Longitudinal linkages among parent–child acculturation discrepancy, parenting, parent–child sense of alienation, and adolescent adjustment in Chinese immigrant families.

Abstract

Parent-child acculturation discrepancy is a risk factor in the development of children in immigrant families. Using a longitudinal sample of Chinese immigrant families, the current study examined how unsupportive parenting and parent-child sense of alienation sequentially mediate the relationship between parent-child acculturation discrepancy and child adjustment during early and middle adolescence. Acculturation discrepancy scores were created using multilevel modeling to take into account the interdependence among family members. Structural equation models showed that, during early adolescence, parent-child American orientation discrepancy is related to parents’ use of unsupportive parenting practices; parents’ use of unsupportive parenting is related to increased sense of alienation between parents and children, which in turn is related to more depressive symptoms and lower academic performance in Chinese American adolescents. These patterns of negative adjustment established in early adolescence persist into middle adolescence. This mediating effect is more apparent among father-adolescent dyads than among mother-adolescent dyads. In contrast, parent-child Chinese orientation discrepancy does not demonstrate a significant direct or indirect effect on adolescent adjustment, either concurrently or longitudinally. The current findings suggest that early adolescence is more susceptible to the negative effects of parent-child acculturation discrepancy; they also underscore the importance of fathering in Chinese immigrant families.

Risk Factors of Suicide and Depression among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Youth: A Systematic Literature Review

“…57 Crane et al found that greater differences between acculturation of parents and adolescents were associated with greater levels of depression among adolescents, 58 and Kim et al found that a discrepancy in parent-child American orientation was associated with depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents with foreign-born parents. 59,60 …”

Parent–Child Acculturation Profiles as Predictors of Chinese American Adolescents’ Academic Trajectories

“…Prior work has highlighted the utility of examining acculturation in early adolescence: during that period of time, it has marked effects on students’ later socioemotional wellbeing and achievement (Kim, Chen, Wang, Shen, & Orozco-Lapray, 2013). It is also important to examine the extent to which early acculturation influences achievement trajectories, as academic performance is often subject to substantial changes (typically declines) during adolescence (Eccles et al, 1993; Gutman, Sameroff, & Cole, 2003).…”

“…Previous studies have documented lower academic achievement among adolescents experiencing parent-child acculturation discrepancy, possibly due to disrupted family functioning (Kim, Chen, Wang, Shen, & Orozco-Lapray, 2013). However, there is also evidence suggesting the importance of distinguishing among different types of acculturation dissonance (Telzer, 2010).…”

The Life Satisfaction of Asian Americans: Evidence from the U.S. General Social Survey, 1972 to 2010

“…Second-generation Asian American adults may be more likely to be unhappy if they have strained social relations with their parents or have had a psychologically depressing (though not necessarily economically deprived) childhood (Kim, Chen, Wang, Shen, & Orozco-Lapray, 2013). As noted earlier, conflict between first-generation and second-generation Asian Americans is seen as being common and is often related to the high educational expectations of Asian American immigrant parents.…”