P. Priscilla Lui

• Ph.D.
• University of Washington

Among immigrant Asian and Latino groups, the contrast between collectivism in traditional heritage and individualism in the mainstream American cultures presents unique challenges for their family relationships. This systematic review was designed to answer 3 fundamental questions: to what extent do(es) (a) acculturation mismatch (AM) correlate wit...

The acculturation gap-distress theory postulates that parent–offspring acculturation mismatch precipitates greater intergenerational conflict in immigrant families, which in turn increases the risk for psychological problems among offspring. Whereas cross-sectional studies have shown support for these theory-informed relations, comparatively little...

Microaggression has been considered a form of stressor that negatively affects people with marginalized statuses. Research shows variability in how microaggression is measured, and the extent to which it is associated with adjustment outcomes. A new cube model was proposed to conceptualize microaggression across social groups, interpersonal and gro...

Objectives: Racism and discrimination drive racial and ethnic health disparities, and are robust markers for a host of health outcomes in People of Color and Indigenous Peoples (POCI). A comprehensive understanding of possible causal pathways by which racism and discrimination lead to POCI’s health disadvantages is a critical step toward reducing d...

Objectives: There are two potentially useful but nonintersecting efforts to help ensure that psychological science produces valid and credible information and contributes to the understanding of diverse human experiences. Whereas North American ethnic minority psychology research/cultural diversity science (EM/D) emphasizes cultural competency to y...

Gender-specific norms are learned, which can influence social norms, attitudes, and behaviors in specific situations. For example, men who conform to certain masculine norms/ideals may express their masculinity by drinking alcohol. Recent research examining the association between endorsement of alcohol-specific masculine norms and men’s risk for h...

Psychological distress that stems from racial discrimination experiences may depend on how strongly individuals identify with their race. Existing findings across survey research and a small body of experimental research are equivocal on whether and how racial identity factors exacerbate or buffer the negative psychological effects of racial discri...

The goal of the current study is to examine the moderating role of public and altruistic prosocial behaviors on the associations between motivation/beliefs and alcohol use among college students. Data were collected as part of the Acculturation and Substance Use Research Team (ASURT) Study, and participants include 8040 college student drinkers (Ma...

Being the target of discriminatory actions because of their ethnicity can lead ethnic minority students to disengage from school. Research has relied on cross-sectional survey data to show that students who experience more frequent discrimination are more likely to be disengaged from school (i.e., between-person associations). Less is known about w...

Mental health disparities persist in countries such as the United States and across the world. Research with disparity populations is underrepresented in mainstream clinical psychological journals, and existing science has not focused on group specific lived experiences. Achieving mental health equity requires examination of determinants of psychop...

The current study examined how interpersonal racial discrimination experiences operate together with other forms of interpersonal violence to contribute to mental health symptoms among justice-involved adolescents of color. Participants were 118 justice-involved adolescents of color aged 14 to 17 (M = 15.77, SD = 1.08; 52.5% male; 77.1% Black/Afric...

Objectives: Racial discrimination experiences contribute to health disparities and can influence individuals’ health. Yet, pathways by which discrimination-related experiences affect alcohol craving remain understudied using experimental designs. Additionally, limited research has examined possible differential effects of “major” discrimination and...

Objective: Among college students, student-athletes are at increased risk for heavy alcohol consumption, participation in risky drinking practices (e.g., playing drinking games [DG]), and adverse alcohol-related consequences relative to non-student-athletes. Within the student-athlete population, level of sports participation (e.g., recreational o...

Objectives: Racial discrimination experiences contribute to health disparities and can influence individuals’ health. Yet, pathways by which discrimination-related experiences affect alcohol craving remain understudied using experimental designs. Additionally, limited research has examined possible differential effects of “major” discrimination and...

Background: Pregaming, or drinking before going out, is a commonly practiced risky behavior. Drinking motives are well-established predictors of alcohol use and negative alcohol consequences. Given the influence of context on drinking practices, motives specific to pregaming may affect pregaming behaviors and outcomes above and beyond general drin...

