Cascading effects of Chinese American parents' COVID-19 racial discrimination and racial socialization on adolescents' adjustment

Using a three-wave longitudinal sample of 108 Chinese American parent-adolescent dyads (Mparent-ageW1 = 45.44 years, 17% fathers; Madolescent-ageW1 = 13.34 years, 50% boys), this study examined the effects of parents' COVID-19-related racial discrimination experiences on adolescents' ethnic identity exploration and anxiety as mediated by parents' awareness of discrimination (AOD) socialization and moderated by parents' anxiety and racial socialization competency (RSC). Parents' racial discrimination experiences in 2020 predicted adolescents' greater ethnic identity exploration or greater anxiety in 2022 via parents' greater use of AOD in 2021, depending on the levels of parents' anxiety and RSC. These findings highlighted individual and contextual factors impacting racial socialization processes in Chinese American families.

Age-Varying Associations Between COVID-19-Related Racial Discrimination and Chinese American Adolescents' Political Civic Engagement

The COVID-19 pandemic has made historically rooted anti-Asian racism, xenophobia, and civic activism in the United States highly salient, creating a heightened need for Asian American youth to redress racial injustice through civic engagement. However, little is known about Chinese American adolescents' civic engagement in response to racial discrimination. The present study investigated the age-varying associations between Chinese American adolescents' experiences of COVID-19-related racial discrimination and their political civic engagement at the intersection of race and gender, as well as the moderating roles of ethnic identity affirmation and parental civic socialization in these associations. The participants were 295 10- to 18-year-old Chinese American adolescents (Mage = 14.1 years, SD = 2.2 years; 52% girls) and their parents (Mage = 44.2 years, SD = 6.0 years; 79% mothers). Time-varying effect modeling showed that experiences of racial discrimination were negatively associated with political civic engagement in middle adolescence. This negative association was found only among girls but not boys. High ethnic identity affirmation and parental civic socialization not only buffered Chinese American adolescents against the impact of racial discrimination but even promoted their greater political civic engagement across adolescence. These findings revealed the age trends and important individual and contextual facilitators of Chinese American adolescents' political civic participation in the context of the racialized pandemic of COVID-19, which can inform culturally and developmentally targeted education and intervention efforts that promote the civic development of Chinese American adolescents.

To maintain or conceal one's cultural identity? Chinese American parents' ethnic-racial socialization during COVID-19

Ethno-racially minoritized parents' ethnic-racial socialization may center on encouraging their children to maintain or conceal their ethnic-racial identity, particularly during the period of heightened racism of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the underlying mechanisms that could explain Chinese American parents' specific ethnic-racial socialization practices and the role of children's developmental stage are not well understood. The present study examined: (a) the association between Chinese American parents' racial discrimination experiences and their engagement in maintenance of heritage culture and concealing Chinese heritage and connection ethnic-racial socialization; (b) the mediating and moderating roles of psychological well-being and family support; and (c) variations in these associations among parents with children of different developmental stages. The participants comprised 470 Chinese American parents (Mage = 43.7 years, SD = 6.4; 79% mothers) of 4- to 18-year-old children in the United States. Findings revealed that Chinese American parents' racial discrimination experiences were associated with greater engagement in both maintenance of heritage culture and concealing Chinese heritage and connection ethnic-racial socialization practices. Furthermore, parents' racial discrimination experiences were negatively associated with their psychological well-being, which in turn, was associated with lower levels of maintenance of heritage culture and higher levels of concealing Chinese heritage and connection ethnic-racial socialization practices. Greater family support buffered against the negative impact of racial discrimination on parents' psychological well-being and subsequent associations with their ethnic-racial socialization. The underlying moderated mediation mechanism was similar across parents of children, and younger and older adolescents. Our findings can guide future efforts to expand theoretical frameworks of ethnic-racial socialization among ethnic minority families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Risk and protective processes in the link between racial discrimination and Chinese American mothers' psychologically controlling parenting

OBJECTIVES

Racial-ethnic minority parents' experiences with racial discrimination may function as a contextual stressor that negatively impacts psychological functioning to shape less effective parenting practices, including the use of more psychological control. Moreover, various factors can enhance or diminish psychological functioning in the face of racial discrimination. Accordingly, we examined the associations between Chinese American mothers' experiences of racial discrimination and three subdimensions of psychologically controlling parenting by considering the mediating roles of negative (depressive symptoms) and positive (psychological well-being) psychological functioning and the moderating role of maternal acculturation toward the mainstream culture (AMC) as a protective factor.

METHOD

Participants comprised 226 Chinese American mothers of preschoolers (Mage = 37.65; SDage = 4.39). Two separate moderated-mediation models with depressive symptoms or psychological well-being as mediators were tested using maximum-likelihood estimation.

RESULTS

Findings revealed significant direct positive associations between racial discrimination and all three subdimensions of psychological control (love withdrawal, guilt induction, and shaming practices), as well as indirect associations through depressive symptoms but not psychological well-being. Importantly, the indirect associations were further moderated by maternal AMC.

CONCLUSIONS

Results illustrate the importance of incorporating the contextual stressor of perceived racial discrimination in parenting determinant models and examining specific and nuanced processes in understanding the role of psychological adjustment. Support for Chinese American mothers' engagement in and access to various resources in the mainstream cultural context may help alleviate the adverse impact of racial discrimination on mothers' psychological health and ultimately on their negative parenting behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Placement of Children in Need of Out-of-Home Care: Forms of Care and Differences in Attachment Security and Behavioral Problems in the Italian Context

The current paper investigated differences in secure attachment levels and behavioral problems among four groups of children in out-of-home care in Italy: closed adoption (child and birth parents not in contact following adoption), open adoption (child and birth parents still in contact after placement), foster care (child living temporarily with relatives or unrelated foster parents) and institutional care (child in residential care for large groups of children). One hundred and thirty children aged 10-19 were included in this study. The Attachment Interview for Childhood and Adolescence and the Achenbach Youth Self-Report were employed to measure participants' secure attachment levels and behavioral problems. Both a multivariate analysis of covariance and measured variable path analysis were performed. Age, gender and time elapsed between the request for child protection and placement on out-of-home care were used as covariates. The results showed that adolescents in closed adoption had higher secure attachment scores than those in foster care and institutional care, while adolescents in open adoption scored significantly higher on problem behaviors than those in the other out-of-home care groups. Findings were discussed in terms of limitations and implications for future research.

