Abstract
The purpose of this research was to identify mechanisms by which cultural cognitions were linked to parenting cognitions and practices in acculturating Chinese communities in the United States. In particular, parenting cognitions (sense of investment and parental satisfaction) were examined in relation to Chinese-American mothers’ cultural cognitions (Chinese and U.S. cultural orientation and both individualism and collectivism) and their role involvement and time involvement with their children. Parenting cognitions were also tested as potential mediators in the relationships between cultural cognitions and parental involvement. Path analyses demonstrated that stronger Chinese cultural orientation was associated with increased parental sense of investment and both time and role involvement. Their U.S. cultural orientation was negatively associated with parental time and role involvement. Collectivism was associated with increased parental investment and parental satisfaction. In addition, parental sense of investment mediated the association between Chinese cultural orientation and parental role involvement. The results demonstrated specific processes by which acculturation was linked to parenting cognitions and practices. The findings have implications for further conceptualizing complex bicultural identifications and their impact within the acculturating Chinese community, as well as understanding more broadly how specific cultural orientations and values manifest in parenting practices across acculturating communities.
Highlights
-
Chinese immigrant mothers with stronger Chinese cultural orientation showed higher level of parental sense of investment and involvement.
-
U.S. cultural orientation was negatively associated with parental involvement.
-
Collectivism was found to be an important predictor of parental sense of investment and satisfaction.
-
Parental role involvement was linked to Chinese cultural orientation through parental sense of investment.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arcia, E., Skinner, M., Bailey, D., & Correa, V. (2001). Models of acculturation and health behaviors among Latino immigrants to the US. Social Science & Medicine, 53(1), 41–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00310-5.
Bao, X. (1997). Chinese Mothers in New York City’s New Sweatshops. The Politics of Motherhood: Activist Voices from Left to Right (pp.126–137). London: University Press of New England.
Boey, K. W. (1999). Cross‐validation of a short form of the CES‐D in Chinese elderly. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 14, 608–617. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1099-1166(199908)14:8<608::aid-gps991>3.0.co;2-z.
Berry, J. W. (2006) Acculturation: a conceptual overview. In M. H. Bornstein L. R. Cote (eds.), Acculturation and Parent-child Relationships. (pp.13–30). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Berry, J. W. (1980). Acculturation as varieties of adaptation. In A. M. Padilla (Ed.), Acculturation: Theory, Models and Some New Findings (pp. 9–25). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Berry, J. W., Bouvy, A., Van de Vijver, R. R., Boski, P., & Schmitz, P. (1994). Acculturation and psychological adaptation: an overview. In Book Title: Journeys into Cross-cultural Psychology Subtitle: Selected Papers from the Eleventh International Conference of the International Association for (p. 222). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Fons_Van_De_Vijver2/publication/235661060_Journeys_into_cross-cultural_psychology/links/58999a4292851c8bb681af8d/Journeys-into-cross-cultural-psychology.pdf#page=127.
Bhawuk, D. P. (2001). Evolution of culture assimilators: toward theory-based assimilators. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 25, 141–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0147-1767(00)00048-1.
Bornstein, M. H. (2017). The specificity principle in acculturation science. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12, 3–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691616655997.
Bornstein, M. H. (2015). Children’s parents. In M. H. Bornstein & T. Leventhal (Eds.), Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science. Vol. 4: Ecological settings and processes in developmental systems. 7th ed. (pp. 55–132). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118963418.childpsy403.
Bornstein, M. H., & Cote, L. R. (2006). Parenting cognitions and practices in the acculturative process. In M. H. Bornstein & L. R. Cote (Eds.), Acculturation and parent–child relationships: Measurement and development (pp. 173–196). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Bornstein, M. H., & Cote, L. R. (2004). Mothers’ parenting cognitions in cultures of origin, acculturating cultures, and cultures of destination. Child Development, 75, 221–235. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00665.x.
Bornstein, M. H., & Cote, L. R. (2003). Cultural and parenting cognitions in acculturating cultures: 2. Patterns of prediction and structural coherence. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 34(3), 350–373. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022103253186.
Bornstein, M. H., Haynes, O. M., Azuma, H., Galperín, C., Maital, S., Ogino, M., & Toda, S. (1998). A cross-national study of self-evaluations and attributions in parenting: Argentina, Belgium, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, and the United States. Developmental Psychology, 34, 662 https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.34.4.662.
Bornstein, M. H., & Lansford, J. E. (2010). Parenting. In M. H. Bornstein (Eds.), Handbook of Cross-Cultural Developmental Science Part 1 Domains of Development across Cultures (pp. 259–278). New York, NY: Psychology Press.
