LIVING WITH INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA, CULTURAL IDENTITY CENTRALITY, AND MENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS AMONG SOUTHEAST ASIAN AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS

Living with Intergenerational Trauma (LIT) captures how descendants of trauma survivors experience and navigate inherited trauma in their everyday lives. In this study, I examined how dimensions of LIT relate to mental health among Southeast Asian American (SEAA) college students and whether Cultural Identity Centrality (CIC) moderates these associations. Using archival survey data from 228 U.S.-born SEAA students, I explored relationships between LIT dimensions and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Controlling for gender, risk-oriented dimensions of LIT—loss, family volatility, and emotional numbness—were associated with greater depression and anxiety, whereas historical avoidance related only to depression. Strength-oriented dimensions were not significant, and CIC did not moderate any of the associations between LIT and mental health symptoms. These findings suggest that the emotional and familial aspects of inherited trauma are the most robust correlates of SEAA students’ mental health and that CIC does not buffer or amplify these effects.