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Relations between parent-child acculturation differences and adjustment within immigrant Chinese families
Catherine L Costigan1, Daphné P Dokis
1University of Victoria, BC, Canada. costigan@uvic.ca
Child Development
|September 27, 2006
Summary
Parent and child acculturation in Chinese domains impacts family adjustment. When parents strongly embrace Chinese culture, children’s lower Chinese orientation correlates with poorer adjustment outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Immigration Studies
Background:
- Acculturation significantly influences immigrant family dynamics and child development.
- Understanding the interplay between parental and child acculturation is crucial for supporting adolescent adjustment in new cultural contexts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between parent-child acculturation patterns and adolescent adjustment among Chinese immigrant families in Canada.
- To explore how acculturation in public and private domains, across both Chinese and Canadian cultures, affects family and child outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Examined 91 immigrant Chinese families with early adolescents (average age 12).
- Assessed acculturation in public (e.g., language use) and private (e.g., values) domains for both Chinese and Canadian cultures.
- Analyzed the interactions between parent and child acculturation and their association with adjustment indicators (conflict intensity, depressive feelings, achievement motivation).
Main Results:
- Parent-child acculturation interactions in Canadian domains showed minimal association with adjustment.
- Interactions within Chinese cultural domains were more strongly linked to adjustment.
- Mother-child interactions in Chinese public domains and father-child interactions in the Chinese private domain predicted adjustment.
- A consistent finding was that when parents maintained a strong Chinese cultural orientation, children with lower Chinese orientation reported lower adjustment.
Conclusions:
- Acculturation dynamics, particularly within the heritage culture, play a significant role in adolescent adjustment for immigrant families.
- Parental cultural orientation acts as a moderator, influencing the impact of child acculturation on adjustment.
- Interventions aimed at supporting immigrant families should consider the nuanced interplay of acculturation across different domains and cultural contexts.
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