Relations Between Parent–Child Acculturation Differences and Adjustment Within Immigrant Chinese Families

Abstract

The relations between parent and child acculturation and family and child adjustment were examined among 91 immigrant Chinese families in Canada with early adolescents (average age of 12). Acculturation was assessed in public (e.g., language use) and private (e.g., values) domains separately in Chinese and Canadian cultures. With one exception, interactions between parent and child acculturation in Canadian domains were unrelated to adjustment (conflict intensity, depressive feelings, and achievement motivation). Interactions in Chinese domains were more clearly associated with adjustment. Specifically, mother-child interactions in Chinese public domains and father-child interactions in the Chinese private domain predicted adjustment. In all interactions, when parents were strongly orientated toward Chinese culture, lower levels of Chinese orientation among children were associated with lower adjustment.