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A Cultural Formulation
Approach to Career
Assessment and Career
Counseling With Asian
American Clients
Frederick T. L. Leong
1
, Erin E. Hardin
2
, and Arpana Gupta
3
Abstract
Using the cultural formulations approach to career assessment and career
counseling, the current article applies it specifically to Asian American clients. The
approach is illustrated by using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders fourth edition (DSM-IV) Outline for Cultural Formulations that consists
of the following five dimensions, which are modified for career counseling:
(a) cultural identity of the individual, (b) cultural conceptions of career problems,
(c) cultural contexts and psychosocial environment, (d) cultural dynamics of the
therapeutic relationship, and (e) overall cultural assessment. The article concludes
with a case study of an Asian American client to serve as an illustration of this
approach.
Keywords
Asian Americans, career assessment, cross-cultural/multicultural career issues
1
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
2
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA
3
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
Editor’s Note: The authors thank Mark Pope, EdD, for serving as external action editor for the article.
Corresponding Author:
Frederick T. L. Leong, Department of Psychology, Psychology Building, Michigan State University, East
Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Email: fleong@msu.edu
Journal of Career Development
37(1) 465-486
ª Curators of the University
of Missouri 2010
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DOI: 10.1177/0894845310363808
http://jcd.sagepub.com
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The current article applies cultural formulations approach of Leong, Hardin, and
Gupta (2007) to career assessment and career counseling to Asian American clients.
Consistent with the recommendations of Leong et al (2007), we illustrate the
approach by using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,
fourth edition (DSM-IV) Outline for Cultural Formulations, which consists of the
following five dimensions: (a) cultural identity of the individual, (b) cultural expla-
nation of the individual’s illness, (c) cultural factors related to psychosocial environ-
ment, (d) cultural elements of the relationship between the individual and the
clinician, and (e) overall cultural assessment of the case (Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, text revision [DSM-IV-TR], pp.
897898). Translating those dimensions into the career assessment and career coun-
seling arena, we then discuss the cultural formulation approach with Asian
Americans along the following five dimensions, which parallels the DSM-IV:
(a) cultural identity of the individual, (b) cultural conception of the career problems,
(c) cultural factors related to psychosocial environment, (d) cultural element of the
relationship between the individual and the counselor, and (e) overall cultural
assessment for career counseling and intervention.
Finally, we illustrate the approach with a case study. Because of the salience of
collectivist influences for virtually all Asian cultures, themes tied to collectivism and
interdependence permeate our discussion of a cultural formulations approach to
career assessment and counseling with Asian Americans. Before applying the cul-
tural formulations approach to Asian Americans, we briefly review the distinctions
between individualism and collectivism, particularly as they pertain to the career
counseling process. For the purposes of this article, individualism and collectivism
are described as extreme, static, and dichotomous cultures, whereas, in reality, this
level of clear demarcations of biculturalism does not exist. Culture is a complex phe-
nomenon and usually manifests as a multicultural entity within individuals, where
the emphasis is on cultural salience. Various factors will determine which culture
is important in what situation. The details of these various factors are beyond the
scope of discussion for the purposes of this article.
The Western world (i.e., North America and Europe) often adhere to individua-
listic cultural factors, where the individual is the smallest unit of survival and is the
focus of the therapeutic process. Emphasis is usually placed on the individual’s
goals, with less consideration toward the goals of others, the community, and/or the
group. However, collectivism, where the group/collective is the smallest unit of sur-
vival, focuses to a higher degree on the interests, values, and goals of the group; and
‘‘group’’ here can refer to various forms such as extended family, work group, tribe,
caste, country, and so on. Collectivism usually involves the subordination of per-
sonal goals to be able to attain the goals of the group/community. As will be dis-
cussed in more detail below, this does not mean that individuals from
collectivistic cultures reject their own personal needs and goals; rather, the goals and
values of the group have been internalized to the point that distinction between per-
sonal goals and collective goals are hard to make.
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There are important individual differences that can be found within the cultures.
For instance, individuals from both individualistic and collectivistic cultures can dis-
play characteristics of the following: (a) Allocentric: Where individuals sacrifice
their own needs for that of the group they affiliate with, as their needs are tied to the
group and their sense of self is tied to that defined by the group. (b) Idiocentric:
These individuals’ sense of self is defined by their own needs versus that of the
group, therefore, these individuals may be viewed as being self-serving and more
self-centered. Often they can be seen as taking advantage of opportunities that will
help them advance (e.g., moving away from elderly parents to a distant community
for a high-paying job). These individuals do not completely ignore the needs of the
group but any attention to others is given out of a sense of duty/obligation (Triandis,
Brislin, & Hui, 1988).
There are many different types of patterns associated with persons from collecti-
vistically and individualistically oriented cultures, but both types of individuals have
some common components associated with them. For instance, individuals who lean
toward being collectivistic, allocentric, and idiocentric pursue in-group goals, but
allocentric individuals will do so at the expense of sacrificing their own feelings, val-
ues, and thoughts so that they can conform to the needs of the group (Triandis et al.,
1988).
Related to these ideas of idiocentrism and allocentrism, Markus and Kitayama
(1991) have highlighted how culture influences the self, specifically related to con-
cepts of independent and interdependent self-construals. Applying their ideas to the
domain of career counseling suggests that individuals who come from individualistic
cultures will approach career issues from an independent and autonomous perspec-
tive, making career decisions that are more likely independent from others and social
contexts, and will derive internal self-concepts such as self-esteem by trying to inde-
pendently get ahead or be recognized for work-related achievements. Contrary to
this, individuals from collectivist cultures will approach career issues from an inter-
dependent perspective, approaching career decisions that emphasize relationships
and social context and these individuals’ self-esteem and career success will be tied
to getting along with others or being able to fit in to the larger community.
