Huang, Ching Yu

Lamb, M.E.

Bournemouth University Research Online

1.  AcculturationAcculturation styles of Chinese immigrant mothers2. Self-reported parentingChinese Immigrant mothers’ acculturation, parenting beliefs and parenting behavioursIntroductionThe practices of Chinese parents, representing theworld’s largest ethnic and national group, have attractedincreasing amounts of attention, with considerable focuson migrants trying to maintain their heritage whileadjusting to host cultures. However, Chinese immigrantsto the UK have been studied very little despite theirnumerical prominence.Immigrants’ attitudes towards their sending andreceiving cultures can affect many aspects of their lives,but few studies have included both self-report andobservational data. The goal of this study was to furtherour understanding of Chinese immigrant mothers’Ching-Yu  Soar  Huang    &    Michael  E.  Lamb cysh2@cam.ac.uk mel37@cam.ac.ukResults3.75 3.55 3.013.88 4.11 3.94 3.713.252.66 2.873.33 2.77 2.79 2.9512345language social affiliation activities pride exposure food overallAttitudes to Chinese culture Attitudes to English cultureChinese immigrant mothers’ attitudes towards Chinese and English culture in 6 aspectst =2.91p<.01t =5.68p<.0001t =4.60p<.0001t =8.01p<.0001t =5.89p<.0001t =5.71p<.0001Acculturation style Number   (%)Assimilation 4     (13.3%)Integration 11    (36.7%)Separation 13    (43.3%)Marginalization 2      (6.7%)parenting using both observation and self-report data, andto assess how patterns of acculturation affected theirparental behaviour.Current  StudySample:30 first-generation Chinese immigrant mothers and their 5- to 7-year-old children (15 boys and 15 girls) in and around Cambridge,United Kingdom. Mothers (rather than fathers) were children’smain carers in all families.Maternal education level: 4 (13.3%) with doctorates, 11 (36.7%)with master’s degrees, 13 (43.3%) with undergraduate degrees, 2(6.7%) with secondary school educations.26 (86.7%) originally came from China (P.R.C.), 1 (3.3%) fromHong Kong, 1 (3.3%) from Malaysia, 1 (3.3%) from Taiwan and 1(3.3%) from Vietnam.Measure:4.234.093.811.702.101.671.731.863.162.992.92012345Democratic ParticipationWarmth ReasoningPhysical CoercionVerbalHostility PunitiveEncourageModestyShamingProtection DirectivenessMaternalInvolvementAuthoritative parenting                              Authoritarian parenting                                            Chinese-specific parenting42.82.571.9301234567PositiveControlNegativeControlPositiveAffectNegative AffectObserved Positive Control Reported Authoritarian Attitude to Chinese cultureObserved Negative Control Pearson’s  r = -.488**  p<.01Pearson’s  r = .466** p<.01Reported Chinese Parenting Pearson’s  r = -.408* p<.05Pearson’s  r = .454* p<.053. Observed parentingObserved Positive Control Observed Negative Control Reported AuthoritarianLength of living in the UK Pearson’s  r = .371*  p<.05Pearson’s  r = -.364* p<.05Pearson’s  r = -.393* p<.054.254.065Assimilation Integration Seperation Marginalisation5. Acculturation style and parenting4. Significant correlations amongst self-reported, observed parenting and  attitudes toward Chinese & English culturesCorrelations with length of living in the UKParenting  Style and  Dimension Questionnaire (Wu et al., 2002 )Mother’s self-report 5-point  scaleMeasuring  parenting style and 11 parenting dimensions General Ethnicity Questionnaires English and Chinese version ( Tsai & Ying, 2000 )English version to assess attitudes toward receiving culture (α = .92)Chinese version to assess attitudes toward heritage culture (α = .92)Parent Child Interaction System ( PARCHISY, Deater-Deckard et al.,1997)Assessing parenting behaviours and mother-child dyadic dynamicsResearch Questions1.What are Chinese immigrant mothers’ acculturation strategies?2.How do Chinese immigrant mothers parent their children,assessed using both self-report and observation measures?3.How are Chinese immigrant mothers’ attitudes to English andChinese culture associated with their reported and observedparenting styles?3.393.1301234Mothers' reported autonomy grantingConclusions1. Most (80%) Chinese immigrant mothers in the UK retain strong links to their heritage culture. The length of time they have been living in the UK does not seem to influence their attitudes toward Chinese or English culture.2. Chinese immigrant mothers reported high levels of both authoritative and Chinese style parenting, but low levels of authoritarian parenting. Similar trends were found in their observed parenting: they engaged more in positive than in negative control, and expressed more positive than negative affect.  3. The different acculturation strategies of Chinese immigrant mothers affected their reported autonomy granting, and their overall attitude towards Chinese culture was associated with their reported Chinese specific parenting.  ReferencesRobinson, C. C., Mandleco, B., Olsen, S. F., & Hart, C. H. (2001). The Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ). In B. F. Perlmutter, J. Touliatos, & G. W., Holden (Eds.), Handbook of family measurement techniques: Vol. 3. Instruments & index (pp.319-321). Thousand Oaks: Sage.Tsai, J. L., Ying, Y. W., & Lee, P. A. (2000). The meaning of “being Chinese” and “being American”: Variation among Chinese American young adults. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 31, 302–322.Wu, P., Robinson, C. C., Yang, C., Hart, C. H., Olsen, S. F., Porter, C. L., Jin, S., Wo, J., & Wu, X. (2002). Similarities and differences in mothers’ parenting of preschoolers in China and the United States.  International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26, 481-491.*Multivariate analysis of variance  revealed significant effect of Acculturation style onmothers’ reported autonomy  granting ( F (3,25) = 3.202, p < .05), but no significant effect on observed  parenting.*Length of living in the UK was significantly correlated with mothers’ reported punitive parenting ( F (1,25) = 5.601,  p < .05), and observed negative control ( F (1,25) = 4.478, p< .05).

Chinese Immigrant mothers’ acculturation, parenting beliefs and parenting behaviours.

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