Reliable and valid assessment of direct racial discrimination experiences in everyday life is critical to understanding one key determinant of ethnoracial minority health and health disparities. To address psychometric limitations of existing instruments and to harmonize the assessment of everyday racial discrimination, the new Multigroup Everyday...

Background Existing measures of reasons for limiting alcohol use are over 30 years old or don’t distinguish between limiting drinking/abstinence and limiting heavy drinking. The present study describes the development and evaluation of the Reasons for Limiting Heavy Drinking (RFLHD), a 15-item measure assessing reasons to limit heavy drinking. Met...

Introduction: Acculturation and enculturation have been conceptualized, respectively, as risk and protective factors for cigarette use. Although acculturation/enculturation orientations are often studied as stable characteristics, they represent a dynamic process influenced by individuals’ social environments and can fluctuate across time. Therefor...

To ensure that psychological science is credible and impactful, and benefits people of all backgrounds, the field must simultaneously tackle the intertwining problems of reproducibility and generalizability.

Introduction: College students-including those of Hispanic backgrounds-are at risk for hazardous drinking. Research has shown robust group differences between Hispanic and White individuals in alcohol use outcomes. The ability to resist alcohol consumption can be leveraged to reduce hazardous drinking; however, little research has examined Hispanic...

Background The present study evaluated the two-factor structure of the Protective Behavioral Strategies for Marijuana Scale (PBSM-SF) Short-Form, a 13-item measure of harm reduction behaviors related to cannabis use. Additionally, the PBSM was evaluated for measurement invariance based on sex and state cannabis legalization status. Method Particip...

College students have shown elevated mental distress during the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19). The extent and persistence of mental distress as COVID-19 restrictions have continued is unclear. This study used latent profile analysis to identify student mental health risk subgroups and to evaluate subgroups in relation with substance use. A...

Objectives: There are two potentially useful but nonintersecting efforts to help ensure that psychological science produces valid and credible information and contributes to the understanding of diverse human experiences. Whereas North American ethnic minority psychology research/cultural diversity science (EM/D) emphasizes cultural competency to y...

As part of its responsibilities to protect the safety of the American public, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates activities associated with blood donation. One FDA policy concerns the deferral period of blood donation by men who have sex with men (MSM), and their sexual partners. The policy risks reinforcing stigma again...

Introduction: Existing data suggest that American adults experience added emotional difficulties amid the coronavirus disease outbreak. Psychotherapy can help mitigate mental health concerns; still, many individuals with unmet mental health needs refrain from professional help-seeking. According to theory of reasoned action, negative help-seeking a...

Anti-Asian racism is a public health concern, and it has escalated during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Bystanders—individuals who directly witness or become aware of acts of racism—can help by discouraging perpetrations of discrimination (and other forms of violence), offering help and support to victims, and reinforcing antira...

Anti-Asian racism is a public health concern, and it has escalated during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Bystanders—individuals who directly witness or become aware of acts of racism—can help by discouraging perpetrations of discrimination (and other forms of violence), offering help and support to victims, and reinforcing antira...

Using a three-wave longitudinal data set of Mexican-origin adolescents (N = 602, Mage = 12.92, SD = 0.91 at Wave 1), this study examines parallel pathways from early exposure to ethnic discrimination and drug-using peers, separately, to underage drinking status by late adolescence. Negative affect was expected to mediate the link from ethnic discri...

Objectives: There are two potentially useful but nonintersecting efforts to ensure that psychological science is valid and credible, and helps understand the diversity of human experiences. Whereas American ethnic minority psychology/cultural diversity (EM/D) research focuses on culturally competent, contextual psychological understanding of unders...

Aims: The goal of this investigation was to synthesize (un)published studies linking Big Five personality domains and facets to a range of alcohol use outcomes. Meta-analyses were conducted to quantify the unique associations between alcohol use outcomes and each Big Five personality domains over and above other domains. Within each domain, meta-a...