These themes of collectivism and interdependence and the effect they have on the
career development and counseling needs of Asian Americans recur throughout the
cultural formulations discussion below.
Cultural Identity of the Individual
The first dimension of the cultural formulations approach is Cultural Identity of the
Individual. According to Lewis-Fernandez and Diaz (2002), this dimension includes
a consideration of the extent to which clients identify with their ethnic culture and
the dominant culture. Consequently, vocational counselors need to consider the
acculturation levels of their client and how cultural identity provides a context for
understanding the presenting vocational difficulties. Acculturation involves the
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changes in attitudes, values, beliefs, and norms, when individuals from one culture
comes into contact with another culture with some scholars proposing that the
changes are birectional (i.e., the individual and the host culture changes as a result
of contact). Many of a client’s other cultural identities (sexual orientation, religion,
social class) may be understood within this larger context of acculturation. For
example, attitudes and values about sexual orientation may be tied to traditional
Asian values about gender roles and the importance of family as traditionally
defined. Indeed, research shows that more highly acculturated Asian Americans tend
to have less conservative sexual attitudes (including attitudes toward homosexuality)
than less acculturated Asian Americans (Leiblum, Wiegel, & Brickle, 2003; Meston,
Trapnell, & Gorzalka, 1998). In addition, some religious identifications may also be
closely intertwined with one’s ethnic identity (e.g., being Hindu and Indian, Shinto
and Japanese, etc.).
Early Ethnic Identity Model
Over the last several decades, scholars have proposed a few models for describing eth-
nic identity development among Asian Americans. One of the earliest was proposed
by Sue and Sue (1973) in their threefold typology model, which includes three types of
ethnic identity: the Traditionalist, Marginal Man, and the Asian American. Tradition-
alists are those individuals who adhere strongly to their Asian values, where self-worth
and values are tied to family honor and obedience to parents’ expectations, and they
are raised to believe that racist obstacles can be overcome through behaviors like hard
work and dedication. Marginal Man, as the name suggests, is one who lives between
two worlds, the traditional Asian one and the dominant White one, and thus lives in an
identity crisis trying to acculturate from one’s original cultural values to the wester-
nized one. The Asian American is an individual who tries to formulate a new identity
by negotiating the realities of traditional Asian culture and the White culture. Attempts
are made to acquire qualities from both the cultures, preserving the traditional yet
forming a new identity that has some aspects of the dominant.
To which group an individual belongs comes about as a result of efforts to assim-
ilate into the dominant culture and is viewed in terms of a process that involves per-
sonal striving for respect. If individuals conform to the traditional parental/family
values, they belong to the Traditionalist category; if they decide to simultaneously
rebel against traditional values and adopt the western values, they belong to the Mar-
ginal Man group; and if they decide to rebel against the traditional values but
develop a new Asian American identity that consists of a compromise between the
two worlds, they belong to the Asian American category.
Acculturation Models
Leong (1995) highlights the importance of investigating acculturation as a
culture-specific moderating variable in predicting vocational behavior, patterns, and
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outcomes among Asian Americans. Leong and Chou (1994) argued that ethnic
identity and acculturation are highly related constructs for Asian Americans’ career
patterns, and they proposed an integrated framework for combining racial/ethnic
identity models and acculturation models. Various empirical studies highlight the
importance of acculturation in understanding the vocational behavior of Asian
Americans.
Leong and Chou (1994) have used Berry’s (1980) model as the foundation to
viewing racial and ethnic identity as a two-dimensional problem; namely, how do
racial or ethnic minority group individuals view their own culture and how do they
view their dominant host culture? Based on these two questions, four categories of
racial/ethnic identity can be identified. Similar to the Asian American of Sue and
Sue (1973), the Integrationists attempt to have the best of both cultures, thus valuing
their own culture and that of the White culture. Parallel to the Marginal Man of Sue
and Sue (1973), Assimilationists (Berry, 1980) adhere positively to White cultural
norms and negatively to their own traditional Asian culture. Those individuals who
view the host culture negatively and their own culture positively are Separationists
(Berry, 1980), and this is similar to the Traditionalist category of Sue and Sue
(1973). Lastly, Berry (1980) identifies an acculturation process outcome that is not
recognized by other models, Marginalized, in which individuals view neither the
host nor the traditional culture favorably.
Leong and Chou (1994) went on to hypothesize specific career outcomes for
Asian Americans, given their differential ethnic identity statuses. Individuals
belonging to the Separationist group were most likely to experience occupational
barriers and problems such as segregation, occupational stereotyping, and occupa-
tional discrimination, and thus as a consequence have lower levels of job satisfac-
tion, upward mobility, and higher levels of job stress. However, those belonging
to the Integrationist or Assimilationist categories were likely to be less susceptible
to the above-mentioned occupational barriers and problems, as they are more likely
to identify with their Eurocentric job organizations and personnel. The level of
acculturation of the client and how both the client and counselor conceptualize bicul-
turality will have important implications for career intervention. Identifying Asian
Americans’ acculturation level will help identify how counselors conceptualize the
client and how they implement culturally sound career interventions to provide
effective and successful career outcomes.
Leong and Tata (1990) examined the relation between 177 Chinese American
children’s level of acculturation (using the Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Accul-
turation scale [SL-ASIA]) and their work values (using the Ohio Work Values
Inventory [OWVI]) at a Los Angeles inner city elementary school. The results of this
study demonstrated that the most important values for these children were money
and task satisfaction and of lower importance were constructs such as object orien-
tation and solitude. There were also differences in work values based on gender. For
instance, the Chinese boys valued object orientation, self-realization, and ideas
data more than the girls, whereas the girls valued altruism more than the boys.
