Relations among parental acceptance and control and children’s social adjustment in Chinese American and European American families.

• DOI: 10.1037/a0015812
• Publication Date: 2009-07-09T17:53:34Z
• Authors: Carol S. Huntsinger; Paul E. Jose
• Keywords: Adult; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Male; Parents; Analysis of Variance; Asian; Parenting; 05 social sciences; Emigrants and Immigrants; Authoritarianism; United States; Child Rearing; Child, Preschool; Adaptation, Psychological; Humans; Female; 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences; Longitudinal Studies; Parent-Child Relations; Child; Social Adjustment; Internal-External Control

Parental acceptance and control are the 2 dimensions of parenting that have been investigated most; however, little is known about their cross-cultural expressions. This longitudinal study examined acceptance, control, and R. Chao's indigenous Chinese notion of control--chiao shun (training)--in 35 immigrant Chinese American (CA) and 38 European American (EA) families. Data were collected when children were in preschool and kindergarten (T1); first and second grades (T2); and third and fourth grades (T3). Within couples, CA mothers and fathers reported similar levels of acceptance and control, whereas EA mothers and fathers did not. CA fathers' and mothers' and EA mothers' acceptance and control exerted a positive influence on their children's psychological adjustment. CA fathers' training negatively predicted their children's problem behaviors 4 years later.