Together they become one: Examining the predictors of panethnic group consciousness among Asian Americans and Latinos

Objective. This article examines panethnic consciousness as it applies to the two fastest-growing minority groups in the United States: Asian Americans and Latinos. Given the challenges of diversity and immigration faced by these two communities, I examine the individual-level factors that help strengthen their panethnic group identity. Methods. Drawing from data provided by the 2000 Pilot National Asian American Political Survey and the 1999 National Survey on Latinos, I use ordered probit models to determine the predictors of panethnic consciousness among both Asian Americans and Latinos. Results. The models confirm that for Asian Americans, high income, involvement in Asian-American politics, being a Democrat, and the role of racial discrimination encourage panethnic consciousness. For Latinos, the important factors are higher levels of education, gender, being foreign born, involvement in Latino politics, and perceptions of discrimination. Conclusions. The findings here stress the importance of social contextual factors such as racial discrimination on the formation of panethnic identity.