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Self-realization varied according to acculturation, with the highly acculturated
valuing self-realization more than the less acculturated students. Similarly, Tang,
Fouad, and Smith (1999) found that acculturation is related to how stererotypical
Asian American college students’ expected career choices were; students with
higher acculturation evidenced less traditional career interests and choices.
The above examples highlight the fact that the level of acculturation is an impor-
tant cultural variable to consider when understanding the career psychology of Asian
Americans. Research suggests that Asian Americans can be differentiated along this
acculturation continuum, whereby, highly acculturated Asian Americans can be seen
as being similar to their Eurocentric coworkers and thus, may experience less adjust-
ment and performance problems in their work organizations, whereas, low accultu-
rated Asian Americans can be viewed as being less similar to White European
Americans and thus, may have a harder time adjusting to the values posed by their
Eurocentric work environment. It will be important to investigate and consider the
extent to which acculturation serves as a significant moderating/mediating variable
for the career and vocational behaviors of Asian Americans.
Leong and Chou (1994) offer us a good starting point in understanding the role
that acculturation plays in the vocational behaviors of Asian Americans, but addi-
tional and more in-depth research directions need to be taken. For example, the dif-
ferential validity of the various acculturation and ethnic identity measures that have
been developed for use with Asian Americans can be further investigated. In
addition, recent evidence demonstrates that a multidimensional bilinear model of
acculturation, which treats acculturation to dominant culture and enculturation to
ethnic culture as orthogonal and which considers values and behaviors separately,
provides the best fit to data from Asian American populations (Miller, 2007). Such
evidence raises questions about whether acculturation in terms of values, behaviors,
or both may be most related to career-related variables among Asian Americans.
Additional research is also needed on how acculturation interacts with other identi-
ties (e.g., sexual orientation) in influencing vocational behavior among Asian
Americans. For example, we know that many gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB)
adults experience and/or fear discrimination in the workplace (Croteau, 1996) and
that work attitudes including job satisfaction are related to how ‘‘out’’ GLB adults
are at work (Day & Schoenrade, 1997). Integrating such findings with the
framework of Leong and Chou suggests that more highly acculturated LGB Asian
Americans may experience fewer work adjustment problems and more positive
work attitudes than less acculturated LGB Asian Americans. However, no research
to date has explored such questions about the interaction of acculturation and iden-
tities such as sexual orientation.
Cultural Conception of Career Problems
The second dimension of the cultural formulations approach as applied to vocational
counseling is the cultural conception of the career problems. According to
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Lewis-Fernandez and Diaz (2002), this dimension includes a consideration of how
clients understand the causes of their concerns and how those concerns are expressed
within their cultural context. A vocational counselor needs to consider what clients’
vocational difficulties mean to them rather than automatically imposing his or her
conception of the problem on the client. Because the idea of the self is so salient
in many vocational theories (e.g., the importance of choosing a career that
implements the client’s self-concept), having a culturally appropriate understanding
of the self is especially important for vocational counselors.
Individuals have multiple selves, whose specific content and behavior
manifestations are determined by culture (Heine, 2001; Markus & Kitayama, 1991;
Singelis, 1994; Triandis, 1989). These multiple selves can be conceptualized in vari-
ous ways depending on the different influences of culture. For instance, Triandis
(1989) distinguished between the private (internal), public (others) and collective
(members of a specific group) self as mechanisms that influence beliefs, attitudes, and
behaviors. Triandis argues that generally individuals comprise all three types of self,
but culture will determine which self will manifest at the forefront to influence cogni-
tion, affect, and motivation. Culture will also determine the content of the salient self.
Applying Triandis’s work to the domain of career problems, then, culture influences
the extent to which the public, private, or collective self is most salient in influencing
clients’ goals for and their thoughts and feelings about careers, as well as influencing
the specific characteristics an individual will develop to deal with career problems
(e.g., obedience and conformity vs. autonomy and independence).
The self can also be thought of as manifesting in terms of past, current, and future
possible selves (Markus & Nurius, 1986; Oyserman & Markus, 1993). These selves
comprise different roles, identities, or attributes; in the context of career counseling,
possible future selves are particularly relevant. These future selves can be of two
kinds: either positive (i.e., hoped-for selves), which may lead to approach motivation
to attain specific goals, or negative (i.e., feared selves; Markus & Nurius, 1986),
which may lead to avoidance motivation to avoiding specific outcomes. Culture
influences the development of clients’ future possible selves through mechanisms
such as the role models available to an individual, barriers that prevent an individual
from considering certain career goals, and messages about the cultureperson fit of
various career paths. For example, cultural messages about which occupations are
most appropriate for Asian Americans or in which they are likely to find the most
success may make some future selves (e.g., doctor, engineer) seem more possible
than others (e.g., actor, nurse) for many Asian Americans.
Career counselors need to account for cultural variables and place value on
concepts other than an independent or private self-concept. The sections above have
discussed the importance of how culture influences self-concept, so for a career the-
orist to ignore cultural factors by restricting career development solely to attaining
personal interests and implementing personal values is not only inaccurate but
potentially dangerous for those individuals who come from a collectivistic cultural
framework where the focus is on an interdependent self-construal. In these cases,
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behaviors are more likely to be driven by the public or collective self rather than the
private self. Personal concerns such as happiness, values, and interests become less
salient with individuals who possess collectivistic selves, because these individuals
are more often driven by questions such as, ‘‘What does my family value? How can
I avoid bringing shame to my group? What are their interests?’’
