Examination of Korean immigrant mothers' parenting practices: By using the framework of bilinear acculturation.

Abstract

By using the conceptual framework of bilinear acculturation, this study examined Korean immigrant mothers' parenting practices among 389 mother-youth (adolescent children in middle or high school) dyads. We examined (a) how mothers' acculturation and enculturation were related to mainstream (i.e., authoritarian vs. authoritative styles, communication, warmth/bonding, autonomy support) versus culture specific parenting practices (i.e., interdependence, commitment to education, academic control) and (b) how parenting practices were, in turn, linked to youth outcomes of depression, antisocial behaviors, and academic performance as measured 1.5 years later. Mothers and youth had significant perceptual gaps in parenting practices, especially in autonomy support and parental commitment to education. Therefore, path analyses were conducted separately for mother-reported versus youth-reported parenting. As hypothesized, mothers' acculturation was more closely related to mainstream parenting, while enculturation was to culture specific parenting. Mother-reported autonomy support predicted higher academic performance, while youth-reported authoritarian parenting predicted lower academic performance. Youth-reported communication predicted lower depression and antisocial behaviors. The current findings have implications for parenting and family interventions to optimize Korean immigrant youth's wellbeing in the bicultural context. Additionally, bilinear acculturation was found to be a useful conceptual framework in studying immigrant parenting.