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Scholarly Works (3 results)

  • Thesis
  • Peer Reviewed
UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2021)

Beyond the normative escalation of adjustment challenges in adolescence, immigrant parents and youth also face acculturative challenges that can negatively impact parenting and mental health. Many existing interventions to address the challenges of adolescence capitalize on knowledge of parent-child dynamics primarily studied within non-immigrant, white families. The cultural relevance of these interventions is hampered by our limited understanding of the long-term relations between parenting and youth mental health in immigrant families, and how these factors unfold across time. Furthermore, more research is needed to understand how parents’ and youth’s perceptions of mental health symptoms align and differ among immigrant families.The current study aimed to address this gap by examining longitudinal relations between childhood parenting styles (1st – 3rd grade) and adolescent (9th -12th grade) internalizing and externalizing issues in a group of Chinese American immigrant families. The study utilized the first and third waves (approximately 10 years apart) of a longitudinal study of Chinese American immigrant parents and children in the Bay Area of California (Wave 1: N = 258, M age = 7.4 , SD = .7; Wave 3: N = 162, M age = 16.7 , SD = .7). In Aim 1, I explored whether differences emerged between parent and youth report of parenting styles and adjustment at both waves. In Aim 2, I examined whether childhood parenting styles predicted adolescent adjustment. Parent and youth report of authoritative and authoritarian parenting were measured at both waves using the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ). Parent report of youth adjustment was measured at both waves using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Youth report of adjustment was measured at Wave 1 using the Behavior Problem Index (BPI), and at Wave 3 using the Youth Self Report (YSR). Regarding Aim 1, results indicated that parent report of authoritarian parenting was higher than youth report at both waves. Differences between reporters on authoritarian parenting were non-significant. Comparing parent and youth report across subscales of authoritative and authoritarian parenting revealed significant correlations only for Wave 3 authoritative parenting (warmth r = .29, reasoning/induction r = .24, democratic participation r = .25). While parent and youth report of internalizing and externalizing T-scores were positively correlated at Wave 3, youth-reported maladjustment was significantly higher across both adjustment dimensions. Regarding Aim 2, separate path models were used to test longitudinal relations between parenting styles and adjustment across every combination of reporters given non-significant factor loadings in measurement models. Controlling for Wave 1 adjustment, youth-reported authoritative parenting had a negative path to Wave 3 parent-reported externalizing issues reported in raw scores. However, this path became non-significant after adjusting for concurrent relations between Wave 3 parenting and adjustment. Additionally, in this more stringent model authoritarian parenting emerged as a significant predictor of externalizing problems. Controlling for Wave 1 adjustment, youth-reported authoritative parenting had a negative path to externalizing problems, and authoritarian parenting had a positive path to externalizing problems. After making similar stringent adjustments for concurrent relations, the positive path from authoritarian parenting to externalizing problems remained significant. In summary childhood authoritarian parenting emerged as a predictor of adolescent externalizing issues. This study adds to our understanding that Chinese American immigrant parents and children likely view parenting behaviors and mental health from different perspectives. It also can contribute to culturally informed interventions that may be able to better address communication within the family.

    Cover page: Prospective Relations of Childhood Parenting Styles to Adolescents’ Psychological Adjustment in Chinese American Immigrant Families: A Ten-Year Longitudinal Study
    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC Berkeley Previously Published Works (2021)
    Immigrant families face multiple barriers to engaging with children's schools. Yet, school-based parent involvement has been associated with academic and behavioral benefits for children of immigrant families. Although past research has examined links between family contextual factors and parent involvement, less is known about the links between school contextual factors and parent involvement in immigrant families. Identifying socio-cultural barriers to parent involvement across home and school contexts can inform culturally competent family engagement interventions serving immigrant families. In a two-wave (1.5 years apart) longitudinal study of a community-based sample of Chinese American children (N = 210, beginning age = 5.8-9.1 years) attending over 80 schools in a metropolitan area, we assessed school-based parent involvement behaviors and parent involvement-related psychological processes (i.e., parent-teacher relationship quality, parents' endorsement of schools, teachers' perceptions of parents) using parent and teacher report. First, results indicated that significant positive associations were found between school-based parent involvement behaviors and parent involvement-related psychological processes (rs = 0.36-0.53). Next, multi-level modeling was conducted to test concurrent relations of Wave 1 school contextual factors to all four parent involvement constructs (controlling for family-level factors), as well as testing the prospective relations of parent involvement at Wave 1 to children's academic achievement at Wave 2. Student body diversity of schools was negatively associated with school-based parent involvement (rs = -0.18, -0.17), parent-rated parent-teacher relationship quality (r = -0.18), and parents' endorsement of schools (r = -0.36). The concentration of Asian students at schools and schoolwide achievement were negatively associated with teachers' perceptions of parents (rs = -0.18, -0.20). However, neither school contextual factors nor school-based parent involvement at Wave 1 uniquely predicted children's academic achievement at Wave 2. Implications of findings for understanding and addressing barriers to engaging Chinese American immigrant families in their children's schools are discussed.
      Cover page: Longitudinal relations among school context, school-based parent involvement, and academic achievement of Chinese American children in immigrant families
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      UC Berkeley Previously Published Works (2020)
      Parent emotion talk (ET), a type of emotion-related socialization practice, is theorized to foster children's emotion-related regulation and socioemotional skills. Yet, there has been limited research linking parent ET to children's effortful control, a top-down regulatory process. Despite the observed cultural differences in ET between Chinese and European American families, few researchers tested whether the socioemotional benefits of ET are generalizable to Chinese American families, an immigrant group with contrasting values in their heritage and host cultures. The present study examined Chinese American parents' ET, its associations with sociocultural factors, and prospective relations to school-age children's effortful control, sympathy, and socially appropriate behaviors. In a two-wave (1.5 years apart) longitudinal study of first- and second-generation Chinese American children (N = 258, age = 6-9 years at Wave 1, 52% from low-income families), the content and quality of parent ET (e.g., the overall quality of emotion talk, frequency of emotion explanations, emotion questions, and number of emotion words) was coded from a video-recorded shared book reading task. Children's effortful control, sympathy, and social behaviors were rated by parents, teachers, and children. Results showed that the Chinese American parents from lower socioeconomic status families, families with lower English proficiency, or more recent immigrants displayed lower ET. Parent ET was prospectively related to children's higher effortful control after controlling for stability, and higher effortful control was concurrently associated with children's higher sympathy and more socially appropriate behaviors. The findings provide empirical support for the socioemotional benefits of ET for school-age children in Chinese American immigrant families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
        Cover page: Emotion Talk in Chinese American Immigrant Families and Longitudinal Links to Children’s Socioemotional Competence
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