Brislin, R. W. (1970). Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1, 185–216. https://doi.org/10.1177/135910457000100301.
Buhrmester, M., Kwang, T., & Gosling, S. D. (2011). Amazon’s Mechanical Turk: a new source of inexpensive, yet high-quality, data? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6, 3–5. https://doi.org/10.1037/e527772014-223.
Chao, R. K. (2000). The parenting of immigrant Chinese and European American mothers: relations between parenting styles, socialization goals, and parental practices. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 21, 233–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0193-3973(99)00037-4.
Chao, R. K. (1996). Chinese and European American mothers’ beliefs about the role of parenting in children’s school success. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 27, 403–423. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022196274002.
Cheah, C. S., Leung, C. Y., & Zhou, N. (2013). Understanding “tiger parenting” through the perceptions of Chinese immigrant mothers: Can Chinese and US parenting coexist? Asian American Journal of Psychology, 4, 30–40. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031217.
Chen, C., & Uttal, D. H. (1988). Cultural values, parents’ beliefs, and children’s achievement in the United States and China. Human Development, 31, 351–358. https://doi.org/10.1159/000276334.
Chiou, J. S. (2001). Horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism among college students in the United States, Taiwan, and Argentina. The Journal of Social Psychology, 141(5), 667–678. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224540109600580.
Chung, R. H., Kim, B. S., & Abreu, J. M. (2004). Asian American multidimensional acculturation scale: development, factor analysis, reliability, and validity. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 10, 66–80. https://doi.org/10.1037/1099-9809.10.1.66.
Costigan, C. L., & Koryzma, C. M. (2011). Acculturation and adjustment among immigrant Chinese parents: mediating role of parenting efficacy. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58, 183–196. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021696.
Costigan, C. L., & Su, T. F. (2004). Orthogonal versus linear models of acculturation among immigrant Chinese Canadians: a comparison of mothers, fathers, and children. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28, 518–527. https://doi.org/10.1080/01650250444000234.
Cote, L. R., & Bornstein, M. H. (2003). Cultural and parenting cognitions in acculturating cultures: 1. Cultural comparisons and developmental continuity and stability. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 34, 323–349. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022103034003006.
Cote, L. R., Kwak, K., Putnick, D. L., Chung, H. J., & Bornstein, M. H. (2015). The acculturation of parenting cognitions: a comparison of South Korean, Korean immigrant, and European American mothers. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 46, 1115–1130. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022115600259.
Deater-Deckard, K. (2004). Parenting stress. U.S.A: Yale University Press.
Duncan, A. Y. (2008). Differentiation and tradition: parenting tensions within the Chinese-American family (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 3356905).
Dunst, C. J., Jenkins, V., & Trivette, C. M. (2007). Family Support Scale Reliability and Validity. Asheville, NC: Winterberry Press.
Dunst, C. J., Jenkins, V., & Trivette, C. M. (1984). Family support scale: Reliability and validity. Journal of Individual, Family, and Community Wellness, 1, 45–52.
Fang, K., Friedlander, M., & Pieterse, A. L. (2016). Contributions of acculturation, enculturation, discrimination, and personality traits to social anxiety among Chinese immigrants: a context-specific assessment. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 22(1), 58 https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000030.
Farver, J. A. M., & Lee-Shin, Y. (2000). Acculturation and Korean‐American children’s social and play behavior. Social Development, 9, 316–336. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9507.00128.
Gartstein, M. A., Bridgett, D. J., Dishion, T. J., & Kaufman, N. K. (2009). Depressed mood and maternal report of child behavior problems: Another look at the depression–distortion hypothesis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30(2), 149–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2008.12.001.
Greenfield, P. (2000). Three approaches to the psychology of culture: Where do they come from? Where can they go? Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 3, 223–240. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-839x.00066.
Goodnow, J. J. (2010). Culture. In: Bornstein, MH., editor. Handbook of Cultural Developmental Science (pp. 3-20). New York: Psychology Press.
Gomez, C. (2003). The Relationship Between Acculturation, Individualism/Collectivism, and Job Attribute Preferences for Hispanic MBAs. Journal of Management Studies, 40, 1089–1105. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00372.
Han, Y. (2007). A study on parent’s socio-economic investment of children. Korean Journal of Child Care and Education, 50, 165–181.
