Asian Immigrant Parents Research Articles

Parental Involvement to Promote the Social-Emotional Well-Being of Asian Immigrant Youth: A Cultural Mismatch of Teachers and Parents’ Perspectives

This conceptual paper applies the theory adaptation approach to integrate the literature concerning barriers experienced by Asian immigrant families in parental involvement, with a specific focus on comparative analysis of perspectives from Asian immigrant families and their teachers in the United States. The mismatch in the perceptions of parental involvement held by teachers and Asian immigrant parents supports the refinement and applications of the cultural mismatch theory of inequality. The theory provides a comprehensive understanding of how the misalignment between the prevailing school culture and the cultural background of practices of Asian immigrant families contribute to the barriers of parental involvement experienced by Asian immigrant families. The paper outlines implications for reducing the barriers in the communication and collaboration between schools and Asian immigrant families, improving parental involvement in schools, and promoting the social and emotional well-being of Asian immigrant youth. Impact Statement The conceptual paper is one of the first applications of the cultural mismatch theory of inequality in conceptualizing the barriers of parental involvement faced by Asian immigrant youth’s parents and teachers. It provides research and practical implications for school psychologists and other educators on improving their practices to address parental engagement barriers to promote social-emotional well-being of youth in communities of immigrants and other marginalized groups.

“What we have done is baking together”: Asian Immigrant Parents’ Perspectives and Experiences Regarding Children’s Mental Health Related to Online Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“What we have done is baking together”: Asian Immigrant Parents’ Perspectives and Experiences Regarding Children’s Mental Health Related to Online Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Autism, Stigma, and South Asian Immigrant Families in Canada.

Considerable empirical evidence suggests early recognition of autism and access to support result in long-term positive outcomes for children and youth on the spectrum and their families. However, children of racialized families are often diagnosed at later ages, are more likely to be misdiagnosed, and experience many barriers to service access. There is also a paucity of research exploring the experiences of parents from specific immigrant groups caring for their children on the spectrum in Canada, many of whom identify as members of racialized communities. As such, the main aim of the study was to examine how South Asian immigrant parents in Canada are experiencing available care programs and support. Another aim was to examine their perceptions of social stigma associated with autism. We conducted an inductive thematic analysis of qualitative data from nine interviews with South Asian parents living in Ontario, Canada. Findings confirmed barriers to an autism diagnosis and to service access. Additionally, parents reported pronounced autism stigma, which enacted impediments to timely diagnosis, service access, and health-promoting behaviors. Findings also revealed that parents experience considerable caregiver stress and psychological distress. The generated evidence is anticipated to inform equitable policy, programming, and practices that better support the needs of children on the spectrum and their immigrant families.

Environment matters: How are neighborhood structural indexes associated with parenting stress among Asian immigrant families?

The Asian immigrant population is the fourth largest immigrant population in the United States, and its parenting stress issues have been consistently recognized in previous studies. However, little attention has been paid to neighborhood-level factors and their parenting stress. Using the Study of Asian American Families and 2016 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, this study examined the association between neighborhood structural indexes and Asian immigrant parents' parenting stress, along with the mechanism driving the relationship. We found that cultural orientation and social support fully mediated the effects of economic disadvantages on parenting stress among Asian immigrant parents. Only cultural orientation mediated the direct effects of ethnic heterogeneity on Asian parents' parenting stress. Improving Asian immigrants' living environment, including economic status and ethnic diversity, would be critical to relieve the parenting stress of Asian immigrant families. Interventions and preventions to increase social support, and inform cultural orientation and acculturation are emphasized.

