New study looks at experiences, attitudes of Asian Americans

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- As the nation marks Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a new study is giving insight into the experiences and attitudes of Asian Americans.

It's the largest nationally-representative survey of its kind.

The Pew Research Center released the comprehensive study, which was conducted from July 2022 to January 2023 and involved more than 7,000 Asian Americans. The survey was issued in six languages.

It's the type of study Mohan Seshadri, the executive director of the Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance, appreciates as a focus.

"Twenty years ago, 50 years ago, there were no studies done on Asian American voters," he said.

The Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance fights for justice by focusing on politics.

"We work year-round in every Asian American community across the state, in 15 different languages to build real political power," said Seshadri.

Politics is one of the focuses of the new Pew Research Center survey. It found that 68% of Asian adults surveyed say it's "extremely" or "very" important to have a national leader advocating for Asian people in the U.S.

The study also found 20% of Asian Americans say they've hidden part of their culture out of fear of embarrassment or discrimination.

"When I was in college, I feel like I did have to hide some parts of my Asian identity," said Tiffany Tieu, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania last year.

For her senior thesis, she did a survey study on experiences of racism among Asian students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We found that 77% of our sample were either victims or witnesses of anti-Asian hate or racism during COVID, which is a very large and striking number," she said.

Looking at a host of issues and attitudes, the Pew survey is the most comprehensive of its kind.

While he's encouraged that Asian Americans are the focus of a national study, Seshadri also says local issues are top-of-mind, including the fight over a proposed 76ers arena in the Chinatown area.

"We've received warnings from leaders and elders in Chinatown, in other Asian neighborhoods across the country saying don't let what happened to us happen to you," he said.

Seshadri hopes that the new comprehensive study gives way to more research that takes an even more diverse look into the experiences and challenges Asian Americans face.

"This is a great first step," he said, "but it is fundamentally just a first step."