Ethnic and gender differences in parental expectations and life stress

Abstract

This paper presents ethnic and gender differences in reported stressful life events (SLE) in a sample of 70 Southeast Asian (SEA) adolescents. The ranking of five SLEs with the highest percentage reporting Some or A Lot of stress showed differences in qualitative life events among Cambodian, Hmong, and Vietnamese adolescents. Cambodians ranked strict discipline in social life by parents as most stressful. Hmong and Vietnamese adolescents reported doing house chores and academic pressure to do well, respectively, as most stressful. In other stressor domains, academic performance (i.e. studying for a test, personal pressure to get good grades) and parental expectations (i.e. high expectations from parents to do well, fear of failure to meet family expectations) show similarity across ethnic groups. T-tests show that female adolescents reported higher stress on eight out of 10 life events females than males. Personal pressure to get good grades had the highest percentage mean for females. For males, worrying about where to live or getting a job after graduation were the two most endorsed stressful life events. Important implications for social work practice in schools and with parents in SEA families are discussed. Further research into parental involvement and family distress is also recommended.

Exploring stressful live events on Indonesian adolescents

“…According to Seiffge-Krenke (in Yeo, Ang, Chong, & Huan, 2007) Lee, & Khoi, 1996) try to explain from biological's and psychological's perspective. Females are at a greater risk for anxiety due to sex-linked genetic and/or biological factors such as hormonal changes and effects of androgen on the brain.…”

“…Cambodian, Laos, and Vietnamese teenagers, the biggest SLE is the strict social discipline imposed by the parents; overwhelming household chores, and personal pressure to get good grades (DuongTran, Lee, & Khoi, 1996). Meanwhile, Turkish teenagers suffer SLE such as financial problems; dissatisfactions with social activities; anxiety about the future;…”

“…The main SLE domain in the Southeast Asian teenagers is academic performance as well as family and social relationship (DuongTran, Lee, & Khoi, 1996). Chang (2008) found that 21,3% of Chinese college students in Taiwan were reported experiencing academic stressors in the month before, 16,2% reported interpersonal stressor, and 31,8% reported having experienced personal or emotional stressors.…”

“…As a consequence of the developmental transition, stressful life changes likely produce a higher-risk situation for young individuals (Coelho, Yuan, & Ahmed in DuongTran, Lee, & Khoi, 1996;Reynolds, O'Koon, Papademetriou, Szczygiel, & Grant, 2001). The more stress experienced, the higher the level depressive symptoms reported (Ng & Hurry, 2011).…”

“…This reflects the interactive nature between experiencing stressful events and individual characteristics and states. Empirical data have shown an increasing relationship between adolescent psychological and physical health problems (DuongTran, Lee, & Khoi, 1996). Identifying mechanisms linking life stress to negative mental health outcomes among adolescents is essential for public health professionals to develop preventive interventions to reduce the prevalence of stress-related psychiatric morbidity (McLaughlin & Hatzenbuehler, 2009).…”