Longitudinal pathways linking racial discrimination and Chinese American mothers' parenting

Racial discrimination is a salient and chronic stressor for ethnic minority parents that can negatively impact their parenting. The present study used a short-term longitudinal design to examine the link between Chinese American mothers' stressful experiences of racial discrimination and their authoritarian parenting practices, the mediating role of mothers' depressive symptoms, and the moderating role of their behavioral acculturation toward American and Chinese cultures in these associations (i.e., behavioral participation in the American culture and behavioral maintenance of Chinese culture). Participants were 143 first-generation Chinese American mothers (Mage = 38.0 years) with preschool-age children (Mage = 4.6 years; 50% girls). Mothers reported their racial discrimination stress, depressive symptoms, American and Chinese behavioral acculturation, and authoritarian parenting across two time points over a 6-month interval. A moderated mediation model was conducted using structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized associations. Chinese American mothers' depressive symptoms mediated the association between racial discrimination stress and authoritarian parenting. The path between racial discrimination stress and depressive symptoms and the indirect effect of racial discrimination stress on authoritarian parenting were buffered by mothers' behavioral acculturation toward American culture and exacerbated by their behavioral acculturation toward Chinese culture. This study provides the first longitudinal evidence linking Chinese American mothers' experiences of racial discrimination and their negative parenting over time as well as mediating and moderating factors underlying this process. Our findings highlight the need for systemic efforts addressing racial inequalities and fostering positive development in Asian Americans and other marginalized families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Portion size affects food selection in an immersive virtual reality buffet and is related to measured intake in laboratory meals varying in portion size

A crucial step for validating the utility of an immersive virtual reality (iVR) buffet to study eating behavior is to determine whether variations in food characteristics such as portion size (PS) are relevant predictors of food selection in an iVR buffet. We tested whether manipulating PS in an iVR buffet affects the weight of food selected, and whether this response to PS is similar to participants' measured intake when PS varies at laboratory meals. In a randomized crossover design, 91 adults (18-71 y; 64 females; BMI = 25.3 ± 5.7) used their iVR remote to select lunch and dinner portions from an iVR buffet before consuming a standardized lab meal at two visits separated by one week. The PS in the iVR buffet and lab meals varied between a standard PS and a large PS. This design enabled comparisons of PS effects between iVR and lab settings, despite the scale difference in food weight between the environments. Portion size significantly affected food selection and food intake (p < 0.001). Subjects selected an additional 350 g in iVR and consumed an additional 154 g of food in the lab meals when offered the large portion compared to the small portion. The effect of PS showed a similar percentage increase in iVR (36.5%) and lab meals (39.2%). There was no significant difference in the effect of PS between iVR and lab meals after accounting for scale differences in food weight between the environments. The response to PS was not influenced by subject characteristics such as body mass index, sex, or age. These results demonstrate the utility of iVR for replicating real-world eating behaviors and enhancing our understanding of the intricate dynamics of food-related behaviors in a variety of contexts.

An examination of individual, relational, and cultural risk for disordered eating in Asian American college students

Objective: This study examined how individual (satisfaction of basic psychological needs), relational (perceived achievement- and dependency-oriented parental psychological control), and cultural (ethnic identity) factors may contribute to Asian American college students' (18 - 25 years of age) disordered eating. Participants: Asian American college students (N = 118) participated in the study. Methods: Participants completed a cross-sectional survey study. Moderated mediation models were used to analyze the data. Results: Analyses showed that perceived achievement-oriented, but not dependency-oriented, parental psychological control was more strongly associated with psychological needs satisfaction at higher, compared to lower, levels of ethnic identity. Conclusions: Findings highlighted the importance of both parenting and ethnic identity among Asian American college students' psychological needs and risk for disordered eating. The complex relations among achievement expectations, ethnic identity and wellbeing in Asian Americans are discussed. The results can inform intervention and prevention programs attending to the needs of this population.

Parental Stress and Chinese American Preschoolers' Adjustment: The Mediating Role of Parenting

Family contexts, such as parental stress and parenting practices, play critical roles in preschoolers' adjustment. However, these processes have been understudied in Chinese American families. The present study examined the associations between Chinese American mothers' experiences of two types of stress (i.e., general/contextual stress and parenting stress) and their preschoolers' socio-emotional and behavioral adjustment problems; in addition, the mediating roles of maternal psychologically controlling parenting and maternal warmth in these associations were assessed. Participants included 207 first-generation Chinese American mothers (Mage = 37.78 years, SDage = 4.36) and their 3- to 6-year-old children (Mage = 4.50 years, SDage = 0.90; 52% boys). Mothers reported on their levels of stress, psychologically controlling parenting, and warmth practices; teachers reported on child adjustment in the school setting. The results revealed that higher levels of general/contextual stress and parenting stress were each uniquely associated with more maternal psychologically controlling parenting practices, which in turn was associated with fewer socio-emotional and behavioral adjustment problems in children. Our findings can inform parenting intervention programs designed to improve Chinese American preschoolers' adjustment.

To Be in Harmony: Chinese American Adolescents' and Parents' Bicultural Integration During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Experiences of racial discrimination have been found to be associated with internalizing problems among ethnic-racial minority youth. However, mediating and moderating processes that might explain this association is less well understood. Thus, the present study aimed to examine whether Chinese American adolescents' bicultural identity integration harmony (BII-Harmony) mediated the association between their experiences of racial discrimination and internalizing behaviors. Furthermore, we examined the moderating role of their parents' BII-Harmony in this mediation model. Chinese American adolescents (Mage = 13.9 years; SD = 2.3; 48% female) reported their experiences of racial discrimination and BII-Harmony, and their parents (Mage = 46.2 years; SD = 5.2; 81% mothers) reported their BII-Harmony and their children's internalizing difficulties. Chinese American adolescents' racial discrimination experiences were negatively associated with BII-Harmony, and in turn, more internalizing problems, but only when their parents also reported low and mean levels of BII-Harmony.

COVID-19 Racism and Chinese American Families' Mental Health: A Comparison between 2020 and 2021

This study compared rates of multiple forms of COVID-19 racism-related discrimination experiences, fear/worries, and their associations with mental health indices among Chinese American parents and youth between 2020 and 2021. Chinese American parents of 4- to 18-year-old children and a subsample of their 10- to 18-year-old adolescents completed surveys in 2020 and 2021. A high percentage of Chinese American parents and their children continued to experience or witness anti-Chinese/Asian racism both online and in person in 2021. Parents and youth experienced less vicarious discrimination in person but more direct discrimination (both online and in person) and reported poorer mental health in 2021 than in 2020. Associations with mental health were stronger in 2021 than in 2020 for parents' and/or youth's vicarious discrimination experiences, perceptions of Sinophobia, and government-related worries, but weaker only for parents' direct discrimination experiences. The spillover effect from parents' vicarious discrimination experiences and Sinophobia perceptions to all youth mental health indices were stronger in 2021 than in 2020. Chinese American families experienced high rates of racial discrimination across multiple dimensions, and the detrimental impacts on their mental health were still salient in the second year of the pandemic. Vicarious and collective racism may have even stronger negative impacts on mental health and well-being later in the pandemic. Decreasing health disparities for Chinese Americans and other communities of color requires extensive, long-term national efforts to eliminate structural aspects of racism.

Intrusiveness and emotional manipulation as facets of parental psychological control: A culturally and developmentally sensitive reconceptualization

Over 750 studies have examined parental psychological control (PPC) in different cultures. However, the conceptualization of PPC remains unclear, and operationalizations of PPC have been inconsistent. Herein we review and refine conceptual models of PPC, focusing on intrusiveness and emotional manipulation as two core facets of PPC. Guided by Social Domain Theory, we relate intrusiveness to the boundaries of the child’s personal domain, which can vary by culture and age group. We describe how our conceptual model of PPC can clarify the disagreement in the literature about whether PPC may be arguably less damaging in interdependent cultures than it is in independent cultures or not; operationalizing PPC as mainly emotional manipulation – inducing guilt – might have contributed to this argument, and testing PPC with both intrusiveness and emotional manipulation can show both universal and culture specific consequences of PPC. Next, we describe how cultural norms and cultural values can influence how parents and children may interpret intrusiveness and emotional manipulation. We outline how our conceptual model promotes examining developmental continuity of PPC, which will expand the literature that has mainly emphasized PPC in adolescence. We conclude with recommendations for applying our conceptual model in future studies.

