Contributions of Parental Control and Self-Regulation Skills to Korean American Children’s Behavioral Outcomes

Abstract

Mothers’ use of structured and reason-based control strategies has been found to be associated with their children’s better self-regulation, thereby leading to better behavioral outcomes, suggesting mothers’ positive control can promote children’s autonomy by granting opportunities to make decisions within the appropriate structure. Although perceived as members of a model minority, Korean-American children can be at risk for experiencing social maladjustment and externalizing behavioral problems. Thus, we examined: (1) the association between Korean-American mothers’ use of parental control and their preschool-aged children’s overall aggressive behaviors, and (2) the mediating role of their children’s self-regulation in the association between parental control and children’s aggressive behaviors. Korean-American mothers with preschool-aged children (N=38) reported their use of parental control in a semi-structured open-ended interview. Children were given the task of completing a puzzle in a box, and their self-regulative behaviors were recorded and coded. Children’s aggressive behaviors were reported by their teachers. Results revealed that children’s lack of self-regulation fully mediated the effects of parental control on children’s aggressive behaviors. Specifically, higher levels of parental reasoning and negotiation were associated with better self-regulation skills, which in turn were associated with children’s lower aggressive behaviors. The significance and implications of these findings for Korean-American children’s behavioral outcomes are discussed.