Indeed, the literature has accumulated evidence that interdependent individuals
are more likely to make career decisions that are influenced by others. For example,
Tang et al. (1999) showed that family involvement, but not personal interests, was a
strong predictor of career choice interests in an Asian American sample. Similarly,
Flores and O’Brien (2002) have demonstrated that family support, but not personal
interests, was a strong predictor of career choice prestige in a sample of Mexican
American high-school girls.
A traditional understanding of career theories has been that individuals make the
‘‘best’’ career choices when they implement their individual self-concept (e.g.,
Super, 1990) or match their personal interests to a career (e.g., Holland, 1996). Such
an approach has been thought to be inappropriate for more interdependent Asian
Americans for whom choosing a career based on family influences is more likely
(e.g., Hardin, Leong, & Osipow, 2001; Leong & Chou, 1994; Leong & Hardin,
2002; Leong & Serafica, 1995). Although such interdependent motivations in career
decision making have in the past been interpreted as representing inappropriate lev-
els of dependence in career decision making, more recent work has indicated that
Asian Americans may simply use a different process to arrive at equally ‘‘good’’
career decisions. For example, although early studies found that Asian Americans
exhibited lower career maturity than European Americans (Leong, 1991; Luzzo,
1992), the two groups did not differ in terms of vocational identity (Leong, 1991)
or their career decision-making skills (Luzzo, 1992). Hardin et al. (2001) demon-
strated that the measure of career maturity used in these studies confounded cultu-
rally appropriate interdependence with career-immature dependence.
Part of the problem has been a failure to fully understand the diversity in culturally
based self-concepts. As Leong et al. (2007) argued, researchers and clinicians have
tended to assume that career decisions based on the interests of family members or
important others are made at the expense of the individual’s own interests. This logic,
however, assumes that one’s own interests are necessarily different from those of impor-
tant others. Although this may well be true for those with an independent self, it is much
less likely to be true for those with an interdependent self. Indeed, Hardin and her col-
leagues have argued recently that when interdependent individuals choose careers that
are consistent with their family’s interests and values, they are indeed implementing
their self-concept (Hardin, 2007, 2008; Robitschek & Ashton, 2007, 2008).
Cultural Context of the Psychosocial Environment
The third dimension of the cultural formulations approach is Cultural Factors
Related to Psychosocial Environment and Levels of Functioning, or more simply,
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the self in cultural context (Leong et al., 2007). According to Lewis-Fernandez and
Diaz (2002), this dimension includes a consideration of how culture affects a client’s
perception of stressors and supports in the environment. This means that vocational
counselors need to consider the cultural context in which their client’s vocational
difficulties have arisen.
When considering the vocational development of Asian Americans, an obvious
culturally based stressor is the experience of real and perceived barriers to choosing
and implementing a career. Largely owing to the persistence of the model minority
stereotype, which portrays Asian Americans as academically and financially suc-
cessful, vocational counselors may forget that Asian Americans do in fact face sig-
nificant career barriers. The model minority stereotype itself can serve as a career
barrier by contributing to occupational stereotyping; an early study, for example,
found that European American college students perceived Asian Americans as sig-
nificantly less likely to succeed in sales and significantly more likely to succeed in
computer science, mathematics, or engineering than European Americans (Leong &
Hayes, 1990).
Sue and Okazaki (1990) argued that many Asian Americans are well aware of
these stereotypes and therefore perceive that such mathscience-dependent careers
are more accessible, whereas careers that rely on more social and enterprising skills
(such as sales or broadcasting) are likely to be more closed to Asian Americans.
Given that the careers that are perceived as more open to Asian Americans are those
that are dependent on higher education, Sue and Okazaki argued that education is
thus relatively more functional for Asian Americans than for members of other
groups.
Vocational counselors need to explore the extent to which the model minority
stereotype has influenced the career-related difficulties with which their Asian
American clients present. For example, has the client received messages that mathe-
matics and science related careers are more appropriate for him or her because he or
she is Asian American? Has the client internalized the model minority stereotype to
such an extent that he or she perceives his or her lack of interest or aptitude in math
as a personal failure (cf. Lee, 1994)? The overarching question is the extent to which
external or internalized messages consistent with the model minority stereotype
have affected the client’s occupational self-concept and restricted the possible selves
(Markus & Nurius, 1986; Oyserman & Markus, 1993) the client perceives.
The model minority stereotype is likely to influence the vocational self-concepts
of Asian Americans broadly. Leong and Chou (1994) argued convincingly that less
acculturated Asian Americans would be more likely to experience occupational
stereotyping, in part because they may be more susceptible to stereotyping by the
dominant culture (cf. Leong & Hayes, 1990); in other words, more traditional Asian
Americans may experience more external barriers to what are perceived as nontradi-
tional Asian American careers. In addition, to the extent that less acculturated Asian
Americans have less contact with the dominant culture, they may be exposed to
fewer role models in other careers.
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There is also reason to suspect that in some contexts, more highly acculturated
Asian Americans might also be susceptible to adverse effects of the model minority
stereotype. As summarized by Leong et al. (2007), social psychological theories of
the self in context posit that individuals are more likely to identify as a member of a
particular cultural group when in the minority (Oyserman & Markus, 1993). Asian
Americans who have grown up in a predominantly European American environment
may both be more acculturated, as a result of their frequent contact with the domi-
nant culture, and be more likely to experience their Asian American identity as sali-
ent. Further, the drive for optimal distinctiveness (i.e., the need to optimally balance
affiliation and distinction within a group; Brewer, 1991, 2003) may contribute to
self-stereotyping, such that these individuals are more likely to identify with both
the positive and negative stereotypes associated with their group.