To answer questions about human psychology, psychological science needs to yield credible findings. Because of their goals of understanding people’s lived experiences and advocating for the needs of the Native communities, Indigenous scholars tend to use community-based participatory research (CBPR) or approach science from a constructivist framewo...

Objectives: According to national data, Latinx individuals are faced with increasing rates of racial discrimination over the last few years. To reduce the negative psychological impact of discrimination, many Latinx individuals engage in coping behaviors. Although research shows that coping can buffer against discrimination-related stress, few stud...

Anti-Asian racism is a public health concern, and it has escalated during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Bystanders—individuals who witness acts of racism—can help by discouraging perpetrations of discrimination (and other forms of interpersonal violence), offering help and support to victims, and reinforcing (antiracist) prosoci...

Objectives: Racism and discrimination drive racial and ethnic health disparities, and are robust markers for a host of health outcomes in People of Color and Indigenous Peoples (POCI). A comprehensive understanding of possible causal pathways by which racism and discrimination lead to POCI’s health disadvantages is a critical step toward reducing d...

As part of its responsibilities to protect the safety of the American public, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates blood donations. One FDA policy concerns the prohibition of blood donation by men who have sex with men (MSM) and their sexual partners. The policy risks reinforcing stigma against people in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, t...

To answer questions about human psychology, psychological science needs to yield credible findings. Because of their goals of understanding people’s lived experiences and advocating for the needs of the Native communities, Indigenous scholars tend to use community-based participatory research (CBPR) or approach science from a constructivist framewo...

To best understand the possible negative health and social consequences associated with racial microaggression, in-depth understanding of how people judge these events is needed. People of Color (POC) and White participants (N = 64) were recruited for a mixed-methods study that incorporated quantitative attitude ratings and focus group interviews....

“Tiger mother” has become popularized in the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (Chua, 2011). This strict, achievement‐ and merit‐focused childrearing style has yielded scientific discourse about the prevalence, characteristics, and impact of tiger parenting on Asian American offspring outcomes. Tiger parenting behaviors include high parental monitori...

Addiction describes maladaptive patterns that implicate excessive use, poor control, and adverse consequences of substances or other behavioral processes. A discrete set of “addictive personality” has been used to differentiate individuals who misuse alcohol and other substances. This predominantly psychodynamic perspective helps researchers and cl...

Hispanic college students at the U.S.–Mexico border are at higher risk for alcohol use and negative drinking consequences relative to their counterparts in non-border areas. Hispanic students at the U.S.–Mexico border (N = 219, M age = 20.14; 71.2% women) completed an online survey. U.S. orientation was negatively associated with alcohol consumptio...

To best understand the possible negative health and social consequences associated with racial microaggression, in-depth understanding of how people judge these events is needed. People of Color (POC) and White participants (N = 64) were recruited for a mixed-methods study that incorporated quantitative attitude ratings and focus group interviews....

Addiction describes maladaptive patterns that implicate excessive use, poor control, and adverse consequences of substances or other behavioral processes. A discrete set of “addictive personality” has been used to differentiate individuals who misuse alcohol and other substances. This predominantly psychodynamic perspective helps researchers and cl...

Hispanic college students at the U.S.-Mexico border are at higher risk for alcohol use and negative drinking consequences, relative to their counterparts in non-border areas. Hispanic students at the U.S.-Mexico border (N=219, Mage =20.14; 71.2% women) completed an online survey. U.S. orientation was negatively associated with alcohol consumption....

“Tiger mother” has become popularized in the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (Chua, 2011). This strict, achievement‐ and merit‐focused childrearing style has yielded scientific discourse about the prevalence, characteristics, and impact of tiger parenting on Asian American offspring outcomes. Tiger parenting behaviors include high parental monitori...

