Skip to main content

Roles and Responsibilities: A Critical Exploration of Chinese Fathers in Canada and China

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Advances in Immigrant Family Research ((ADIMFAMRES))

Abstract

This chapter examines contemporary Chinese families, with a specific focus on fathers. It is only recently that researchers have paid greater attention to ethnic minority fathers, using fathers instead of mothers and children as the informants. With the recent public interest in Chinese families, it becomes imperative that researchers are critical about the social, cultural, political, and economic contexts that may influence family dynamics and relationships. My studies will support the notion that immigrant Chinese and Mainland Chinese fathers are actively engaged in their children’s lives and hold a more egalitarian, child-centered approach to parenting. Confucian teachings are no longer a strong influence on families.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abbott, D., Zheng, F. M., & Meredith, W. (1992). An evolving redefinition of the fatherhood role in the People’s Republic of China. International Journal of Sociology of the Family, 29, 45–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauer, J., Feng, W., Riley, N. E., & Zhao, X. (1992). Gender inequality in urban China: Education and employment. Modern China, 18, 83–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. W., Kim, R., Power, S., Young, M., & Bujaki, M. (1989). Acculturation attitudes in plural societies. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 38, 185–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canadian Multiculturalism Act. (1988). Canadian Multiculturalism Act. Retrieved on March 4, 2013 from http://www.solon.org/Statutes/Canada/English/C/CMA.html.

  • Chao, R., & Tseng, V. (2002). Parenting of Asians. In M. H. Bornstein (Series Ed.), Handbook of parenting: Vol. 4, Social conditions and applied parenting (2nd ed., pp. 59–93). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, X., & Chen, H. (2010). Child’s socioemotional functioning and adjustment in the changing Chinese society. In R. K. Silbereisen & X. Chen (Eds.), Social change and human development: Concepts and results (pp. 209–226). London, UK: Sage.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, X., & He, H. (2004). The family in mainland China: Structure, organization, and significance for child development. In J. L. Roopnarine & U. P. Gielen (Eds.), Families in global perspective (pp. 51–62). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, X., Liu, M., & Li, D. (2001). Parental warmth, control, and indulgence and their relations to adjustment in Chinese children: A longitudinal study. Journal of Family Psychology, 14, 401-419. doi: 10.1037/0893-3200.14.3.401

    Google Scholar 

  • Chi. (1989). Determinants of family formation in Taiwan. Population and Development Program Working Paper Series, Cornell University: 1,17.

    Google Scholar 

  • China Government. (2012). V. Women and education. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from http://www.china.org.cn/e-white/20050824/5.htm.

  • Chinese National Bureau of Statistics. (2001). Fifth bulletin of national population census (no. 1). Retrieved March 31, 2003 from http://stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/200203310083.htm.

  • Chuang, S. S. (2006). Taiwanese-Canadian mothers’ beliefs about personal freedom for their young children. Social Development, 15, 520–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chuang, S. S. (2009). Transformation and change: Parenting in Chinese societies. In J. Mancini & K. A. Roberto (Eds.), Pathways of development: Explorations of change (pp. 191–206). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chuang, S. S., & Gielen, U. (2009). Understanding immigrant families from around the world: Introduction to the special issue. Journal of Family Psychology, 23, 275–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chuang, S. S., & Moreno, R. P. (Eds.). (2008). On new shores: Understanding immigrant fathers in North America. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chuang, S. S., & Moreno, R. P. (Eds.). (2011). Immigrant children: Change, adaptation, and cultural transformation. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chuang, S. S., Moreno, R. P., & Su, Y. (2012). Moving fathers from the “sidelines”: An exploration of contemporary Chinese fathers in Canada and China. In K. B. Chan & N. C. Hung (Eds.), Advances in research in Chinese families: A global perspective (pp. 343–357). New York, NY: Springer Science+Business Media.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chuang, S. S., & Su, Y. (2008). Transcending Confucian teachings on fathering: A sign of the times or acculturation? In S. S. Chuang & R. P. Moreno (Eds.), On new shores: Understanding immigrant fathers in North America (pp. 129–150). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chuang, S. S., & Su, Y. (2009a). Do we see eye to eye?: Chinese mothers’ and fathers’ parenting beliefs and values for toddlers in Canada and China. Journal of Family Psychology, 23, 331–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chuang, S. S., & Su, Y. (2009b). Says who? Decision-making and conflicts among Chinese-­Canadian and Mainland Chinese parents of young children. Sex Roles, 60, 549–558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chuang, S. S., & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (Eds.). (2009). From shore to shore: Understanding fathers, mothers, and children in North America [Special issue]. Sex Roles, 60(7/8).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cline, T., Crafter, S., O’Dell, L., & de Abreu, G. (2011). Young people’s representations of language brokering. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 32, 207–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Comparison of social status between Chinese and American females. (1995, September 3). Beijing Daily, 3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Croll, E. J. (1994). From heaven to earth: Images and experiences of development in China. London, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engle, J. W. (1984). Divorce in the People’s Republic of China: Analysis of a new law. Contemporary Family Therapy, 6, 192–204. doi:10.1007/BF00926931.