For Asian Americans, family influences are another important aspect of the con-
text in which career development occurs. As discussed above, many Asian cultures
are collectivistic and foster the development of an interdependent self-construal that
defines the self in relation to others and derives self-esteem from the ability to fit in
and maintain social relationships (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). The most salient
social relationships for many Asians are those with one’s family. Thus, to the extent
that Asian Americans are enculturated to these traditional Asian values and sense of
self, they are more likely to make vocational decisions that consider the wishes and
expectations of family members (e.g., Tang et al., 1999).
Cultural Elements in Relationship Between the Individual and the Counselor
The fourth dimension of the cultural formulations approach is Cultural elements of
the relationship between the individual and the counselor. According to Lewis-
Fernandez and Diaz (2002), this dimension includes a consideration of how culture
affects the establishment and maintenance of the working alliance and the effects of
the therapeutic relationship on assessment and treatment. Vocational counselors
need to attend to cultural factors that affect the therapeutic relationship.
To improve therapeutic effectiveness and outcomes, we need to consider cultural
dynamics. The literature suggests that there are many cultural variables that are
important to consider that will vary depending on the situation and the client. These
cultural variables will determine the quality of the therapeutic relationship and ulti-
mately the quality of the therapeutic process. The following paragraphs will center
on discussing how the construct of individualismcollectivism works within the
broader framework of activities, attitudes, values, and behaviors among Asian
Americans to determine the outcome of the career counseling process. There are
other factors that inform the concept of individualismcollectivism (such as moral-
ity, social systems, religious issues, and economic development) but will not be dis-
cussed here, as they are beyond the scope of this article (Hui, 1988; Hui & Triandis,
1986; Triandis, Bontempo, Villareal, Hui, & Lucca, 1988).
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Activities. Persons from individualistic cultures generally do not put much stock in
group activities. For example, family celebrations may be avoided especially if they
conflict with personal goal attainments. However, persons from collectivistic cul-
tures strongly adhere to the norms and values of the group, to the point that they feel
a strong obligation to sacrifice and conform to group expectations (Triandis et al.,
1988). For example, financial support in some Asian families is accomplished
through sacrifice of independence and autonomy by living in joint families. Career
counselors who operate from an individualist worldview may erroneously interpret
such activities as evidencing career immature dependence on the needs and values of
the family. Questioning an Asian American client’s choices from this perspective is
likely to communicate a devaluing of the client and his or her family that is likely to
rupture the therapeutic relationship
Attitudes. Individualistically oriented individuals tend to have ambivalent feelings
toward their in-group members and extended families and at times these can be neg-
ative, whereas collectivistic-oriented individuals tend to have strong positive feel-
ings toward their in-group members. Collectivistic-culture-focused individuals are
also more likely to display positive attitudes in their vertical relationships (e.g.,
Asian Americans show tremendous respect for their elders such as fatherson, etc.)
and in relationships that have power differentials (e.g., boss and employee).
Harmony and cooperation are ideal characteristics. Individualistic-culture-focused
persons display the most positive attitudes in horizontal relationships (spou-
sespouse, friendfriend) and display ambivalent feelings toward individuals in
authority positions. Competition and interpersonal discourse are considered accep-
table in individualistic communities, depending on the relative costs versus pros.
Both of the groups value self-reliance, but persons from collectivistic cultures use
self-reliance as a way not to burden the community even though most extended fam-
ilies would prefer that their children come to them in times of need. Persons from
individualistic cultures use self-reliance as a way to obtain personal goals via inde-
pendence and at times competition can be a valued aspect of that process toward
attaining those personal goals (Triandis et al., 1988)
In terms of the therapeutic relationship, career counselors need to be aware of
how Asian American clients may see the counseling relationship as vertical, with the
counselor in the superordinate or expert role. Deference to the counselor’s opinion
and seeking of advice therefore does not necessarily represent passivity or
dependence on the part of the client but rather a culturally appropriate deference
to the counselor’s legitimate authority (cf. Sue & Sue, 2008).
Values. The following are considered values important for collectivistically
oriented individuals: harmony, face saving, filial piety, modesty, moderation, thrift,
equality of distribution of rewards, and fulfilling other’s needs before one’s own.
Status is defined through ascription, and this suggests importance being placed on
the past and the present. For example, Asian Americans believe that they have
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achieved status through characteristics such as age, family, name, reputation, and so
on. The values important for individualistically focused individuals are freedom,
honesty, social recognition, comfort, hedonism, and equity among group members.
The main goal for persons from individualistic cultures is personal success, and
various techniques such as contracts can be used to ensure that personal success is
attained. For these individuals, status is defined by personal achievement and suc-
cess (Triandis et al., 1988).
Because of the value placed on face saving and maintaining harmony, Asian
Americans may adopt a more indirect style of communication in counseling.
Directly disagreeing with the counselor, for example, could cause the counselor to
lose face or disrupt the therapeutic relationship. The client may therefore rely on
more subtle and indirect forms of communication. Unfortunately, however, many
career counselors with more individualistic values are unable to receive these indi-
rect messages, which can result in misunderstandings. Frustration may also result
when the counselor with individualist values misinterprets the client as being
resistant or evasive (see Sue & Sue, 2008).
Behaviors. Collectivist cultures spend most time demonstrating associative beha-
viors such as giving, helping, and supporting, but these behaviors are limited to
members of the group only, and members outside the group can often be approached
with distrust, hostility, and/or dissociation. Persons from individualistic cultures are
more able and comfortable among strangers; they can function separate from the
group and are able to independently get tasks accomplished. Neither construct sug-
gests an advantage over the other. Each has certain benefits and disadvantages asso-
ciated with the values, norms, attitudes, behaviors, and activities affiliated with each.
