183 / 126
“Ethnic Variations in Characteristics of First Unions” 183
largely migrated to the U.S. in seek of asylum from their war-torn
home countries (Zhou, 2007).
Filipino immigrants, on the other hand, have a longer history
of immigration to the U.S. than most other Asian immigrants. The
first wave of Filipino immigrants arrived at the U.S. continent after
the Philippines became the first American colony following the
Spanish-American War at the turn of the twentieth century. The
Philippines were under deep U.S. influence during the half-century
American colonial governance and English is one of the two official
languages used and taught in the country. Later on, the waves of
post-1965 immigration to the U.S. brought in numerous
professional, white-collar Filipinos seeking better career
opportunities (Xie & Goyette, 2004). This unique colonial and
immigration history has made Filipino Americans relatively more
acculturated than other Asian immigrants. In a study conducted in
San Diego to adult children of Asian immigrants, 90% of Filipinos
prefer to speak only English and nearly 60% of them identify
themselves as “Hyphenated American”
—
both figures are
significantly higher than all the other ethnic groups (i.e.,
Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Hmong, and Chinese) included
in the study (Zhou & Xiong, 2005). Exposure to U.S. culture from
the colonial past and the higher English proficiency among Filipino
Americans are likely to bring their values and attitudes closer to the
mainstream American culture. Their socioeconomic profile tends to
fall between those of immigrants from East Asia and South Asia, but
in general is much closer to the former than the latter group
(Reeves & Bennett, 2004).
Turning to cultural values, given that Asian Americans are
over-represented by first- and second-generation immigrants, their
values and attitudes inevitably resemble those held by compatriots
in the sending countries. Foner (1997) stated well how immigrant
families engage in an active process of fusing together old traditions
and new social codes learned in the United States: “. . . the family is
seen as a place where there is a dynamic interplay between structure,