Los latinxamericanos nacidos en los Estados Unidos corren un mayor riesgo de consumo y abuso de alcohol que sus compatriotas nacidos en el extranjero (i.e., la paradoja de inmigrantes en el uso de alcohol). Para comprender este fenómeno, realizamos un estudio cualitativo con adultos mexicoamericanos de la comunidad para explorar sus perspectivas so...

Native-born Latinx Americans are at greater risk for alcohol use and misuse than their foreign-born peers (i.e., the alcohol immigrant paradox). To understand this phenomenon, we conducted a qualitative study with Mexican American adults in the community to explore their perspectives on reasons that may explain the alcohol immigrant paradox. Commun...

According to acculturation gap–distress theory, intergenerational cultural conflict stems from parent–offspring acculturation mismatch. Greater acculturation-based family conflict has been linked to poorer psychological adjustment among Asian American offspring, especially emerging adults. Whereas trait assertiveness often is shown to buffer the re...

According to acculturation gap-distress theory, intergenerational cultural conflict stems from parent-offspring acculturation mismatch. Acculturation-based family conflict has been linked to poorer psychological adjustment among Asian American offspring, especially emerging adults. Whereas trait assertiveness often is shown to buffer the relation b...

Scholars in diverse disciplines have examined the associations between psychological adjustment and microaggression, and overt discrimination. It remains unclear whether the roles of microaggression in adjustment outcomes can be differentiated from the roles of overt discrimination and neuroticism. I examined the extent to which racial microaggress...

Objectives: Psychological effects of racism and discrimination may reflect both the common nature of differential treatment itself, distinctive ways that various types of discrimination impact adjustment outcomes, and ways in which individuals integrate these experiences within their ethnoracial group memberships. Everyday racial discrimination and...

Many people from immigrant backgrounds experience intercultural contact and adjustment. Acculturation and enculturation can affect people’s worldviews, including distinct societal scripts on culturally sanctioned behaviors in any given society. In turn, the integration of these cultural scripts can influence people’s behaviors, such as engaging in...

Objectives: There has been a steep increase in alcohol involvement and alcohol use disorder among Asian Americans in recent decades. Cultural orientations have been shown to be robust correlates of alcohol use. Yet, the literature is limited in illuminating within-group differences in the complex relations among acculturation, enculturation, bicult...

Objectives: There has been a steep increase in alcohol involvement and alcohol use disorder among Asian Americans in recent decades. Cultural orientations have been shown to be robust correlates of alcohol use. Yet, the literature is limited in illuminating within-group differences in the complex relations among acculturation, enculturation, bicult...

Hazardous alcohol use among Hispanics makes for a critical public health issue that warrants empirical examination. Whereas research shows positive associations between alcohol-related outcomes and acculturation, it is unclear how enculturation and acculturation x enculturation are linked to alcohol use. Hispanic American undergraduate and graduate...

Hazardous alcohol use among Hispanics makes for a critical public health issue that warrants empirical examination. Whereas research shows positive associations between alcohol-related outcomes and acculturation, it is unclear how enculturation and acculturation x enculturation are linked to alcohol use. Hispanic American undergraduate and graduate...

Relative to broad Big Five domains, personality facets provide incremental value in predicting life outcomes. Valid between-group comparisons of means and correlates of facet scores are contingent upon measurement invariance of personality measures. Research on culture and Big Five personality has been largely limited to cross-national comparisons...

Relative to broad Big Five domains, personality facets provide incremental value in predicting life outcomes. Valid between-group comparisons of means and correlates of facet scores are contingent upon measurement invariance of personality measures. Research on culture and Big Five personality has been largely limited to cross-national comparisons...

Mindfulness is defined as bringing one’s attention to present-moment experience with acceptance, and is associated with engagement in various health behaviors. To synthesize and evaluate this literature, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analytic review and examined (a) the associations between trait mindfulness and health behaviors and (b) the ext...

