Authoritative parenting among immigrant Chinese mothers of preschoolers

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2013-07-28

Department

Program

Citation of Original Publication

Charissa S. L. Cheah et al., Authoritative Parenting Among Immigrant Chinese Mothers of Preschoolers, J Fam Psychol. 2009 Jun; 23(3): 311–320. doi: 10.1037/a0015076

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©American Psychological Association, 2009. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission. The final article is available, upon publication, at : 10.1037/a0015076.

Subjects

Abstract

The goals of this study were: (a) to examine authoritative parenting style among Chinese immigrant mothers of young children, (b) to test the mediational mechanism between authoritative parenting style and children’s outcomes; and (c) to evaluate 3 predictors of authoritative parenting style (psychological well-being, perceived support in the parenting role, parenting stress). Participants included 85 Chinese immigrant mothers and their preschool children. Mothers reported on their parenting style, psychological well-being, perceived parenting support and stress, and children’s hyperactivity/attention. Teacher ratings of child adjustment were also obtained. Results revealed that Chinese immigrant mothers of preschoolers strongly endorsed the authoritative parenting style. Moreover, authoritative parenting predicted increased children’s behavioral/attention regulation abilities (lower hyperactivity/inattention), which then predicted decreased teacher rated child difficulties. Finally, mothers with greater psychological well-being or parenting support engaged in more authoritative parenting, but only under conditions of low parenting stress. Neither well-being nor parenting support predicted authoritative parenting when parenting hassles were high. Findings were discussed in light of cultural- and immigration-related issues facing immigrant Chinese mothers of young children.