Longitudinal relations among child temperament, parenting, and acculturation in predicting Korean American children's externalizing problems

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the transactional associations among maternal warmth, child temperamental inhibitory control, child externalizing behaviors, and maternal American acculturation in Korean immigrant families with young children across three time points, each 6 months apart.

METHOD

Korean immigrant mothers (Mage = 35.93 years, SD = 3.68) and their preschool-aged children (Mage = 4.30 years, SD = 0.98) in the U.S. participated (n = 199 at Wave 1, n = 138 at Wave 2, and n = 105 at Wave 3). Mothers reported on their family demographics, maternal warmth, maternal American acculturation, and children's temperamental inhibitory control. Teachers reported on children's externalizing problems.

RESULTS

Moderate to strong stabilities within each construct across time and within-time covariations among the constructs were revealed. Transactional relations between parent and child were not found. However, Wave 1 maternal American acculturation significantly influenced their level of Wave 2 maternal warmth. Wave 2 maternal warmth predicted increases in Wave 3 child temperamental inhibitory control. Maternal warmth at Wave 2 statistically mediated the association between Wave 1 maternal acculturation and Wave 3 child inhibitory control.

CONCLUSION

Our findings highlight the importance of examining the complex mechanisms driving the associations among child, parenting, and cultural factors in promoting positive child characteristics and parenting practices. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Parenting measurement, normativeness, and associations with child outcomes: Comparing evidence from four non-Western cultures

This study compared parenting across four non-Western cultures to test cross-cultural commonality and specificity principles in three aspects: measurement properties, parenting normativeness, and their associations with child outcomes. Both mothers and fathers (N = 1509 dyads) with preschool-aged children (M = 5.00 years; 48% girls) from urban areas of four countries (Malaysia, N = 372; China, N = 441; Turkey, N = 402; and Japan, N = 294) reported on four parenting constructs (authoritative, authoritarian, group harmony socialization, and intrusive control) and their sub-dimensions using modified culturally relevant measures. Teachers reported on children's internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial behaviors. The commonality principle was supported by two sets of findings: (1) full measurement invariance was established for most parenting constructs and sub-dimensions, except that intrusive control only reached partial scalar invariance, and (2) no variations were found in associations between parenting and any child outcomes across cultures or parent gender at the construct level for all four parenting constructs and at the sub-dimensional level for authoritarian and intrusive control sub-dimensions. The specificity principle was supported by the other two sets of findings: (1) cross-cultural differences in parenting normativeness did not follow the pattern of economic development but yielded culture-specific patterns, and (2) at the sub-dimensional level, the authoritative parenting and group harmony socialization sub-dimensions were differently associated with child outcomes across cultures and/or parent gender. The findings suggested that examining specific dimensions rather than broad parenting constructs is necessary to reflect cultural specificities and nuances. Our study provided a culturally-invariant instrument and a three-step guide for future parenting research to examine cross-cultural commonalities/specificities. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: This is the first study to use an instrument with measurement invariance across multiple non-Western cultures to examine the commonality and specificity principles in parenting. Measurement invariance was achieved across cultures for authoritative and authoritarian parenting, group harmony socialization, intrusive control, and their sub-dimensions, supporting the commonality principle. Cross-cultural differences in parenting normativeness did not follow the pattern of economic development but yielded culture-specific patterns, supporting the specificity principle. Both commonalities and specificities were manifested in associations between parenting and child outcomes across cultures.

Evaluating the filial behaviour scale across three cultural groups using exploratory structural equation modelling

Filial piety is a Confucian concept that guides how children treat and take care of their parents. The Filial Behaviour Scale (FBS) is a 25-item instrument developed in the Chinese context measuring behavioural manifestations of filial piety. Although the components of filial piety have been found to be relevant across cultures, little research has investigated the psychometric properties of the FBS in other cultural contexts. The present study evaluated the factor structure, internal consistency, measurement invariance and construct validity of the FBS across three cultural groups: the United States, Italy and Malaysia. Participants were 1090 emerging adults (67% females; M_age  = 21.29 years, SD = 1.97; White Americans: n = 455, White Italians: n = 428, Malays: n = 328). A two-factor structure emerged across groups: Obedience/Obligation (behaviours showing obedience and obligation towards parents) and Relationship (behaviours expressing affection and promoting positive parent-child relationships). The two factors demonstrated adequate internal consistency, full configural, partial metric and partial scalar invariance, as well as unique associations with depressive symptoms and parent-child relationships across groups. These findings yielded a more nuanced understanding of filial behaviour and supported the utility of a two-factor FBS among emerging adults in various cultural contexts.

Chinese American Adolescents' Experiences of COVID-19-Related Racial Discrimination and Anxiety: Person-Centered and Intersectional Approaches

The present study examined the impact of COVID-19-related racial discrimination on Chinese American adolescents (N = 213; M_age  = 13.95 years, SD = 2.35; 49% girls) at the intersection of race and gender. We explored (1) subgroups of adolescents based on ethnic identity, bicultural identity integration, and behavioral acculturation; (2) their demographic correlates; and (3) whether the association between racial discrimination and anxiety varied across subgroups and gender. Latent profile analysis identified three profiles: bicultural, marginalized, and separated. Bicultural and marginalized adolescents were vulnerable to direct and vicarious racial discrimination, respectively. Moreover, bicultural and marginalized boys and separated girls were more negatively affected by COVID-19-related racial discrimination. The findings highlight the utility of person-centered and intersectional approaches in understanding Chinese American adolescents' experiences of racial discrimination.

Examining a Conceptual Model of Maternal and Paternal Warmth, Emotion Regulation and Social Competence among Preadolescent Children in Malaysia

Although parental warmth has been shown to be related to children's social competence, the mediating role of preadolescent children's emotion regulation in this context has been less explored, particularly in Asian cultures. Thus, this study examined the role of emotion regulation as a mediator in the relationship between parental warmth (i.e., paternal and maternal warmth) and social competence among preadolescent children in Malaysia. Preadolescent children (N = 720; Mage = 10.95; SD = 0.59; 58.8% female) completed self-administered questionnaires. Results of correlation analysis showed that higher levels of paternal and maternal warmth were associated with greater emotion regulation in preadolescent children and a greater level of social competence. However, analysis of structural equation modeling revealed that emotion regulation significantly mediated only the relationship between maternal warmth and social competence. These findings underscored the importance of maternal warmth in promoting Malaysian preadolescent children's social competence as well as their emotion regulation as a mediating pathway. This study also highlights the direct effect of paternal warmth on preadolescents' social competence. Theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed.

