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Dongxiao Qin

Abstract

A grounded theory is developed to explore the processes of Chinese immigrant women’s self-transformations in cross-cultural contexts. A series of psychological processes, “integrating self,” “fragmenting self,” and “reintegrating self” are identified from interviews with ten Chines women who immigrated to the United States in the last two decades of the twentieth century. Women’s senses of self-transformations are interpreted from phenomenological, cultural, anthropological, and critical feminist perspectives. The implications of this research are theoretical and practical. It contributes to critical feminist theories of women’s self-transformation within the context of cultural mobility from their culture of origin to the host culture. It also contributes to feminist psychological practices by enhancing mental health professionals’ understanding of these women’s diverse experiences and providing them with information on immigrant women’s self-transformations in the changing sociocultural contexts. The theoretical and practical implications of this research to feminist theorists and clinic practices are discussed.

Author Biography

Dongxiao Qin is Associate Professor of Psychology at Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts. Professor Qin holds a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Boston College. Her research interests are in human development in cross-cultural contexts, critical feminist theories, women’s self development, cultural psychology, and qualitative research methodology, and research on international students in American higher education.

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