Immigrant Chinese American Women: Negotiating Values and Perceptions of Self in the Cultural Borderlands of East and West: A Qualitative Study

This phenomenological study looked at how immigrant Chinese American women negotiate differences in values and perceptions of the self in the cultural borderlands of East andWest. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 women. Participants were raised in the East and are now residing and raising their children in aWestern context. Predominant themes that emerged were the contradictions and ambiguities experienced in the struggle to be both adaptive and culturally appropriate in the new context. Also, it was found that organizing principles remained largely unchanged over the two generations. The experiences of these women suggest that assimilation is a long-term and ongoing process.