Student Publications [Scholarly]

From I to we Through us: Romantic Identity Development in Vietnamese-American Emerging Adults

Document Type

Article

Abstract

For emerging adults navigating bicultural family contexts, romantic identity development involves a complex negotiation between personal desires and inherited cultural expectations. This qualitative study employed a narrative approach to examine how Vietnamese-American emerging adults construct romantic identity in relation to parental influence and cultural expectations. Participants were two female Vietnamese-American college students, ages 20 and 21, whose narratives were drawn from a study of sexual and health development among Vietnamese-American emerging adults. Each completed a semi-structured interview. Transcripts were analyzed using positioning analysis. The findings highlight religious influence through parental belief systems, societal values and construction of one’s own context were all important processes in their stories. Participants constructed their romantic identity through graduated disclosure and the use of culturally available expectations as interpretive resources for reconciling competing ideals of closeness and autonomy. This research brings a deeper insight into how culture and romantic identity intersect when Vietnamese-American emerging adults make sense of their romantic experiences. The findings from this study contribute to literature by focusing on the process and provides in-depth understanding of how the romantic identity is navigated in relation to familial expectations and personal aspirations. It also informs clinical practices for accommodating second generation immigrant clients’ culturally significant developmental needs. © Associação Brasileira de Psicologia 2026.

Publication Title

Trends in Psychology

Publication Date

2026

ISSN

2358-1883

DOI

10.1007/s43076-026-00541-8

Keywords

emerging adults, narrative approach, parental influence, qualitative study, romantic identity, Vietnamese American

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