Cross-Cultural Experiences of Immigrant Chinese Mothers Caring forTheir Children in Japanese Society:The Process of Coping with Difficulties

Abstract

Objective To describe the di culties faced by immigrant Chinese mothers caring for their children in Japan and their process of coping with cross-cultural experiences.Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews of 8 Chinese-Japanese mothers living in the Tokyo metropolitan area who had given birth to and were caring for their children in Japan. A qualitative descriptive research method was used. Results We found 3 categories of di culties that these women faced repeatedly 1 Could not imagine how to be a Japanese mother 2 Were confronted by a wall of a di erent culture 3 Lost their sense of self in cross-cultural experiences. We found 1 common category of coping We found 1 category of outcomes from coping with di culties ey found new identities as mothers with both Japanese and Chinese cultural characteristics.Conclusion We found that they coped with their di culties by observational learning and imitation, and that this result resembles the stage theory of culture shock proposed by Pedersen that is, Chinese-Japanese mothers experienced intercultural adjustment and mothering together over time, because caring for their children forced them to acclimate to their new culture.

Parenting Stress of Chinese Mothers Living and Child-Rearing in Japan and Related Factors

“…Therefore, it is inferred that the mothers in this study are not positive about using social support for parenting in Japan and think they should manage it within the family or relatives. As reported in studies [10] [11]…”

“…Furthermore, it has been shown that Chinese mothers in Japan feel a bilateral cultural dilemma due to the lack of respect for the culture of their home country [31]. Additionally, they experience difficulties due to the inability to adapt past experiences and coping behaviors fostered in China to Japan [10], indicating that the lack of respect for their culture significantly impacted the mothers' parenting stress in this study.…”

“…They know about but do not use supportive programs such as lifestyle counseling services and exchange events [34]. In mainland China, information and consultation services about social support for childcare are rare, and because of this, Chinese people tend to be less active in seeking social support [10]. The mothers in this study are possibly not active in using social support for their children's care but rather think that it should be handled within the family.…”

“…In previous studies on parenting stress, it has been shown that maternal characteristics, such as the mother's age [6], employment status [7], social support, such as how much support is available for parenting, and child characteristics, such as the child's personality [8] [9], affect parenting stress. Although there have been few studies focusing on Chinese mothers living in Japan, it has been reported that they are more likely to suffer from the distress of raising their children in a culture different from that of China [10] [11]. Furthermore, the distress leads to parenting stress, and even if they would no longer have problems in daily conversation in Japanese, they would still have difficulties in reading and writing.…”