Alcohol is considered an integral part of the college life; students who hold stronger college alcohol beliefs typically consume more alcohol and experience more negative drinking consequences. Asian Americans are increasingly at risk for hazardous alcohol use, yet little research has focused on whether college alcohol beliefs are conceptualized si...

Alcohol is considered an integral part of the college life; students who hold stronger college alcohol beliefs typically consume more alcohol and experience more negative drinking consequences. Asian Americans are increasingly at risk for hazardous alcohol use, yet little research has focused on whether college alcohol beliefs are conceptualized si...

In the present study, we examined the role of racial discrimination, social support (viz., family and friends), and hope (viz., agency and pathways) in accounting for negative psychological adjustment (viz., anxious and depressive symptoms) and positive psychological adjustment (viz., vitality and life satisfaction) in a sample of 249 African Ameri...

Undergraduate students who believe that alcohol plays a central role in college life are prone to drink more frequently, in larger quantity, and experience more drinking problems. The College Life Alcohol Salience Scale (CLASS) measures individuals' college-related alcohol beliefs but has been used predominantly in Euro American and freshman studen...

There is a growing recognition for the need for research to explore the unique and interactive effects of acculturation and sociocultural stress on alcohol initiation. Building on this research agenda, the current study sought to explore the independent and interactive effects of acculturation (i.e., heritage and U.S. cultural practices and identif...

Hazardous alcohol use is associated with deleterious health effects and social consequences, reduced work productivity, and increased medical and criminal justice expenditures. Research has consistently shown not only ethnic differences in prevalence rates of drinking behaviors and alcohol use disorders but also negative alcohol-related consequence...

We examined the role of basic psychological needs as a mediator of the association between future orientation and depressive symptoms in a sample of 202 (159 female & 43 male) multiethnoracial adults. Participants were two hundred and two multiethnoracial adults (159 females & 43 males) with a mean age of 20.6 years. Multiple mediation analysis wit...

Introduction: Although personality and sociocultural experiences shape how people adapt to changing life circumstances, these factors’ contributions to psychological adjustment outcomes may differ across ethnic groups. Previous research has shown that personality traits predict psychological distress and wellbeing, and people's comfort with their s...

Microaggression has been considered a form of stressor that negatively affects people with marginalized statuses. Research shows variability in how microaggression is measured, and the extent to which it is associated with adjustment outcomes. A new cube model was proposed to conceptualize microaggression across social groups, interpersonal and gro...

Acculturation has been studied as one key sociocultural determinant that helps explain ethnic disparities in alcohol use outcomes among Hispanic Americans. Primary studies and other systematic reviews have found between‐study inconsistencies regarding the extent to which acculturation is associated with alcohol use outcomes among Hispanic Americans...

In the present study, we examined the role of ethnoracial discrimination, social support (viz., family & friends), and hope (viz., agency & pathways) in accounting for negative psychological adjustment (viz., worry & depressive symptoms) and positive psychological adjustment (viz., vitality & life satisfaction) in a sample of 203 (164 females & 39...

Acculturative stress and alcohol-related cognitions have been examined as determinants of hazardous alcohol use among college students from immigrant backgrounds. Yet it remains unclear how multiple dimensions of religiousness and acculturation affect the associations among acculturative stress, alcohol-related cognitions, and hazardous alcohol use...

Intergenerational cultural conflict and acculturation mismatch have been shown to predict mental health outcomes among Asian Americans from immigrant families. The observed relations between intergenerational cultural conflict and adjustment have not been consistent across studies, however, which likely was because these studies used different meas...

Among ethnic minority groups, Latina/o emerging adults are most likely to engage in pregaming, a risky drinking practice. This study examined how U.S. acculturation and enculturation are associated with pregaming and the extent to which gender moderates this relation in a sample of 312 Latina/o emerging adults (18 – 25 years of age). Results indica...