Training Asian Immigrant Parents to Teach Manding to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Training Asian Immigrant Parents to Teach Manding to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Parenting in a new land: the influence of English language proficiency on immigrant parents’ experiences with intergenerational challenges

Abstract The purpose of this survey study was to explore how the English language proficiency of Asian and Latin American immigrant parents influenced their levels of intergenerational challenges as reflected in their experiences with diminished parental authority, role reversal, acculturation gap, value discrepancy, family conflict, and emotional distance. The 86 participants were Asian and Latin American immigrant parents from eight classes at three adult ESL programs in Southern California. They reported lower levels of intergenerational challenges than was expected based on the extant literature, and their experiences were quite similar regardless of their adult ESL class levels. Overall, the parents from different ethnic backgrounds shared more commonalities than differences as language and cultural learners raising children in a new land. This study sheds light on the experience of immigrant parents raising children in ethnic enclaves and pushes against common discourses about immigrants’ acculturation. The findings suggest that preserving their linguistic and cultural heritage has become increasingly important to many immigrant communities and may play a crucial role in how they navigate their roles as parents.

Transforming a cemetery into a garden of languages: A justice-oriented, family-centered framework for cultivating early bilingualism and emergent biliteracy

One in three children enrolled in US early childhood programs is a dual language learner. While dual language learners have been the target of sweeping educational reforms under the guise of justice, these reforms—which pathologize dual language learners as problems to be remediated rather than assets to be developed—have largely ignored the priorities and experiences of young multilingual learners and their families. This historical omission of centering dual language learners in research, policy, and practice is unjust and has contributed to marginalization, homogenization, and linguistic erasure. Asian Americans, the second-largest group of dual language learners and the fastest-growing racial group in the USA, have remained an underexplored group of emergent bilinguals across early childhood research, practice, and policy. Thus, this article draws on the multilingual expertise of Asian American families of young dual language learners to portray how parents construct and navigate multiple knowledges, beliefs, and pedagogies of cultivating their children's dual language and literacy development. The key findings present a justice-centered framework that conceptualizes three cultivating practices across diverse spaces, borders, and time. Counterstories of planting, pollinating, and pruning position Asian immigrant parents as agentic gardeners of bilingualism and biliteracy, and interrogate the deficit paradigms that are too often placed on dual language learners to fit the narrow, monocultural, and monolingual definitions of school readiness. Centering Asian American families in generating theory and future research directions, this article envisions the future potentiality of early childhood education in pursuit of equity and transformative justice.

Parenting stress and risks of child maltreatment among Asian immigrant parents: Does social support moderate the effects?

Parenting stress and risks of child maltreatment among Asian immigrant parents: Does social support moderate the effects?

Home-Based Parent Involvement, Parental Warmth, and Kindergarten Outcomes Among Children of Immigrant Parents

ABSTRACT Research Findings: Immigrant families who represent a growing share of the early schooling population face unique challenges related to involvement in their children’s education. This study examined whether and to what extent home-based parent involvement and parental warmth are associated with the socio-emotional and academic outcomes of children of immigrant mothers during the kindergarten year – a critical and sensitive period for later school success. The study sample included 9,187 children from the base year of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010–11. Among the major findings, the study revealed that Hispanic and Asian immigrant parents, on average, were less frequently involved in home-based activities and reported less warmth than U.S.-born parents. Additionally, greater frequency of home-based parent involvement was associated with better interpersonal skills for both children of Hispanic immigrant mothers and children of Asian immigrant mothers, but home-based involvement was also positively associated with reading and math scores for children of Asian immigrant mothers. Moreover, the association between home-based involvement and socio-emotional outcomes was manifested broadly among poor children of immigrant mothers. Practice or Policy: The findings highlight the importance of understanding cultural differences in parent involvement and parenting styles to enhance immigrant children’s educational experiences.

Health Care Use and Barriers to Care for Chronic Inflammatory Diseases (CID) among First and Second Generation South Asian Immigrant Children and Parents in Ontario Canada.

