Keywords

bicultural; identity; south asian; biculturalism; moral-decision making; risk-taking

Abstract

The intent of this thesis was to explore how biculturalism in South Asian American college students impacts their behaviors, specifically moral decision-making and risk-taking behaviors. Bicultural individuals must navigate the complexities of their identity by integrating norms, values, and expectations from both their heritage culture and their dominant Western culture, which inherently creates a unique cognitive and psychological framework for evaluating choices. Participants in this study completed a survey online and were asked to complete three measures. First, the extent to which participants feel cultural harmony or conflict between their respective cultural identities was measured using the Bicultural Identity Integration Scale (BIIS). Participants then completed the Behavioral Defining Issues Test (bDIT), which assessed participants’ level of moral reasoning by presenting them with moral dilemmas and asking them to choose behavioral options and to explain their rationale. Finally, participants completed the Domain-Specific Risk-Taking Scale (DOSPERT), which is a psychometric tool that assesses the willingness to take risks across different areas of life: financial, health/safety, recreational, ethical, and social risks. Participants (n = 64) were divided into groups of High Bicultural Identity Integration (BII) and Low Bicultural Identity Integration (BII) based on a median split. Descriptive analyses demonstrated that participants in the High BII group scored higher on the bDIT test and lower on the DOSPERT test compared to participants in the Low BII group. Independent sample t-tests revealed that the High BII group scored slightly higher than the Low BII group on bDIT scores and slightly lower on DOSPERT scores. However, these differences were not statistically significant. Overall, this may indicate that individuals with a higher bicultural identity integration (BII) make more principled moral decision-making and report lower risk-taking behaviors compared to those with lower bicultural identity integration (BII).

Thesis Completion Year

2026

Thesis Completion Semester

Spring

Thesis Chair

Neal, Raymonde

College

College of Sciences

Department

Psychology

Thesis Discipline

Psychology

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus Access

None

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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Psychology Commons

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In Copyright