Vietnamese Adolescents in Australia: Relationships between Perceptions of Self and Parental Values, Intergenerational Conflict, and Gender Dissatisfaction

Abstract

The present study examined traditional family and independence values among young Vietnamese respondents (N = 204), their perceptions of parents' values, and the impact of differential parent‐adolescent acculturation on intergenerational conflict and gender satisfaction. The study confirmed that adolescents perceived that they had less traditional values than their parents. Traditional family values diminished with time spent in Australia while the value accorded to independence increased. This pattern was stronger for girls than for boys. Girls valued Vietnamese traditions less than did their male peers, regarded their parents as being less accepting of independence, and were more dissatisfied with their gender role than boys. For girls but not for boys, discrepancy between adolescent and parental values was associated with more conflict and greater gender dissatisfaction. This study suggests that girls have more difficulty than boys in dealing simultaneously with the expectations of two cultures.