Although immigrants are disproportionately impacted by growing chronic inflammatory disease (CIDs) rates, yet suffer barriers to access health care, little attention has been given to their primary healthcare or specialist healthcare access as it relates to complex, chronic diseases in Canada, a country with universal health care. This study aims to investigate CID health care use and barriers to care among first- and second-generation immigrant South Asian children and parents in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario. Drawing on analysis of 24 in depth interviews with children and parents (14 children, 10 parents), the results reveal that although CIDs disproportionately affects South Asian immigrants, they encounter health system, geographic, interpersonal, and knowledge barriers to access requisite care. These barriers exist despite participants having a GP, and are compounded further by limited familial systems, culturally insensitive care, and structural inequities that in some instances make parents choose between health access or other basic needs. Although all participants recognized the importance of specialized care, only 11 participants regularly accessed specialized care, creating new schisms in CID management. The findings suggest that a multisectoral approach that address individual and structural level socio-structural drivers of health inequities are needed to create more equitable healthcare access.

Online ACT Matrix Parent Training for Japanese-Speaking Mothers with Distress in the United States.

Cultural stigma, shame, self-concealment, and language and socio-economic barriers often keep Asian immigrant parents and children away from mental and behavioral services in the United States. Research shows that increased levels of parent distress suggest a negative impact on parenting practices and correlate child-maltreatment. Therefore, this study aimed to test one functionally contextual strategy to address such issues. The current study evaluated the effects of an online Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) Matrix for Japanese-speaking mothers living the United States. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline single-subject design across four mothers was used to assess the effect of ACT Matrix on value-driven behaviors, parental engagement (session attendance and daily assignment completion), parental distress, and psychological flexibility. The study consisted of a baseline, treatment (three ACT Matrix treatment sessions adapted from the six-step protocol), maintenance, and follow-up phases. A visual analysis reporting level, trend, variability, immediacy of change and overlap was used to identify a functional relation between the treatment and observable overt behaviors of value-driven behaviors and daily assignment completion. In addition, a non-overlap of all pairs was used to measure effect sizes for these behaviors. For psychological flexibility and parental distress, we used the reliable change index to assess whether clinically significant improvement occurred or not. The results revealed that the online ACT Matrix parent training program was effective in improving all four dependent variables. Mothers reported that the training was culturally sensitive, effective, and acceptable. The details of findings and the implications for future research as preventive science are discussed.

Immigrant Parent Perspectives on Involvement in their Child’s Mathematics Learning: Views of East Asian Immigrant Parents in Aotearoa New Zealand

Parental involvement in mathematics learning can positively affect student achievement and wellbeing but is challenging to establish and maintain. Asian immigrants make up around 15% of New Zealand’s population, yet little is known about these parents’ involvement in their child’s schooling. To examine the experiences of parental involvement in their child’s mathematics learning of East Asian parents, data from semi-structured interviews carried out with eleven parents were considered in light of a common parental involvement framework. Parents’ perspectives about the mathematics curriculum were found to come mainly from communication with teachers and observation of their child’s learning. Parents desired improved involvement in their children’s mathematics learning and better communication with their child’s teacher. Implications include that to capitalise on the potential of parental involvement for improving mathematics learning, teachers must prioritise effective communication with parents to enable their involvement.

Culturally adapting youth mental health first aid training for Asian Americans.

Despite high rates of mental health challenges, Asian Americans are less likely to seek out and receive school-based mental health services (SBMHSs) than their non-Asian peers. The Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training is an 8-hr manualized public education program designed to educate adults on recognizing common mental health challenges among adolescents and intervening. However, no published research has evaluated YMHFA among Asian Americans. We culturally adapted YMHFA for Asian Americans (Asian American parents and youth workers) and used a pretest/posttest design to evaluate its effectiveness. Specifically, we (a) added one 2-hr session before the YMHFA to augment engagement with the curriculum and (b) contextualized the YMHFA curriculum content to ensure cultural sensitivity for Asian American participants. Thirty-one Asian immigrant parents (Mage = 45.55, SD = 3.6) and 24 Asian American youth workers (Mage = 23.17, SD = 3.67) participated in YMHFA. Participants' mental health literacy (MHL) and their confidence in using MHFA skills significantly increased after the training. Participants also participated in four focus groups after the training to share their experiences. Participants stated that they benefited from this training and suggested additional cultural adaptations to make the program more appropriate for Asian Americans. Culturally adapted YMHFA may be an effective way to promote MHL and engage Asian Americans in mental health services. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Knowledge, risk perceptions and practices surrounding chronic inflammatory diseases among first and second generation South Asian immigrants parents and children

