergence of their gender and ethnicity allows them to be vulnerable to the intersecting forces of racism, sexism, and the resulting intersectional biases. As a result, these students face higher degrees of animosity relative to their male or monocultural counterparts, and are more likely to deal with challenges associated with negative self perception, manifesting as symptoms of a myriad of mental health issues (Pieterse & Roberson, 2021). To further develop the discourse around dual cultural identities and how resulting experiences with prejudice and feelings of inadequacy affect an individual’s self perception, survey and interview data was collected from female, Indian American, undergraduate students at Barrett. Participants were surveyed to collect basic traits and identity markers, followed by specific inquiries about their relationships with dual cultural identities, code-switching experiences, and prejudice related to gender and culture, revealing a recurring pattern of shared negative self-perceptions and encounters with prejudice linked to bicultural identities. This data analysis identified five predominant themes that consistently emerged across all interviews, shedding light on the shared aspects of self-perception in the context of dual cultural identities. By highlighting shared struggles and their implications on self-perception, this research aims to foster community relationships and encourage students to re-evaluate how they define their self-perception in the context of their bicultural experiences.