The cost and benefit of fear induction parenting on children's health during the COVID-19 outbreak

The outbreak of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was an unprecedented global public health emergency with a significant psychological toll. This study aimed to understand how specific COVID-19 related stressors contributed to Chinese parents' fear induction practices, and how these practices, in turn, contributed to their children's disease prevention practices during the outbreak and depressive symptoms after the outbreak. Parents (N = 240, Mage = 38.50 years, 75% mothers) with elementary-school-age children (Mage = 9.48 years, 46% girls) in Wenzhou, 1 of the most impacted cities in China, reported on the presence of confirmed or suspected cases in their communities, their frequencies of consuming COVID-19-related information, fear induction practices, and their children's trait anxiety and disease prevention practices during the outbreak (January 28-30, 2020). Child-reported depressive symptoms were collected between March 7-11, 2020; during which there were very few remaining cases and no new confirmed cases or deaths. Parents' higher frequency of virus-related information consumption but not the presence of community infection was associated with their engagement in more fear induction practices, which was in turn associated with children's greater engagement in prevention practices during the outbreak, but more postquarantine depressive symptoms. Child trait anxiety exacerbated the association between parent fear induction and child depressive symptoms. Using fear induction parenting may promote children's willingness to cooperate and participate in disease prevention practices during the crisis but at the cost of children's long-term mental health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Cultural Orientation, Parental Emotion Socialization, and Adolescents’ Socio-Emotional Functioning Across Three Asian Cultures: India, China, and Singapore

Limited research has examined parental emotion socialization across Asian cultural contexts. Guided by the theoretical frameworks of family change and self-construal, this study examined cultural orientation toward independence-interdependence, parental emotion socialization processes, and their relations with adolescents’ psychological adjustment across three Asian cultural contexts—rural families in South India, suburban families in China, and families in Singapore. Participants included 300 Indian adolescents ( Mage = 15.58 years; 57.3% male) and their parents, 310 Chinese adolescents ( Mage = 13.04 years; 46.3% female) and their parents, and 241 Singaporean adolescents ( Mage = 14.44 years; 48.3% female) and their parents. Both adolescents and parents completed self-report measures of cultural orientation and emotion socialization, and adolescents completed a measure of their psychological adjustment. We first established construct validation for two emotion socialization processes and found that the factor structure for parental reactions varied across Asian contexts and parent versus adolescent reports, while the factor structure for parental emotion expressivity varied only across informants. Second, we tested whether the two parental emotion socialization processes mediated the association between cultural orientation toward independence-interdependence and adolescent behavior problems, and found differential relations across the three Asian contexts. Our data supported the model of family change and showed that across the Asian societies, the variations in independence-interdependence orientation provide different models of parental emotion socialization with nuances in meaning and function, as revealed by the construct validation of parental reactions and emotional expressivity and their implications for adolescents’ socio-emotional functioning.

Toward complementarity: Specificity and commonality in social-emotional development: Introduction to the special section

What are the roles of specificity and commonality in social-emotional development? We begin by highlighting the conceptual context for this timely and timeless question and explain how responses to it can inform novel lines of theoretical and empirical inquiry, as well as sociocultural generalizability. Next, we describe how the selection of papers included in this special section contributes to our understanding of specificity and commonality in social-emotional development. We then explain how applying the complementarity principle to social-emotional development can inform a future research agenda in this domain. Lastly, we discuss how specificity and commonality fundamentally impact the way we conceptualize and implement interventions aimed at nurturing social-emotional development in every child.

Chinese American adolescents' experiences of COVID-19 racial discrimination: Risk and protective factors for internalizing difficulties

OBJECTIVE

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has fueled anti-Asian racism and xenophobia in the United States, which negatively impact Asian Americans' adjustment. To identify risk and protective factors for Chinese American adolescents' mental health, the present study examined: (1) the associations between Chinese American adolescents' experiences of COVID-19-related racial discrimination and their internalizing difficulties; (2) the moderating roles of: (a) adolescents' bicultural identity integration (BII; harmony and blendedness dimensions separately) and (b) parents' promotion of mistrust ethnic-racial socialization (PMERS); and (c) the interplay between BII and PMERS in the associations between racial discrimination and internalizing difficulties.

METHOD

Participants included 211 Chinese American adolescents of 10-18 years old (M age = 13.92, SD = 2.33; 48% girls) and their parents (M age = 46.18 years, SD = 5.17; 81% mothers).

RESULTS

Overall, adolescents' experiences of COVID-19-related racial discrimination were associated with more internalizing difficulties, and this association was buffered by BII harmony and blendedness and exacerbated by PMERS. However, a complex interplay among specific BII dimensions and parental PMERS in the associations between racial discrimination and adolescent internalizing problems was revealed. Adolescents with lower levels of BII blendedness were more vulnerable to the negative effects of racial discrimination on their internalizing problems and more susceptible to their parents' PMERS; adolescents who reported higher levels of BII harmony and perceived lower levels of parental PMERS were more protected from the negative effects of racial discrimination on their internalizing problems.

CONCLUSION

Both adolescents' and parents' contributions should be considered simultaneously in promoting resilience in Chinese American families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring the relations between parenting practices, child shyness, and internalizing problems in Chinese culture

The present study explored the role of adaptive and maladaptive parenting practices as moderators in the relations between child shyness and internalizing problems (depressive symptoms, loneliness, low self-worth) in Mainland China. Participants were N = 1,066 third- to eighth-grade students (499 boys; M_age = 11.73 years, SD = 21.75) attending six public elementary and junior high schools in Shanghai, P. R. China. Multisource assessments were employed. Children provided self-reports of shyness and internalizing problems, mothers and fathers provided ratings of their adaptive (warmth, reasoning, autonomy) and maladaptive (physical hostility, verbal hostility, punishment) parenting practices, and teacher-rated children's internalizing problem. The results indicated that the relations between shyness and internalizing problems were attenuated among children whose parents were rated higher in adaptive parenting. However, maladaptive parenting did not significantly moderate these associations. The findings underscore the importance of considering the meaning and implication of parenting in Chinese culture. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Rendered invisible: Are Asian Americans a model or a marginalized minority?

In 1992, the United States government expanded a 1978 decision to observe Asian Pacific American Heritage Week to a month-long recognition of the contributions of Asian Americans to the country's history and ongoing cultural milieu. Since 2000, the Asian population in the United States has grown by 72%-the fastest rate of any racial/ethnic group in the country. Today, the Census reports that Asians comprise 22 million United States residents. Despite this unprecedented growth, Asian Americans remain largely invisible in the national dialogue and in scientific research. This special issue features theoretical, empirical, and policy articles that highlight Asian Americans in psychology. Asian Americans remain marginalized and invisible in scientific endeavors for several reasons. For example, consolidating many ethnic groups under an "Asian American" pan-ethnic umbrella masks meaningful cultural, linguistic, ethnic, migration, gender, sexual/gender identity/expression, and socioeconomic differences. These intersectional identities result in experiences that are multiply marginalized, contributing to invisibility. The model minority stereotype highlights high-achieving and successful individuals, rendering the segment of the Asian American population that is struggling irrelevant and unworthy of attention. This special issue directly interrogates sources of invisibility to synthesize theory, research, and policy focused on Asian Americans. The articles in this special issue focus on the intersectional spaces that Asian Americans occupy, unpacking the diversity behind the "Asian American" pan-ethnic label, experiences of identity and discrimination across a range of Asian American groups, and areas of theory/research/policy where Asian American experiences have been overlooked. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Chinese American children's temperamental shyness and responses to peer victimization as moderated by maternal praise