Overall, there is a need for autonomy and independence among individualistically
focused persons, whereas collectivistically oriented individuals have a stronger need
for affiliation and nurturance (Hui & Villareal, 1987; Triandis et al., 1988).
When working with an Asian American client, nonAsian American career
counselors may be approached with an initial distrust because they are a member
of the out-group. Asian American clients’ very real experiences with discrimination
and stereotyping may also make them initially distrustful of the therapeutic process,
particularly if the counselor is a member of the dominant European American cul-
ture; therefore, career counselors should be prepared not to demonstrate their com-
petence and trustworthiness by taking the time to build rapport with the client,
respecting cultural differences, and directly acknowledging these differences and
any barriers that might represent. In keeping with many Asian American clients’ pre-
ferences for indirect communication that maintains harmony and preserves face, the
most effective approach may be to address issues of culture indirectly or hypotheti-
cally, for example by noting to clients that, ‘‘Sometimes when there are cultural
differences between the client and counselor, it is not unusual for the client to have
questions or concerns about how well the counselor understands the client’s
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experience. I’m wondering how likely you think it is that such concerns might arise
in our work together?’’ (cf. Sue & Sue, 2008).
Overall Cultural Assessment for Career Counseling and Intervention
The fifth dimension of the cultural formulations approach is Overall cultural assess-
ment for career counseling and intervention. The overall cultural assessment
involves integrating all of the cultural information into an integrated formulation,
which draws from career assessment information and seeks to provide a culturally
appropriate career counseling plan for the client. In this regard, Leong’s integrative
model (1996b) of psychotherapy can provide some guidance in conducting this over-
all cultural assessment. In this model, Leong (1996b) began with a critique that the
unidimensional nature of the major career development theories tend to constrain
and confine the utility and relevance of career counseling services for minority
group members, including Asian Americans, because they are based on an assumed
universality.
Leong’s (1996b) multidimensional and integrative model of cross-cultural coun-
seling and psychotherapy used the tripartite framework of Kluckhohn and Murray
(1950) and proposed that cross-cultural counselors and therapists need to attend to
all three major dimensions of human personality and identity, namely the Universal,
the Group, and the Individual dimensions. The Universal dimension is based on the
knowledge-base generated by mainstream psychology and the ‘‘universal laws’’ of
human behavior that have been identified (e.g., the universal ‘‘fight or flight’’
response in humans to physical threat). The Group dimension has been the domain
of both cross-cultural psychology and ethnic minority psychology and the study of
gender differences. The third and final dimension concerns unique Individual
differences and characteristics. The Individual dimension is more often covered
by behavioral and existential theories, where individual learning histories and per-
sonal phenomenology are proposed as critical elements in the understanding of
human behavior. Leong’s (1996b) integrative model proposes that all three dimen-
sions are equally important in understanding human experiences and should be
attended to by the counselor in an integrative fashion.
The integrative model of cross-cultural counseling proposed by Leong (1996b)
has as one of its fundamental bases the notion that the individual client must exist
at three levels, the Universal, the Group, and the Individual. The problem with much
of the past research in the field of cross-cultural counseling is that the focus has been
on only one of the three levels, ignoring the influence of the other levels in the coun-
seling situation. Leong’s (1996b) integrative model includes all three dimensions of
personality as well as their dynamic interactions, and thus will have better incremen-
tal validity than any model that only focuses on only one of the three levels. Incre-
mental validity consists of greater variance of the criterion being predicted above
and beyond the original set of variables. For example, factoring in a person’s race
in addition to gender will increase our understanding of that person’s behavior with
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regard to a specific outcome than if just gender was accounted for in the equation.
The integrative model for cross-cultural counseling and psychotherapy was con-
ceived to provide a more complex, integrative, and dynamic conception of human
beings.
Instead of developing a whole new approach to career assessment just for Asian
Americans, there are a few variables that can be incorporated into existing career
assessment tools to make the assessment process and outcome more culturally valid.
By using Leong’s (1996b) integrative model of examining Universal, Group, and
Individual dimensions of human personality, one can increase the cultural validity
of our cultural formulations. Cultural validity is concerned with how valid a
construct or measure or model is for other cultural groups above and beyond the tra-
ditional western European groups on which most constructs have been validated.
The cultural formulations approach needs to recognize the importance of using the
personenvironment interaction model rather than just focusing on the person and
ignoring the cultural context variables in the lives of racial and ethnic minorities.
The value of Leong’s (1996b) integrative model is in providing a guideline for
using the proposed cultural formulations approach with Asian Americans. It begins
with recognizing the importance of the multidimensional nature of clients and com-
plex interactions of the Universal, Group, and Individual dimensions in the lives of
our career clients. It moves on to recommend using an integrated multidimensional
approach to examine Universal, Group, or Individual elements that play a significant
role in influencing the career choice, adjustment, and outcomes for our Asian
American clients. Of course, studies are needed to investigate whether the integra-
tion of cultural general and culture-specific variables (e.g., cultural identity) in this
integrative process can lead to more relevant and appropriate cultural formulations
in career assessment and career counseling with Asian American clients.
Case Study
Case Description of Anil Patel
A 20-year-old, single, homosexually oriented Asian Indian American male is
referred to the University Health Center by his academic advisor because he displays
somatic symptoms such as headaches, stomach aches, and fatigue. He is a junior stu-
dent taking classes at a southern university where Christian beliefs are dominant and
where members of ethnic minority groups are rare. His advisor knows that he is a
bright student but that he has lost interest in his school work, lacks motivation, and
is failing in some of his classes. He has told his advisor that his parents want him to
go into medicine and he thinks that that would be a good career choice as then he
would be able to take care of his family, get married, and have a stable future. Anil
has to take the medical entrance examination (MCATs: Medical College Admission
Tests) in a few months and fears that he will fail in them and also let his parents
down, and in turn bring shame and embarrassment to everyone in his family. In his
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free time, he enjoys flying planes and playing musical instruments such as the guitar.