Harwood, R. L., Schoelmerich, A., Schulze, P. A., & Gonzalez, Z. (1999). Cultural differences in maternal beliefs and behaviors: a study of middle‐class Anglo and Puerto Rican mother‐infant pairs in four everyday situations. Child Development, 70, 1005–1016. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00073.
Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. London: McGraw-Hill.
Holden, G. W. (2014). Parenting: A dynamic perspective. Sage Publications.
Ho, G. W. (2014). Acculturation and its implications on parenting for Chinese immigrants: a systematic review. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 25, 145–158. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043659613515720.
Huntsinger, C. S., Jose, P. E., Liaw, F. R., & Ching, W. D. (1997). Cultural differences in early mathematics learning: a comparison of Euro-American, Chinese-American, and Taiwan-Chinese families. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 21, 371–388. https://doi.org/10.1080/016502597384929.
Jain, A., & Belsky, J. (1997). Fathering and acculturation: Immigrant Indian families with young children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 59, 873–883. https://doi.org/10.2307/353789.
Kalmuss, D., Davidson, A., & Cushman, L. (1992). Parenting expectations, experiences, and adjustment to parenthood: a test of the violated expectations framework. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 516–526.
Kim, B. S., & Abreu, J. M. (2001). Acculturation measurement: Theory, current instruments, and future directions. In J. G. Ponterotto, J. M. Casas, L. A. Suzuki & C. M. Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of Multicultural Counseling. 2nd ed. (pp. 394–424). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Kim, U., & Choi, S. H. (2014). Individualism, collectivism, and child development: a Korean perspective. Cross-cultural Roots of Minority Child Development, 227–258. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315746555-14.
Kojima, H. (1996). Japanese childrearing advice in its cultural, social, and economic contexts. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 19, 373–392. https://doi.org/10.1080/016502596385848.
Ladewig, B. H., & White, P. N. (1984). Dual-earner marriages: The family social environment and dyadic adjustment. Journal of Family Issues, 5, 343–362. https://doi.org/10.1177/019251384005003004.
Leung, J. T., & Shek, D. T. (2011). “All I can do for my child”–development of the Chinese Parental Sacrifice for Child’s Education Scale. International Journal on Disability and Human Development, 10(3), 201–208. https://doi.org/10.1515/IJDHD.2011.037.
Li Chiu, M., Feldman, S. S., & Rosenthal, D. A. (1992). The influence of immigration on parental behavior and adolescent distress in Chinese families residing in two Western nations. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 2, 205–239. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327795jra0203_2.
Li, Z., & Hicks, M. H. R. (2010). The CES-D in Chinese American women: construct validity, diagnostic validity for major depression, and cultural response bias. Psychiatry Research, 175(3), 227–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2009.03.007.
Littlewood, K., Swanke, J. R., Strozier, A., & Kondrat, D. (2012). Measuring social support among kinship caregivers: Validity and reliability of the Family Support Scale. Child Welfare, 91, 59. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Kondrat/publication/262534829_Measuring_social_support_among_kinship_caregivers_validity_and_reliability_of_the_Family_Support_Scale/links/544566880cf2f14fb80efca7/Measuringsocial-support-among-kinship-caregivers-validity-and-reliability-of-the-Family-Support-Scale.pdf.
Lu, Y., & Gatua, M. W. (2014). Methodological considerations for qualitative research with immigrant populations: lessons from two studies. The Qualitative Report, 19, 1–16. Retrieved from https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol19/iss30/3.
MacPhee, D., Benson, J. B., & Bullock, D. (1986, April). Influences on maternal self-perceptions. Paper presented to the fifth biennial International Conference of Infant Studies, Los Angeles, CA.
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (2010). Cultures and Selves. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5, 420–430. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691610375557.
McGillicuddy-DeLisi, A. V. (1982). Parental beliefs about developmental processes. Human Development, 25(3), 192–200.
McBride, B. A., & Mills, G. (1993). A comparison of mother and father involvement with their preschool age children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 8, 457–477.
Meighan, R. (1989). The parents and the schools-Alternative role definitions. Educational Review, 41, 105–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/0013191890410202.
Migration Policy Institute (2015). MPI tabulations of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and Decennial Census.
Moreno, R. P. & Lopez, J. A. (1999). Latina parent involvement: The role of maternal acculturation and education. School Community Journal, 9, 83–102.
Ng, F. F. Y., Pomerantz, E. M., & Lam, S. F. (2007). European American and Chinese parents’ responses to children’s success and failure: implications for children’s responses. Developmental Psychology, 43, 1239. https://doi.org/10.1037/e517202010-002.