    Google Scholar 

  • Este. D. (2013). Social support in the lives of Sudanese refugee and Russian immigrant fathers in Canada. In S. S. Chuang & C. S. Tamis-LeMonda (Eds.), Gender roles in immigrant families. New York, NY: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feng, H. (2007). On the relations between the learning tactics of middle-school students and the cultivation modes of parents. Journal of China West Normal University (Philosophy & Social Sciences), 29, 83-86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenhalgh, S. (1994). Controlling births and bodies in village China. American Ethnologist, 21, 3–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hillier, S. (1988). Women and population control in China: Issues of sexuality, power, and control. Feminist Review, 29, 101–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ho, D. Y. F. (1987). Fatherhood in Chinese culture. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The father’s role: Cross-­cultural perspectives (pp. 227–245). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ho, D. Y. F. (1996). Filial piety and its psychological consequences. In M. H. Bond (Ed.), The handbook of Chinese psychology (pp. 155–165). London, UK: London University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Honig, E. (2000). Iron girls revisited: Gender and the politics of work in the cultural revolution. In B. Gutwisle & G. Henderson (Eds.), Re-drawing the boundaries of work, households, and gender (p. 30). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsu, F. L. K. (1967). Under the ancestors’ shadows: Kinship, personality, and social mobility in village China (Rev. and exp. ed.). New York, NY: Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu, P. S. (1996). Xiaojing yizhu (Translated notes on The book of filial piety). Beijing, China: Zhonghua Book Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, C., & Trickett, E.J. (2005). Immigrant adolescents behaving as culture brokers: A study of families from the former Soviet Union. The Journal of Social Psychology, 145, 405-427.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kam, J. A. (2011). The effects of language brokering frequency and feelings on Mexican: Heritage youth’s mental health and risky behaviors. Journal of Communication, 61, 455-475.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, U., & Park, Y.-S. (2006). The scientific foundation of indigenous and cultural psychology: The transnational approach. In U. Kim, Y.-S. Yang, & K.-K. Hwang (Eds.), Indigenous and cultural psychology: Understanding people in context (pp. 27–48). New York, NY: Springer Science + Business Media.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kurasaki, K. S., Okazaki, S., & Sue, S. (2002). Asian American mental health: Assessment theories and methods. New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, M. E. (Ed.). (2010). The role of the father in child development (5th ed.). New York, NY: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Legge, J. (Trans.). (1879). The Hsiao Ching [Classic of filial piety]. In F. Max Muller (Ed.), The sacred books of the East (Vol. 3, pp. 465–488). Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Lei, L., Chen, Y., & Xiong, X. (1993). History of Chinese female education. Wuhan, China: Wuhan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu, M., & Zheng, Y. (1995). The women’s movement and women’s liberation in China. In J. Min (Ed.), The chalice and the blade in Chinese culture (pp. 479–528). Beijing, China: China Social Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lui, S. (2003). Facilitating students’ development of autonomy in school education reform. Modern Education Science, 166, 27–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lui, J., & Carpenter, M. (2005). Trends and issues of women’s education in China. The Clearing House, 78, 277–281.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mao, L. (1984). On Chinese education history. Beijing, China: Educational Science Publisher.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, P. J., Wiley, A., Fung, H., & Liang, C. (1997). Personal storytelling as a medium of socialization in Chinese and American families. Child Development, 68, 557–568.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2008). China statistical yearbook 2007. Retrieved on July 17, 2008 from http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2007/indexee.htm.

