list - Most efficient way to check if an array contains a value in Java?

I have a similar logic for a method in a Java Class (not the real code, this is simplified for example purposes).

private Boolean method(Boolean booleanValue, SomeObject object) {
  return booleanValue ? Arrays.asList(object.getStringsArray()).contains("string") : false;
}

A collaborator who assigned himself to check the PR gave the following comment:

This is inefficient. It is creating a new data structure only to iterate it and check if there is a certain string.

The getStringsArray() method returns a String[], so will using a for-loop be better than Arrays.asList()?

Which way is more efficient to achieve this?

Answer

Your co-worker is incorrect when they assert that your method is creating a new data structure.

If you look at the API for Arrays.asList(), it says that it

Returns a fixed-size list backed by the specified array.

There is no reason to write your own code to iterate over the array when you can just wrap a List around it, and use its built-in methods.