He also volunteers at the local theater and has participated in some of the
community-sponsored plays and events. He enjoys these activities tremendously but
claims that these could not be career options as they are not stable and would not be
acceptable by his family and friends.
Anil’s father owns a local fast food Indian restaurant and his mother is primarily a
housewife who at times helps out at the restaurant. Anil is first-generation American;
his parents came to the United States to fulfill their dreams for a better future for
themselves and their children. Anil has two younger sisters, one who is just entering
college and the other is in high school. Anil’s parents want him to get married and
take care of them and his sisters. He has dated men on and off but does not feel like
he can tell anyone about his relationships. This has further burdened his sense of
well-being. In addition, recent hate crimes toward gay and lesbian persons at the uni-
versity make him feel shameful and fearful about disclosing his same-sex sexual
orientation. He feels out of place at the university and feels that his Asian Indian
identity along with his sexual orientation make him a target for multiple oppressions.
Working With Anil: Applying the Cultural Formulations Approach
To understand Anil’s situation via the career cultural formulations approach using
the DSM-IV (Leong et al., 2007), five basic aspects of this model are used to
conceptualize this case and intervene accordingly: (a) Anil’s cultural identity,
(b) cultural explanations of the career concern, (c) cultural factors related to psycho-
social environment and levels of functioning, (d) cultural elements of the therapeutic
relationship between Anil and the clinician, and (e) overall cultural assessment for
diagnosis and intervention.
Anil’s cultural identity. Several key aspects of Anil’s cultural identity are suggested
in the vignette, across the various levels of self (Oyserman & Markus, 1993).
Oyserman and Markus (1993) describe a model including the various layers of social
embeddedness that are involved in the process of forming the self. Layer 1 of the
model includes factors such as family, friends, and significant others. Anil is con-
cerned about his family’s expectations, his position in the family as he is the only
son and the oldest, and the effect his decision will make on his community. Layer
2, which involves the neighborhood, work, and school are also important factors,
as his university setting is impacting his decision to go with a nontraditional career
role versus being able to express himself in ways where he will not be ostracized. He
may have less motivation to pursue a career in the arts as it could threaten his sense
of connectedness and harmony with others in his community. In addition, the need to
seek a degree that would be both prestigious and beneficial for his family would be
more desirable, as it would emphasize the philosophy of cooperation and community
over competition and individuality. The third layer comprises ethnicity, gender,
religion, and social class; sexual orientation, although ignored by Oyserman and
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Markus, is another cultural identity which Anil’s self (and indeed the self of any
individual) is embedded. This layer of the social context also influences the fact that
Anil is unable to follow some of his interests, as he believes that these would not
progress his movement toward his cultural goals and values. Anil is a first-
generation immigrant and likely has an acculturation level that is different from his
parents; he is also faced with dealing with discrimination issues against the lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) population, all of which may influence his
future career decisions. In addition, the historical, economic, and nationalregional
context (Layer 4) of his university with regard to opinions toward his ethnic group
and toward the LGBT population make it difficult for him to express a career
outcome that would be congruent with all of his desires and passions
Cultural explanations of the career concern. Anil’s career issues can be conceptua-
lized and intervened from various culturally informed practices/models described
above. However, for a therapist to provide culturally informed and appropriate inter-
ventions, Anil’s motives would first have to be understood. Anil needs to strike a
balance between meeting the needs of the community, meeting the family’s expec-
tations, meeting his individual needs and also being able to understand how these
factors intersect with Anil’s motives, his abilities, his resources, and his interests.
The therapist would have to be able to help Anil weigh the extent to which picking
a profession that is expected of him meets his own needs. For example, it is unclear
how conflicted Anil is about pursuing a career in medicine. By exploring with Anil
what a career in medicine would mean to him, the counselor can get a better sense of
whether pursuing a career in medicine would fulfill his personal, private needs
(including, for example, fulfilling his role in the family) or whether this career path
feels in conflict to his personal needs and values. The therapist would also have to be
able to help Anil weigh the extent to which picking a career that he is especially
interested in could be construed as meeting the needs of his family. If Anil’s parents
want him to obtain stable, well-paying employment and believe this is only possible
through a career in medicine, could Anil provide information to his parents that
would persuade them that a career in the arts could also achieve these needs? All
of this would preferably be done in collaboration with input from his family, his
community, and his culture. Preferably a compromised balance can be explored
where Anil’s obligations, expectations, needs, and interests are weighed out and
addressed
Cultural factors related to psychosocial environment and levels of functioning. A factor
closely related to the element of psychosocial environment among Asian Americans
is the fact that their identity is attached to the model minority myth. Social pressures
force them to conform to the stereotypes of pursuing careers that are often science
related. In addition, there is the pressure of conforming to the expectations of the
family. There is also the additional concern regarding discrimination regarding
Anil’s affiliation to an ethnic minority group and to a group where his sexual
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orientation would most likely be ridiculed and not accepted. Clearly, Anil is faced
with a situation of multiple oppressions. This means that the therapist will have to
work on Anil’s drive for optimal distinctiveness, where a balance will need to be
struck between his affiliation and distinction within his groups. A question to
explore will be whether Anil can see long-term advantages worthy of the adjustment
issues that may be associated with the cultural and societal norms he decides to
adhere to and to those he decides to reject. Whatever decisions Anil decides to make
will be associated with some level of distress, suggesting the need for the therapist to
work on establishing new coping strategies and developing resources and support
systems that can help Anil through the pressures from his psychosocial environment
Cultural elements of the therapeutic relationship between Anil and the clinician. This is
an important aspect of the therapy process, as it will significantly influence the out-
come and satisfaction level of the client. In order for a therapeutic alliance to be
made between Anil and the therapist, trust and understanding need to be paramount.
