The Generation Game: Parenting and Child Outcomes in Second-Generation South Asian Immigrant Families in Britain

Abstract

Despite much research being conducted around identity and acculturation, immigrant groups are often collectively considered according to ethnicity with broad policy recommendations applied to them. The role of generational status is frequently ignored. This article reveals findings from an in-depth interview and questionnaire-based assessment of parenting quality and parent–child relationships, child psychological adjustment, and contextual factors in 90 second-generation Indian, Pakistani, and White British mothers with 5- to 7-year-old children living in minority dense urban areas of the United Kingdom. The analysis aimed to understand second-generation parenting in more depth and to explore similarities and differences between the three British-born groups. Standardized interviews and questionnaires were used to quantitatively measure parenting and child adjustment across a number of constructs. The study found positive levels of child adjustment across all groups. Similarities were found between family types for some aspects of parenting quality. Identified differences were generally reflected between the Pakistani and White mothers, with the Indian mothers lying between the two, including child supervision and discipline, levels of religiousness, and ethnic identity (all higher in the Pakistani group). The current findings relating to second-generation mothers and their children did not support the negative assumptions which are often associated with ethnic minority families. The findings also increase understanding of effective parenting processes across different ethnic groups.