This study examined the relations between Chinese American children's temperamental shyness and their assertive and submissive responses to peer victimization. The mediating role of children's anxious-withdrawn behavior in the association between their temperamental shyness and responses to peer victimization in school settings was assessed, as well as the moderating effect of observed maternal praise. Mothers of 153 Chinese American children (46.4% boys; Mage = 4.40 years, SDage = 0.79 years) reported on their children's temperamental shyness, and teachers rated children's display of anxious-withdrawn behavior and responses to peer victimization. Mothers' use of praise during their interactions with children in a free-play session was observed. Results showed that children's display of anxious-withdrawn behavior played a mediating role in the associations between their temperamental shyness and responses to peer victimization. Moreover, maternal praise moderated the relation between children's temperamental shyness and anxious-withdrawn behavior, such that more temperamentally shy children with mothers who used to praise more frequently displayed less anxious-withdrawn behavior, which, in turn, was associated with more assertiveness and less submissiveness in response to peer victimization. These findings highlight the importance of maternal praise in reducing children's display of anxious-withdrawn behavior, which in turn facilitates their capacity to cope with peer victimization. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Biobehavioral Aspects of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review

OBJECTIVE

This review highlights the scope and significance of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic with a focus on biobehavioral aspects and critical avenues for research.

METHODS

A narrative review of the published research literature was undertaken, highlighting major empirical findings emerging during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESULTS

Interactions among biological, behavioral, and societal processes were prominent across all regions of the globe during the first year of the COVID-19 emergency. Affective, cognitive, behavioral, socioeconomic, and technological factors all played a significant role in the spread of infection, response precautions, and outcomes of mitigation efforts. Affective symptoms, suicidality, and cognitive dysfunction have been widely described consequences of the infection, the economic fallout, and the necessary public health mitigation measures themselves. The impact of COVID-19 may be especially serious for those living with severe mental illness and/or chronic medical diseases, given the confluence of several adverse factors in a manner that appears to have syndemic potential.

CONCLUSIONS

The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear that biological and behavioral factors interact with societal processes in the infectious disease context. Empirical research examining mechanistic pathways from infection and recovery to immunological, behavioral, and emotional outcomes is critical. Examination of how emotional and behavioral factors relate to the pandemic-both as causes and as effects-can provide valuable insights that can improve management of the current pandemic and future pandemics to come.

A person-centered examination of acculturation and psychological functioning among Chinese and Korean immigrant mothers in the United States

Objectives: The present research used a person-centered approach to examine the acculturation styles of Chinese and Korean immigrant mothers in the United States and demographic characteristics and psychological functioning associated with each acculturation style. Method: The sample comprised 240 first-generation Chinese immigrant mothers (CIMs; M = 37.80 years, SD = 4.55) and 222 first-generation Korean immigrant mothers (KIMs; M = 36.00 years, SD = 3.69) of preschool children. Latent profile analysis was used to identify latent acculturation styles among CIMs and KIMs. We further examined whether mothers' acculturation styles were associated with their sociodemographic characteristics and psychological functioning within each cultural group. Results: Four acculturation styles were revealed among CIMs: (a) behaviorally undifferentiated/psychologically assimilated, (b) behaviorally marginalized/psychologically separated, (c) behaviorally psychologically assimilated, and (d) behaviorally integrated/psychologically undifferentiated. Three acculturation styles were uncovered among KIMs: behaviorally psychologically separated, behaviorally psychologically assimilated, and behaviorally psychologically integrated. Chinese behaviorally integrated/psychologically undifferentiated mothers and Korean behaviorally psychologically separated perceived the highest levels of coethnic concentration in their communities. Chinese behaviorally marginalized/psychologically separated mothers reported poorer psychological functioning than other Chinese mothers. Korean behaviorally psychologically separated mothers had poorer psychological functioning than other Korean mothers. Conclusions: Findings revealed the significant role of participation in the American mainstream culture for Asian immigrant mothers' psychological adjustment. The heterogeneity in the acculturation experiences of Asian immigrants in the United States was highlighted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Culturally shared and unique meanings and expressions of maternal control across four cultures

Maternal control is a major dimension of parenting and has different meanings, practices, and potential consequences across cultures. The present study aimed to identify and compare mothers' conceptualizations of parenting control across four cultures to reveal a more nuanced understanding regarding the meaning and practices of control: European American, Chinese immigrant, Korean immigrant, and Turkish. Using a semistructured open-ended interview, 100 European American, 102 U.S. Chinese immigrant, 103 U.S. Korean immigrant, and 109 Turkish mothers of preschool-aged children reported the ratings of importance, specific reasons, and strategies for exerting control over their children in daily life. Results revealed both shared and unique conceptualizations of maternal control across four cultures. Specifically, all mothers reported that it is important to express maternal control over their children in order to set behavioral norms/standards, maintain child safety, support social relations and respect for others, provide guidance, and guide moral development. Moreover, mothers discussed utilizing nonphysical punishment, setting and maintaining rules, reasoning/negotiating, consistency, physical punishment and verbal control, showing parents' serious/stern attitude, correction, and psychological control forms of control. However, the levels at which mothers emphasize the different reasons and strategies varied across cultures, reflecting culturally emphasized values. The findings of the present study further enrich our understanding of the complexities of maternal control across cultures. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

COVID-19 Racism and Mental Health in Chinese American Families

OBJECTIVES

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has fueled xenophobia against Chinese Americans. We examined the rates of 6 types of COVID-19 racism and racial discrimination experienced by Chinese American parents and youth and the associations with their mental health.

METHODS

We recruited a population-based sample of Chinese American families to participate in this self-reported survey study conducted from March 14, 2020, to May 31, 2020. Eligible parent participants identified as ethnically/racially Chinese, lived in the United States, and had a 4- to 18-year-old child; their eligible children were 10 to 18 years old.

RESULTS

The sample included 543 Chinese American parents (mean [SD] age, 43.44 [6.47] years; 425 mothers [78.3%]), and their children (N = 230; mean [SD] age, 13.83 [2.53] years; 111 girls [48.3%]). Nearly half of parents and youth reported being directly targeted by COVID-19 racial discrimination online (parents: 172 [31.7%]; youth: 105 [45.7%]) and/or in person (parents: 276 [50.9%]; youth: 115 [50.2%]). A total of 417 (76.8%) parents and 176 (76.5%) youth reported at least 1 incident of COVID-19 vicarious racial discrimination online and/or in person (parents: 481 [88.5%]; youth: 211 [91.9%]). A total of 267 (49.1%) parents and 164 (71.1%) youth perceived health-related Sinophobia in America, and 274 (50.4%) parents and 129 (56.0%) youth perceived media-perpetuated Sinophobia. Higher levels of parent- and youth-perceived racism and racial discrimination were associated with their poorer mental health.

CONCLUSIONS

Health care professionals must attend to the racism-related experiences and mental health needs of Chinese Americans parents and their children throughout the COVID-19 pandemic via education and making appropriate mental health referrals.