This means exploring the degree of collectivism versus individualism Anil feels
toward his family, community, and group. Without such exploration, the therapist
runs the danger either of imposing an individualist approach and assuming the client
feels conflicted about pursuing his family’s goal of a career in medicine, or of stereo-
typing the client and assuming a collectivist approach and assuming the client should
not explore other possible career paths.
All these factors will need to be investigated within the broader framework of the
self, activities, attitudes, values, and behaviors among Asian Americans to deter-
mine the outcome of the career counseling process. In the end, the therapist needs
to be informed of the Asian cultures, expectations, and values to be able to match
those of the client. More importantly, the therapist needs to be aware of within-
group differences that exist among Asian Americans, and thus, take an approach that
is mindful and thoughtful so that Anil’s individual needs are met within the context
of the larger Asian Indian cultural norm.
Overall cultural assessment for diagnosis and care. Culturally appropriate assessment
for Anil would involve focusing on some of the following factors. Because this client
comes from a collectivistic society, the therapist would need to look at the ‘‘self’’ of
this client as defined within the boundaries of the group. This client values the
expectations of his family and wants to be able to provide for his family in the future.
Thus, some effort needs to be made to mediate the expectations of both the client and
his family. The values, activities, and attitudes of his family would be important to
consider and be accounted for. Because the values of this client’s group are often
associated with harmony, face saving, filial piety, modesty, moderation, thrift,
equality of distribution of rewards, and fulfilling other’s needs before your own,
interventions will need to account for these factors so that the client can achieve
an outcome that is consistent with his values and identity and with those of his
culture
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What at face value may appear to be career indecision should not be interpreted as
a result of Anil’s poor career decision making self-efficacy. This is because Anil’s
cultural background makes this more complex and multifaceted than what it initially
appears to be. Individualized and western-based assessments may only tell part of
the story and may ignore the cultural factors that are salient to clients like Anil.
Imposing an individualist approach and assuming Anil is overly dependent on his
family, has personal interests that differ from those of others, and therefore should
pursue a career that aligns with those personal interests ignores Anil’s group iden-
tities and inappropriately imposes universal assumptions on Anil. However, impos-
ing a collectivist approach and assuming Anil wants to conform to his family’s
expectations, would be fulfilling his private self by doing so, and should not be
encouraged to explore other options ignores Anil’s individual experience that results
from the interaction of his multiple cultural identities, and inappropriately imposes
stereotypical assumptions on Anil. To work effectively with Anil, then, the therapist
needs to use an understanding of Anil’s various cultural group identities to explore
Anil’s own understanding of his problem within his unique context, taking into
account how his multiple identities create a unique psychosocial environment and
using this understanding to establish an effective therapeutic relationship and to pro-
vide culturally informed, individualized treatment.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or
publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this
article.
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Bios
Frederick T. L. Leong, PhD, is a professor of psychology at Michigan State University
(MSU) in the Industrial/Organizational and Clinical Psychology programs. He is also the
director of the Consortium for Multicultural Psychology Research at MSU. He has authored
or coauthored over 120 articles in various psychology journals, 80 book chapters, and also
edited or coedited 10 books. He is the editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Counseling
(SAGE) and the APA Handbook of Multicultural Psychology (APA Books) and also the editor
of the Division 45 Book Series on Cultural, Racial and Ethnic Psychology. He is the founding
editor of the Asian American Journal of Psychology. Dr. Leong is a fellow of the APA (Divi-
sions 1, 2, 5, 12, 17, 45, and 52), APS, Asian American Psychological Association, and the
International Academy for Intercultural Research. His major research interests center around
culture and mental health, cross-cultural psychotherapy (especially with Asians and Asian
Americans), cultural and personality factors related to career choice and work adjustment.
He is the past president of APA’s Division 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic
Minority Issues), Division 12-Section VI (Clinical Psychology of Ethnic Minorities), the
Asian American Psychological Association, the Division of Counseling Psychology of the
International Association of Applied Psychology.
Erin E. Hardin, PhD, received her PhD in counseling psychology from The Ohio State Uni-
versity. She is currently an associate professor of psychology at Texas Tech University. Her
research program focuses on the role of the self in well-being, broadly defined. She is partic-
ularly interested in self-construal, self-discrepancies, and implicit self-theories, especially as
they relate to cultural differences in the self and the role of the self in vocational development.
In her free time, she enjoys playing poker, traveling, and spending time with her partner and
two young daughters.
Arpana ‘‘Annie’’ Gupta is a doctoral student in the counseling psychology program at the
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and is an intern at Harvard/Massachusetts General
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Hospital. She received an MEd in community counseling from Wake Forest University. Her
primary research interests include quantitative research methods such as meta-analysis, struc-
tural equation modeling, and factor analysis; and Asian American (AA) psychology, with a
specific focus on the following: acculturation, racial identity, stereotype thereat, suicide,
health disparities, career, and public policy issues. She is an active member of the profession
and has held the following leadership positions: American Psychological Association (APA)
Division 45 (Society for Ethnic and Minority Psychology) Student Representative, American
Psychological Association of Graduate Students—Committee on Ethnic and Minority Affairs
APAGS-CEMA Regional Diversity Coordinator, and Asian American Psychological Associ-
ation (AAPA) Board Member and Student Representative. Her leisure-time activities include
working out, cooking, painting, traveling, and ballroom dancing.
486 Journal of Career Development 37(1)
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