Chinese parenting and children's compliance to adults: a cross-cultural comparative study

The current study examined the parenting beliefs and practices of Taiwanese, Chinese immigrant (all first-generation immigrants in the UK) and English mothers, and the compliance of their young children (aged 5–7), in order to elucidate the effects of child temperament, culture and acculturation strategies on reported parenting beliefs and practices, observed parental behaviour, child behaviour, mother–child interaction dynamics and children’s compliance. The data were collected from a total of 90 families with 5- to 7-year-old children in Taiwan and the UK. Child temperament, parenting beliefs and practices and acculturation were assessed using questionnaires, and parental behaviour, child behaviour, dyadic interaction dynamics and child compliance were assessed using observation in two tasks (Etch-A-Sketch and clean-up). Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with the Chinese immigrant parents to gather more information regarding their acculturation and parenting. Cultural differences were found between groups in reported as well as observed parenting and children’s compliance. The Taiwanese mothers reported greater use of Chinese-specific parenting and physical coercion and were observed to use more (gentle and assertive) physical intervention than both the Chinese immigrant and English mothers. The Chinese immigrant mothers reported a higher degree of child autonomy than the Taiwanese and English mothers, and also reported cultivation of their children’s independence. The stronger the Chinese immigrant mothers' affiliation with Chinese culture, the more they reported adopting the Chinese-specific parenting style; the longer they had been in the UK, the less they reported authoritarian parenting. The English mothers were rated as more responsive and less negatively controlling than the Chinese immigrant mothers; they also showed more positive affect than both the Chinese immigrant and Taiwanese mothers. There were few cultural differences between groups in the children’s behaviour, although Taiwanese children showed more situational compliance than Chinese immigrant children. Further regression analyses showed that child characteristics, such as child age and temperament, affected the parents’ and children’s behaviour as well as dyadic interactional dynamics. Committed compliance, situational compliance and opposition were associated with different predictors, suggesting that they are qualitatively different and are associated with different developmental processes. Committed compliance may develop as children grow older, mediated by surgency; situational compliance, on the other hand, was associated with authoritarian parenting and mothers’ use of negative control, which varied by culture. Child opposition was predicted by neither child characteristics nor parenting. These findings provide valuable insights into parenting and children’s compliance in different cultural contexts. The results underscore the importance of looking at human development from a holistic perspective. The active role that children play in shaping their developmental process, their parents’ parenting and the culture they live in should all be taken into account when attempting to understand their development.This work was supported by Cambridge Overseas Trust, King's College Cambridge,and the Ministry of Education in Taiwan

Associations between child maltreatment, PTSD, and internet addiction among Taiwanese students

AbstractThis study examines (1) the associations between multiple types of child maltreatment and Internet addiction, and (2) the mediating effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on these associations. We collected data from a national proportionately stratified random sample of 6233 fourth-grade students in Taiwan in 2014. We conducted bivariate correlations and sets of multiple regression analyses to examine the associations between multiple types of maltreatment (5 types in total) and Internet addiction, and to identify the mediating role of PTSD. The results reveal that being male and experiencing abuse (psychological neglect, physical neglect, paternal physical violence, sexual violence) were associated with increased risk among children of developing PTSD and Internet addiction. Moreover, PTSD mediated the associations between multiple types of maltreatment (except maternal physical violence) and Internet addiction. This study demonstrates (1) the effects of multiple types of maltreatment on the PTSD and Internet addiction of children and (2) the importance of early prevention and intervention in addressing related public-health concerns

Physical Conditions and Special Needs as Risk Factors of Peer Victimization Among School Children in Taiwan

Students with physical symptoms and diseases may be at an increased risk of peer victimization. This study examined the associations of several medical conditions (obesity, asthma, allergy, epilepsy, and diabetes) with experience of physical, verbal, and relational victimization among children. A sample of 6,233 fourth-grade students from 314 elementary schools in Taiwan was recruited for the analysis. The mean age of the sample was 10.5, with an even distribution of gender (50.3% male and 49.7% female). Children with asthma, allergy, and epilepsy reported higher frequencies of peer victimization. Those who took daily medications or received treatment were also at a higher risk of being victimized. Diabetes and obesity were not found to be associated with peer victimization. The findings highlighted that children with physical conditions suffer maltreatment from peers. Sensitivity training should be provided to school health professionals, so they can evaluate the risk of victimization among students with special needs during assessment

Internet Addiction: A Closer Look at Multidimensional Parenting Practices and Child Mental Health

This study aimed to examine how both psychosocial variables (authoritative, authoritarian, and shaming, and parent-child relationships) and psychological symptoms were associated with Internet addiction, while controlling for the sociodemographic variable (child gender). A national proportionately stratified random sample of 6,233 fourth-grade primary school students in Taiwan participated in the study. Hierarchical regression models were performed to test the research hypotheses. The results show that psychological symptoms, authoritarian parenting, and shaming were positively associated with Internet addiction, whereas authoritative parenting and positive parent-child relationship were negatively associated with Internet addiction. Girls had lower levels of Internet addiction than boys. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the direct effects of child mental health status, multidimensional parenting practices, and family relationship on Internet addiction in children, and the importance of early individual- and family-based prevention and intervention in addressing related public health concerns of Internet addiction in children. The cultural perspectives of parenting and implications of these findings are discussed