Acculturation has been considered a key sociocultural factor that helps explain Asian American’s mental health outcomes, including alcohol use. Yet, findings on the degree to which acculturation is directly linked to alcohol use have been mixed. The present meta-analysis reviewed original studies published since 1979, and tested the association bet...

Numerous scales currently exist that assess well-being, but research on measures of well-being is still advancing. Conceptualization and measurement of subjective well-being have emphasized intrapsychic over psychosocial domains of optimal functioning, and disparate research on hedonic, eudaimonic, and psychological well-being lacks a unifying theo...

Research on acculturation and alcohol use has yielded mixed findings. Studies have indicated that stresses associated with acculturation—acculturative stress—have been shown to predict greater alcohol (mis)use, but little is known about whether acculturation and acculturative stress uniquely relate to alcohol use outcomes and how they may interact...

Individuals with co-occurring eating and substance use disorders have poorer psychosocial adjustment than those with only eating pathology or substance misuse patterns; these complex cases are often challenging to treat in clinical settings. Eating and substance use disorders share personality, affective, and cognitive etiologic factors, suggesting...

Objectives: Collectivism can contextualize subjective cultural experiences, yet operationalization and measurement approaches for understanding this construct among Asians and Asian Americans have been discrepant. Inconsistency has resulted from diverse levels of analyses, unidimensional versus multidimensional approaches to organizing related subc...

Many college students, are susceptible to alcohol use and related problems, including Hispanic and Asian Americans. A potential factor contributing to this risk is acculturation, which can be defined as the process of psychological, behavioral, social, and cultural change and adaptation that occurs when individuals or groups from different cultural...

Understanding Asian Americans’ lives and challenges would be enhanced by examining group-specific contributors to subjective well-being (SWB). The components and predictors of SWB, as well as other dimensions of positive psychology, are understudied in mainstream psychological and Asian American literatures. The present study addressed this gap in...

This study examined measurement invariance of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), assessing the five-factor model (FFM) of personality among Euro American (N = 290) and Asian international (N = 301) students (47.8% women, Mage = 19.69 years). The full 60-item NEO-FFI data fit the expected five-factor structure for both groups using exploratory...

Eating disorders are becoming increasingly prevalent among individuals from non-Western countries, yet few non-English-language measures of eating pathology exist. The current study sought to develop and validate a Chinese version of the Eating Pathology Symptoms Inventory(1) with cross-cultural equivalence. The Chinese version of the Eating Pathol...

Objective: Perceived discrimination poses risks for psychological distress among Asian Americans, but the differential impact of general unfair treatment and racial discrimination has not been examined. Although social support from distal sources reduces discrimination-related distress either directly or as a buffer, the unique roles of spousal sup...

We examine psychometric properties and validity of the Perceptions of Attraction scale (POA). Responses of undergraduate students (N = 510) indicate that the POA has high reliability and a coherent factor structure comprising two dimensions of feelings of attraction toward others and perceptions of attraction from others that explain 67% of respons...

Three studies examine discriminant and predictive validity of a self-report measure of self -efficacy in romantic relationships (Self-Efficacy in Romantic Relationships; SERR). Study 1 indicates SERR scores predict relationship anxiety and expectations of relationship success when general self-efficacy, self-esteem, social desirability, and efficac...

This article provides an overview of the book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua. The book presents a memoir of a mother’s self described parenting efforts and experiences to ensure the “success” of her two daughters, defined primarily by their musical talents and academic accomplishments. Throughout her book, the author describes the sup...

This study examines the psychometric properties of a self-report measure of self-efficacy in romantic relationships (SERR). Analyses (with 775 undergraduates) indicated a coherent factor structure representing broad beliefs about task demands in romantic relationships and abilities to meet such demands. SERR scores predict relationship anxiety and...

Previous research predicting adjustment outcomes of immigrants has relied narrowly on demographic variables and general skills, which often are inadequate. The present study utilized a multidimensional conceptualization of acculturation and employed psychologically relevant variables to examine how immigrants of distinct Asian backgrounds may organ...