  • Pinto, K., & Coltrane, S. (2013). Understanding structure and culture in the division of household labor for Mexican immigrant families. In S. S. Chuang & S. C. Tamis-LeMonda (Eds.), Gender roles in immigrant families. New York, NY: Springer Science + Business Media.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pleck, J. H. (2010). Paternal involvement: Revised conceptualization and theoretical linkages with child outcomes. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (5th ed., pp. 58–93). New York, NY: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pleck, J. H., & Masciadrelli, B. P. (2004). Paternal involvement in U.S. residential fathers: Levels, sources, and consequences. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (4th ed., pp. 222–271). New York, NY: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Qin, D. B. (2009). Gendered processes of adaptation: Understanding parent-child relations in Chinese immigrant families. Sex Roles, 60, 467-481.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slote, W. H. (1998). Psychocultural dynamics within the Confucian family. In W. H. Slote & G. A. DeVos (Eds.), Confucianism and the family (pp. 37–51). New York, NY: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Canada. (2006). The 2006 census: Immigration, citizenship, language, mobility and migration. Retrieved on January 14, 2008 from http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/071204/d071204a.htm.

  • Strier, R., & Roer-Strier, D. (2010). Fatherhood in the context of immigration. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (5th ed., pp. 435–458). New York, NY: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sung, K. -T. (1998). An exploration of actions of filial piety. Journal of Aging Studies, 12, 369–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szapocznik, J., & Kurtines, W. M. (1993). Family psychology and cultural diversity: Opportunities for theory, research and application. The American Psychologist, 48, 400–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (2004). Conceptualizing fathers’ roles: Playmates and more. Human Development, 47, 220–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Way, N., Hughes, D., Yoshikawa, H., Kahana Kalman, R., & Niwa, E. Y. (2007). Parents’ goals for children: The dynamic coexistence of individualism and collectivism in cultures and individuals. Social Development, 17, 183–209. doi:10.111/j.1467-9507.2007.00419x.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tang, N. M. (1992). Some psychoanalytic implications of Chinese philosophy and child-rearing practices. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 47, 371–389.

    Google Scholar 

  • The China Post. (2011, February 8). China’s divorce rate jumps: Wealth, regulations blamed. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/local-news/hong-­kong/2011/02/08/290264/Chinas-divorce.htm.

  • Tyyskä, V. (2013). Communication brokering in immigrant families: Avenues for new research. In S. S. Chuang & C. S. Tamis-LeMonda (Eds.), Gender roles in immigrant families. New York, NY: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Census Bureau. (2000). Index of population estimates. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (2000). The world’s women 2000 trends and statistics. ST/ESA/STAT/SER.K/16. New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, L., & Xi, R. (2004). The influence of mothers and fathers on middle school students’ creativity. Journal of Capital Normal University, 30, 102-108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, R. W. (1974). The moral state: A study of the political socialization of Chinese and American children. New York, NY: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2012). Population 2011. Retrieved on March 4, 2013 from http://databank.worldbank.org/databank/download/POP.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yu, R. (2002). On the reform of elementary school education in China. Educational Exploration, 129, 56–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, D. (2002). Key concepts in Chinese philosophy (E. Ryden, Trans.). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, W., Wang, M., & Fuligni, A. (2006). Expectations for autonomy, beliefs about parental authority, and parent-adolescent conflict and cohesion. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 38, 868–876.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, W. X. (2003). The one child family policy. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 88, 463–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, W. X., & Hesketh, T. (2009). China’s excess males, sex selective abortion and one child policy: Analysis of data from 2005 national intercensus survey. British Medical Journal, 338, b121. doi:doi:10.1136/bmj.b1211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susan S. Chuang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Chuang, S.S. (2013). Roles and Responsibilities: A Critical Exploration of Chinese Fathers in Canada and China. In: Chuang, S., Tamis-LeMonda, C. (eds) Gender Roles in Immigrant Families. Advances in Immigrant Family Research. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6735-9_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics