Acculturation, Psychological, Well-being, and Parenting Among Chinese Immigrant Families

Abstract

Despite the rapidly growing population of Chinese immigrants and recent attention to their parenting, there is minimal research that examines Chinese immigrant parenting and its consequences for young children’s outcomes (Cheah, Leung & Zhou, 2013). The present study aimed to explore potential factors that contribute to the parenting styles of Chinese immigrant mothers. Specifically, mothers’ positive acculturative experiences (greater adoption of American culture) were expected to lead to higher levels of psychological well-being, which, in turn, would lead to a more positive parenting style. Chinese immigrant mothers in Maryland (N = 156) reported on their level of acculturation, psychological well-being, and authoritative parenting style (inductive parenting) and authoritarian parenting style (controlling parenting). As predicted, greater integration into the American culture predicted higher levels of positive psychological well-being which, in turn, predicted mothers’ engagement in more authoritative parenting and lower levels of authoritarian parenting. The implications of these findings for child outcomes and the successful adaptation of these immigrant families are discussed.