Language discrimination, interpersonal shame, and depressive symptoms among international students with Chinese heritage: collective self-esteem as a buffer

ABSTRACT Although perceived language discrimination (PLD) is associated with negative psychological outcomes among international students with Chinese heritage, existing research on PLD is scarce. This study aims to address this gap. Given that many Chinese cultures are characterized as shame-based, we examined whether PLD would be associated with interpersonal shame (i.e. mediator) which in turn would predict depressive symptoms. We also investigated whether collective self-esteem, a culturally relevant variable, would buffer against the negative effects of PLD on interpersonal shame and attenuate the mediation effect from PLD through interpersonal shame to depressive symptoms (i.e. moderated mediation). This cross-sectional study utilized self-report surveys and collected data from 222 international students with Chinese heritage from different regions of the U.S. The results showed that interpersonal shame mediated the association between PLD and depressive symptoms. In addition, membership collective self-esteem moderated the association between PLD and interpersonal shame. The results also indicated that the mediation effects from PLD to depression through interpersonal shame were significant at low and moderate levels but not significant at high levels of membership collective self-esteem. Findings highlight the protective role of membership collective self-esteem for those who have experienced PLD and are struggling with interpersonal shame and depressive symptoms.