Mothers' feeding profiles among overweight, normal weight and underweight Chinese preschoolers

We adopted a person-centered approach to identify maternal feeding profiles among urban Chinese mothers of preschoolers, including two previously unexamined culturally-emphasized practices, and examine the associations between these feeding profiles and child and parent characteristics. Participants included 167 mothers and their preschoolers residing in Shanghai, China. Mothers reported on their feeding beliefs and practices, perceptions of child's body shapes, child dietary intake, and family demographic information. The hierarchical clustering method revealed 3 feeding clusters: uninvolved feeding (35.3%), concerned and restrictive feeding (21.6%), and high-pressure feeding (43.1%). Child BMI, weight status, maternal length of staying in Shanghai, maternal perceptions of child actual body shape and ideal body shape, and child unhealthy dietary intake were significantly different across the three clusters. The person-centered approach allowed for the examination of various feeding beliefs and practices simultaneously and revealed patterns of maternal feeding in Chinese families with preschoolers. Our oversampling of underweight and overweight groups of children in the present study allowed for the derivation of feeding profiles across children in all weight status groups. Moreover, the examination of whether demographic, maternal body shape perceptions, and child dietary intake differed across the clusters of mothers provided a more complete picture of family context and processes that may underlie and contribute to mothers' feeding practices, and ultimately their children's weight.

The Long-Term Socialization Goals of Chinese and Korean Immigrant Mothers in the United States

OBJECTIVES

The socialization goals of immigrant parents in the United States for their children reflect the childrearing priorities of both their culture of origin and the mainstream culture. These goals, which guide parenting, likely have shared and unique characteristics with other immigrant groups from the same geographical region of origin. The current study aimed to explore and compare the socialization goals of Chinese and Korean immigrant mothers in the United States; the role of child gender in mothers' socialization goals was also investigated.

METHODS

Ninety-six Chinese (M _age = 37.60) and 97 Korean immigrant mothers (M _age = 35.87) with preschool-age children living in the United States were interviewed regarding their socialization goals. The qualitative interview transcripts were coded by trained research assistants.

RESULTS

The interviews revealed seven socialization goals (Self-maximization, Lovingness,Personal Integrity, Proper Demeanor, Religious Values, Self-control, and No High Expectations) across both groups. Findings demonstrated that Chinese and Korean immigrant mothers were similar on their endorsement of five socialization goals. However, group differences were found for goals of Religious Values and No High Expectations, which further differed across child gender.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlighted the common socialization priorities of Chinese and Korean immigrant mothers of young children in urban contexts, but also the need to examine sub -ethnic groups separately to understand their shared and unique parenting experiences. These findings have meaningful implications for clinicians and other professionals towards providing more effective services to Asian immigrant families in the U.S.

The gender ideology of 'Wise Mother and Good Wife' and Korean immigrant women's adjustment in the United States

The notion of 'wise mother and good wife (WMGW)' (Hyonmo Yangcho) is the traditional idealized image of Korean womanhood as one who serves her country and others through her roles as a mother and wife. This ideology may continue to have some significance in the lives of many first-generation Korean immigrant women, but its potential role in the adjustment challenges these women may face while acculturating to the immigrant context in the United States has received little attention. In this paper, we briefly review the historical background of the WMGW ideology and discussed the significance of focusing research attention on the role of this notion in contemporary first-generation Korean immigrant women in the United States. We focus on the intersecting influences of gender, ethnicity, and immigrants' generation status, which may further marginalize some first-generation Korean immigrant mothers. We then outline possible unique challenges faced by some of these mothers due to the WMGW gender ideology, highlighting potential immigration-related difficulties including changes in their social support networks, parenting burden, mental health, and language issues. Finally, we provide suggestions for researchers and practitioners working with U.S. Korean immigrant women.

Adaptation and assessment of the Child Feeding Questionnaire for Chinese immigrant families of young children in the United States

BACKGROUND

Chinese immigrant mothers have been found to hold cultural-specific beliefs about children's weight and use cultural-specific feeding practices when feeding their children. However, current measurements of child feeding, including the widely used Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ), do not capture these cultural-specific beliefs and practices. Thus, the present study examined the underlying factor structure of the original CFQ (7-factor model) and the modified CFQ with additional Asian cultural-specific feeding items (8- and 9-factor model) and assessed the validity of the CFQ among U.S. Chinese immigrant mothers.

METHOD

First-generation Chinese immigrant mothers (N = 216, M_age = 38.31, SD_age = 4.34) with young children (M_age = 5.14, SD_age = 1.49; 47.70% females) completed the CFQ (Birch et al., 2001), with two additional items capturing Asian cultural-specific feeding beliefs and practices. Children's and parents' body mass index and mothers' perceptions of their children's body size were also assessed.

RESULTS

Our findings revealed that the 9-factor model, which included the cultural-specific feeding items, was the most optimal model to represent the factor structure of feeding beliefs and practices among U.S. Chinese immigrant mothers of young children. Mothers' feeding beliefs and practices were associated with children's and mothers' body mass index and mothers' perceptions of their children's body size.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study highlighted the importance of cultural-specific beliefs and practices when examining parents' feeding perceptions, beliefs, and practices.

Maternal Attribution and Chinese Immigrant Children's Social Skills: The Mediating Role of Authoritative Parenting Practices

OBJECTIVE

This study explores the contributions of Chinese immigrant mothers' parenting cognitions and parenting practices to their children's social skills.

DESIGN

We used a cross-sectional design to examine the mediating role of authoritative parenting in associations between Chinese immigrant mothers' parenting attributions and their children's social skills. Chinese immigrant mothers (N = 208, M age = 37.36 years) reported their attributions regarding successes and failures in their daily caregiving experiences, authoritative parenting practices, and demographic information. Their preschool children's (M age = 4.51 years, 46.2% females) social skills in school were rated by their teachers.

RESULTS

Maternal attributions of successful events to uncontrollable causes and unsuccessful events to controllable causes were associated with more authoritative parenting. In turn, more authoritative parenting was associated with more competent social skills in children. In contrast, maternal attributions of successful events to controllable causes and unsuccessful events to uncontrollable causes were associated with less authoritative parenting, which in turn was associated with poorer social skills in children.

CONCLUSIONS

Promoting Chinese immigrant mothers' attributions that preserve positive efficacy during daily parenting tasks may enhance their engagement in warm, autonomy-promoting and regulatory parenting, which in turn may facilitate their children's social skills.

A tale of two countries: Singaporean and Chinese parents' emotion socialisation during childhood and the relation to adolescents' emotion regulation

This study examined the conceptualisation of Singaporean and Chinese parents' emotion socialisation in childhood and the relation to adolescents' emotion regulation with 601 adolescents aged 12-15. For both Singaporean and Chinese parents, we examined the factorial structure underlying six parental reactions to children's negative emotions, and the relations between the established factors with adolescents' cognitive reappraisal and response suppression. The findings revealed differences in the conceptualisation of parental reactions for Singaporean and Chinese parents, with the three- and four-factor models indicating good fit, respectively. For Singaporean parents, the factor comprising Expressive Encouragement, Emotion-Focused and Problem-Focused reactions was positively correlated with male adolescents' cognitive reappraisal, and the factor comprising Punitive and Distress Reactions was positively related to female adolescents' response suppression. For Chinese parents, the Expressive Encouragement factor was positively correlated with male adolescents' cognitive reappraisal. These findings on cultural differences in the factors underlying parental reactions and their relations with adolescents' emotion regulation support the emotion competency framework for understanding parents' emotion socialisation across cultures.