Ojeda, L., Flores, L. Y., Meza, R. R., & Morales, A. (2011). Culturally competent qualitative research with Latino immigrants. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 33, 184–203. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739986311402626.
Pan, Y., Gauvain, M., Liu, Z., & Cheng, L. (2006). American and Chinese parental involvement in young children’s mathematics learning. Cognitive Development, 21, 17–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2005.08.001.
Paolacci, G., & Chandler, J. (2014). Inside the Turk: Understanding Mechanical Turk as a participant pool. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23, 184–188. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721414531598.
Parmar, P., Harkness, S., & Super, C. M. (2004). Asian and Euro-American parents’ ethnotheories of play and learning: effects on preschool children’s home routines and school behaviour. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28(2), 97–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/01650250344000307.
Putnam, S. P., & Rothbart, M. K. (2006). Development of short and very short forms of the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire. Journal of Personality Assessment, 87, 102–112. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa8701_09.
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401. https://doi.org/10.1177/014662167700100306.
Ren, R. X., & Hyun, O. K. (2002). A comparative study of Korean and Yan Bian Korean-Chinese mothers’ parental role satisfaction and child-rearing practices. Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association, 40, 23–37.
Rudy, D., & Grusec, J. E. (2006). Social cognitive approaches to parenting representations. O. Mayseless (Ed.) In Parenting representations. Theory, research, and clinical implications (p. 79–107). U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
Sam, D. L (2006). Acculturation: Conceptual background and core components. In D. L. Sam & J. W. Berry (eds.) The Cambridge Handbook of Acculturation Psychology. (pp. 11–26). New York, NY, US: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511489891.005 .
Seybold, J., Fritz, J., & Macphee, D. (1991). Relation of social support to the self‐perceptions of mothers with delayed children. Journal of Community Psychology, 19, 29–36. https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6629(199101)19:1<29::AID-JCOP2290190104>3.0.CO;2-4.
Suh, E. E., Kagan, S., & Stumpf, N. (2009). Cultural competence in qualitative interview methods with Asian immigrants. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 20, 194–201. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043659608330059.
Taber, K. S. (2018). The use of Cronbach’s alpha when developing and reporting research instruments in science education. Research in Science Education, 48, 1273–1296. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-016-9602-2.
Tata, S. P., & Leong, F. T. (1994). Individualism-collectivism, social-network orientation, and acculturation as predictors of attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among Chinese Americans. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 41, 280–287. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.41.3.280.
Taylor, P. (2012). Rise of Asian Americans. Washington, D. C.: Pew Social and Demographic Trends. Retrieved from https://www.pewsocialtrends.org.
Thoemmes, F. (2015). Reversing arrows in mediation models does not distinguish plausible models. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 37, 226–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/01973533.2015.1049351.
Triandis, H. C. (1995). Individualism & Collectivism. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Triandis, H. C., & Gelfland, M. J. (1998). Converging evidence of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 118–128. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.1.118.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). (2017). DACA Population Data.
Wang, Y. L., Shi, K., & Huang, X. (2003). A confirmatory study on the structure of individualism and collectivism in China. Psychological Science, 26, 996–999.
Ward, C. (2008). Thinking outside the Berry boxes: new perspectives on identity, acculturation and intercultural relations. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 32, 105–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2007.11.002.
Wu, D. Y. H. (1996). Parental control: psychocultural interpretations of Chinese patterns of socialization. In S. Lau (Ed.), Growing up the Chinese Way: Chinese Child and Adolescent Development (pp. 1–28). Hong Kong: Chinese University Press.
Xiang, Y., Hoot, J., & Raisor, J. (2017). Parenting stress and social support among cross-national and traditional families. Journal of Family Diversity in Education, 2, 26–41.
Xu, Y., Farver, J. A., Zhang, Z., Zeng, Q., Yu, L., & Cai, B. (2005). Mainland Chinese parenting styles and parent-child interaction. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29, 524–531. https://doi.org/10.1080/01650250500147121.
Yoshikawa, H., Mistry, R., & Wang, Y. (2016). Advancing methods in research on Asian American children and youth. Child Development, 87(4), 1033–1050. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12576.
Zhao, Q. (2013). Relation-centred ethics in confucius and aquinas. Asian Philosophy, 23, 291–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/09552367.2013.808848.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee (Syracuse University Institutional Review Board, reference number 18-060) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sun, K., Mulvaney, M.K. Parental Involvement in Chinese Immigrant Mothers: The Influences of Cultural and Parenting Cognitions. J Child Fam Stud 31, 169–184 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02158-0
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02158-0