Maternal Encouragement of Modest Behavior, Temperamental Shyness, and Anxious Withdrawal Linkages to Chinese American Children's Social Adjustment: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

Past studies have revealed potential differences in the functional meaning and social evaluation of children's temperamental shyness between Chinese interdependence-oriented and North American independence-oriented cultural contexts. However, very little is known about shy Chinese American children's adjustment in Western school contexts and potential pathways underlying their adjustment. To address this gap in the literature, we examined the associations between Chinese American children's temperamental shyness and their social adjustment outcomes, including peer exclusion, prosocial behavior, and assertiveness/leadership skills. In addition, the mediating role of children's display of anxious-withdrawn behavior and the moderating role of first-generation Chinese immigrant mothers' encouragement of modesty in their parenting practices as applied to associations between temperamental shyness and social adjustment outcomes were explored. Path analyses indicated that the impact of Chinese American children's temperamental shyness on their socio-emotional adjustment was mediated by their display of anxious-withdrawn behavior in school. However, when Chinese immigrant mothers encouraged their children to be more modest, children's temperamental shyness was less strongly related to negative social adjustment outcomes through diminished anxious-withdrawn behavior. These results highlighted the importance of culturally-emphasized parenting practices in fostering Chinese American children's adjustment in the U.S.

Confirmatory factor analyses of the Parent Attributions Questionnaire among Asian immigrant mothers

The present study examined the factor structure of maternal attributions regarding their caregiving experiences, measured by the Parent Attributions Questionnaire, among Asian immigrant mothers. Chinese and Korean immigrant mothers ( N = 333, mean age ( Mage) = 36.79 years, standard deviation ( SD) = 4.79) with preschool children ( Mage = 4.43 years, SD = 1.31) reported their attributions regarding the reasons for their success and failure at seven daily caregiving tasks, and demographic information. Three structure models were tested: the unidimensional structure model; the internal–external structure model; and the controllable–uncontrollable structure model. Results revealed that the controllability-based structure fitted the data better than the unidimensional or locus-based structure of parental attributions. Metric and partial scalar invariance of the controllability-based model were established between Chinese and Korean immigrant mothers. Asian immigrant mothers focused on whether the causes for the parenting outcomes were controllable or uncontrollable when attributing the causes of their caregiving experiences. The superiority of the controllable–uncontrollable over the internal–external structure model in this sample may reflect Asian immigrant mothers’ Confucian-based heritage cultural emphasis on their responsibility for creating optimal childrearing for their children.

The Role of Maternal and Child Characteristics in Chinese Children's Dietary Intake Across Three Groups

Objective

To examine whether mothers' early-life food insecurity (ELFI), pressuring to eat feeding practices (PEP), and child effortful control (EC) are associated with child dietary intake within and across three Chinese ethnic groups.

Method

Participants included 119 Chinese international immigrants in the United States, 230 urban nonmigrant, and 468 rural-to-urban migrant mothers and preschoolers in China. Mothers reported on their ELFI, PEP, and their children's EC and dietary intake.

Results

Controlling for maternal and child body mass index, age, and gender, multiple group path analyses revealed that maternal ELFI was positively associated with PEP in all groups, which in turn was positively associated with child unhealthy diet in all groups, but negatively associated with child fruits and vegetables (F&V) consumption in the urban nonmigrant group only. Also, EC was positively associated with child F&V diet for all groups. Moreover, the indirect effect of ELFI on children's unhealthy diet through PEP was significant only for immigrant children with lower levels of EC, but not those with higher levels of EC.

Conclusions

Our findings highlighted the long-lasting effect of mothers' ELFI on their feeding and child eating. Mothers' pressuring to eat played a central role in the association between their past experiences and children's diet. Also, children's poor EC abilities might exacerbate the adverse effect of mothers' ELFI through PEP, resulting in more unhealthy eating. These findings can contribute to the design of contextually based intervention/prevention programs that promote young children's healthy eating through maternal feeding practices and children's EC abilities.

Child inhibitory control and maternal acculturation moderate effects of maternal parenting on Chinese American children's adjustment

The goals of this study were to examine: (a) bidirectional associations between maternal parenting (physical punishment and guilt induction) and Chinese American preschool children's psychosocial adjustment and (b) the role of maternal cultural orientation and child temperament in moderating parenting effects. Participants were Chinese American mothers and children (N = 163, M_age = 4.56, 53% boys). Mothers reported on their parenting practices at both Wave 1 (W1) and Wave 2 (W2) and their cultural orientations and children's inhibitory control at W1. Teachers rated children's prosocial, internalizing, and externalizing behaviors at both W1 and W2. A Bayesian approach to path analysis was utilized to investigate how parenting, child inhibitory control, and maternal cultural orientations work together to predict the development of children's prosociality and psychosocial problems. Results showed that for Chinese immigrant mothers who were highly acculturated toward the American culture and for children with low levels of inhibitory control, maternal use of physical punishment predicted more externalizing problems in children. Child inhibitory control and maternal enculturation were directly associated with less W2 child internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Moreover, physical punishment predicted more internalizing behavior, whereas guilt induction predicted less child internalizing behavior. Maternal guilt induction also prospectively predicted more prosocial behavior but only for children with low levels of inhibitory control. Finally, only one child effect was significant: More W1 internalizing behavior predicted less W2 physical punishment. These effects held after controlling for temporal stabilities of the constructs and demographic covariates. Findings are discussed within the cultural context of the study. (PsycINFO Database Record

Commentary: Charting Future Directions for Research on Asian American Child Development

Asian Americans are now the fastest growing ethnic minority group in the United States, but developmental research on them lags behind that of African Americans and Latinos. It is advocated that developmental scientists working with Asian American families focus on early developmental processes, on the cultural aspects of family socialization and dynamics that may contribute to child outcomes, and on capturing the complexity of factors that promote cultural adaptation and strengths in particular contexts. The theoretical frameworks, methodological recommendations, and timely themes highlighted in this special issue will motivate scholars, interventionists, and policymakers to find ways to better understand and meet the needs of the growing number of Asian American children and their families.

Associations Between Parenting Styles and Perceived Child Effortful Control Within Chinese Families in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan

The current study examined the associations between parentally perceived child effortful control (EC) and the parenting styles of 122 Chinese mothers (36 first-generation Chinese immigrants in the United Kingdom, 40 first-generation Chinese immigrants in the United States, and 46 Taiwanese mothers) of 5- to 7-year-old (M age = 5.82 years, SD = .805; 68 boys and 54 girls) children. The findings showed significant cultural group differences in mothers' reported authoritarian parenting style. Significant associations also emerged between mothers' reports of their children's EC and some parenting dimensions, although there were no cultural group differences in perceived child EC. Different patterns of associations between perceived child EC and parenting styles in these three groups also demonstrated heterogeneity within the Chinese population, and highlighted the need to consider differences between original and receiving societies when seeking to understand parenting and child development in different immigrant groups.

Preschool-Age Chinese Children's Weight Status: WHO Classification, Parent Ratings, Child/Family Characteristics

PURPOSE

We aimed to compare preschool-age Chinese children's weight status based on the WHO guidelines with parental ratings on their children's body type, and child/family demographic characteristics.

METHOD

The sample included 171 preschool-age children (M=60.5months, SD=6.7; boys: 46.8%) randomly selected from 23 classrooms. Based on BMIs from their height and weight from physical examinations, the children were divided into three groups using the 2006 WHO guidelines: underweight (n=46), normal weight (n=65), and overweight (n=60). Data on the parental ratings of children's current body type, ideal body type and child/family demographic characteristics were collected with surveys.

RESULTS

Parents' accurately classified 91.1% of the underweight children, 52.3% of the normal weight children, and 61.7% of the overweight children. In terms of ideal body shape for their children, parents typically wanted their children to have normal weight or to remain underweight. Most of the child and family demographic characteristics were not different across children who were underweight, had normal weight, and were overweight.

CONCLUSION

Because parents tended to underestimate their children's weight status, it is important to increase Chinese parents' knowledge on what constitutes healthy weight, as well as the potential harm of overweight status for children's development. Training healthcare providers in kindergartens and pediatric clinics to work with parents to recognize unhealthy weight status in children is valuable.

Chinese Malaysian Adolescents' Social-Cognitive Reasoning Regarding Filial Piety Dilemmas

This study examined the social-cognitive reasoning of 52 Chinese Malaysian preadolescents (9-12 years old; M = 11.02, SD = 0.94) and 68 adolescents (13-18 years old; M = 14.76, SD = 1.39) in resolving filial dilemmas within the personal and moral domain. Preadolescents deferred to parental authority, whereas adolescents endorsed filial obligation reasoning to justify compliance in the personal domain. Both appealed to filial obligation, pragmatic, or welfare and safety reasoning to justify compliance but fairness or rights reasoning to justify their noncompliance, for the moral issue. Distinctions between authoritarian and reciprocal filial piety reasoning were revealed. Findings demonstrated complex decision-making and cognitive reasoning processes among Chinese Malaysian adolescents as they negotiate their filial obligations and autonomy development.

Acculturation, psychological adjustment, and parenting styles of Chinese immigrant mothers in the United States

OBJECTIVES

This study examined whether acculturation to American culture, maintenance of Chinese culture, and their interaction predicted Chinese immigrant parents' psychological adjustment and parenting styles. We hypothesized that American orientation would be associated with more positive psychological well-being and fewer depressive symptoms in immigrant mothers, which in turn would be associated with more authoritative parenting and less authoritarian parenting. The examination of the roles of Chinese orientation and the interaction of the 2 cultural orientations in relation to psychological adjustment and parenting were exploratory.

METHOD

Participants were 164 first-generation Chinese immigrant mothers in the United States (Mage = 37.80). Structural equation modeling was used to examine the direct and indirect effects of acculturation on psychological adjustment and parenting. Bootstrapping technique was used to explore the conditional indirect effects of acculturation on parenting as appropriate.

RESULTS

American orientation was strongly associated with positive psychological well-being, which was in turn related to more authoritative parenting and less authoritarian parenting. Moreover, American and Chinese orientations interacted to predict depressive symptoms, which were in turn associated with more authoritarian parenting. Specifically, American orientation was negatively associated with depressive symptoms only at mean or high levels of Chinese orientation.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest acculturation as a distal contextual factor and psychological adjustment as 1 critical mechanism that transmits effects of acculturation to parenting. Promoting immigrant parents' ability and comfort in the new culture independently or in conjunction with encouraging biculturalism through policy intervention efforts appear crucial for the positive adjustment of Chinese immigrant parents and children. (PsycINFO Database Record

Processes and conditions underlying the link between shyness and school adjustment among Turkish children

This study examined the underlying processes and conditions that contribute to the school adjustment of shy children in Turkey, where children's interpersonal relationships in social settings and academic achievement are highly emphasized. First, we examined the unique mediating roles of children's feelings of social anxiety, depressive symptoms, and loneliness in the associations between shyness and indices of school outcomes (academic achievement and school liking/avoidance). Second, we explored the moderating role of children's peer acceptance in these associations. Fourth- and fifth-grade children (N = 599; M_age  = 10.11 years, SD = 0.65; 48% girls) provided information on shyness, social anxiety, depressive symptoms, loneliness, and school liking/avoidance. Head teachers in each classroom reported on students' academic performance. The peer nomination method was used to assess children's peer relationships. Results revealed that when children displayed shy behaviours, they reported more depressive symptoms that were, in turn, associated with poorer academic performance, less school liking, and higher school avoidance. Moreover, shyness negatively predicted school liking at low levels of peer acceptance, suggesting that difficulties in peer relationships increased shy children's risk of school dissatisfaction. Overall, our findings support the importance of the interpersonal relationship context for children's adjustment within the Turkish cultural context. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Shy children have difficulties initiating and maintaining social interactions, which put them at risk for a wide range of socio-emotional difficulties. Shy children have poor academic performance and experience school adjustment difficulties in North America. What does this study add? Shyness is an important risk factor for poorer academic performance and adjustment among children in Turkey. The association between shyness and difficulties at school is explained by children's experience of depressive symptoms. Difficulties with peer relationships increase shy children's risk of school dissatisfaction.

Validation of the Self-Regulation Scale in Chinese Children

Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Self-Regulation Scale (C-SRS) were examined in a sample of 1,458 third- to eighth-grade students in China. Children completed self-reports of self-regulation, loneliness, depression, and self-esteem, and teachers rated children’s school adjustment. Results showed a stable three-factor model that demonstrated a reasonable fit to the C-SRS items, and the scale demonstrated adequate internal consistency, reliability, and convergent validity. Results of measurement invariance tests indicated metric and scalar invariance across gender and grade. Findings from this study suggest that the C-SRS can be used with Chinese primary and junior high school students.

The role of acculturation in the emerging adulthood of aboriginal college students

Compared to traditional, non-Western cultures, emerging adulthood (18–25 years of age) may look considerably different in cultures that place emphasis on the group (i.e., collectivistic) over the individual (i.e., individualistic). However, within minority cultures, individual members vary on the extent to which they identify with their heritage culture. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the role that culture, particularly acculturation to Canadian aboriginal heritage culture, may play in emerging adulthood. Specifically, aboriginal emerging adults who scored above or below the mean of their peers on acculturation to their heritage (aboriginal) culture were compared to their majority European Canadian counterparts in several aspects of emerging adulthood including (a) perceived adult status, (b) perceived criteria for adulthood, (c) achieved criteria for adulthood, (d) personal beliefs about the future, and (e) risk behaviours. Results revealed the significance of examining acculturation in understanding the role of culture in the process of emerging adulthood, particularly among ethnic minority youth. In particular, findings revealed that young aboriginal adults’ level of identification with aboriginal traditions such as the significance of interdependence and maintenance of harmony, the role of children and family, and historical sociocultural events appeared to play a role in many aspects of emerging adulthood.