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine knowledge and perceptions of risk surrounding chronic inflammatory diseases (CIDs) and intergenerational development, as well as practices used to acquire CID information among unaffected first- and second-generation South Asian immigrant parents and children in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario.Design/methodology/approachFifty-four in-depth interviews with parents and children (18 parents, 36 children) were conducted by trained facilitators, recorded, transcribed and analyzed qualitatively.FindingsFindings reveal that although CIDs disproportionately affect South Asian immigrants, this group has low knowledge and awareness of CID symptoms, risk factors and conditions. Yet when equipped with some knowledge about CIDs, participants linked their increased risk of CIDs to perceived risks in their broader environments such as climate variations, pollution, unhealthy food environments and health system neglect, that although yearning to change these factors, felt unable to modify their risks as factors were beyond their control. Although information is critical to manage CIDs, the findings reveal important and divergent knowledge pathways and practices used among first- and second-generation parents and children, particularly related to health-care settings and academic resources, underscoring generational disparities in knowledge acquisition.Originality/valueThe findings suggest that a multi-sector, multi-tiered approach built around a series of structural interventions, programs and policy changes is needed to address CID knowledge and awareness gaps and entrenched culturally insensitive health care to create more equitable access to healthy, safe and responsive environments and care systems for CID management.

Academic Socialization From an “Informed Distance”: Low-Income Chinese American Adolescents’ Perceptions of Their Immigrant Parents’ Educational Messages

Background/Context: Despite research that has rebutted the tiger parent stereotype, the perception that Asian immigrant parents enact overly strict and controlling educational practices continues to be widespread and entrenched. This stereotype is problematic because it constrains the understanding of Asian Americans to a one-dimensional group and engenders a false narrative of Asian American educational success as expected. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: Using an intersectional lens, this study interrogates the stereotype of Asian immigrant parents as tiger parents. We examine how one subgroup of Asian American youth—lower income Chinese American adolescents (children of Chinese immigrants) spoke about their parents’ involvement in their schooling and educational expectations. Our aim is to center young people’s explanations to explore how they perceive parental educational socialization and whether it conforms to notions of tiger parenting. We posed the following three specific research questions: (1) How do these students speak about and understand the ways in which their parents monitor their schoolwork? (2) How do these students describe and understand their parents’ messaging of educational expectations? and (3) In what ways do these students depict parent–child communication in their families? Research Design: Participants were 32 ninth-grade low-income Chinese American children of immigrants. We conducted individual interviews focused on educational socialization in the home. We used a combination of inductive and theoretically driven thematic analysis and explored the extent to which students’ perspectives of their parents converged or diverged with the tiger parent stereotype. We adopted a working definition of tiger parenting based on categories related to parenting, including close monitoring of schoolwork, perceptions of high parent expectations for school performance and educational/career attainment, and parent-initiated communications regarding children’s academic lives and decisions. Findings/Results: Our analysis revealed that participants did not experience their parents’ educational involvement as conforming to the tiger parent stereotype. Instead, students were largely self-directed and described their parents as exercising basic monitoring of schoolwork, conveying generic and pragmatic educational and career expectations, and trusting their children overall to manage schoolwork and share key school-related information as needed. We introduce a concept that we call “informed distance” as more salient for understanding our participants’ experiences. Conclusions/Recommendations: Educators must interrupt the tiger parent and model minority stereotypes to make room for a fuller and more complex understanding of Asian American students’ experiences and ensure their educational needs are equitably addressed. Teachers and counselors can play an affirmative role in educational guidance for Chinese American students.

An examination of parents’ perceptions of developmental disability, social support, and health outcomes among Chinese American parents of children with developmental disabilities

Asian immigrant parents raising children with developmental disabilities experience frustration, stress, social isolation, and poor health outcomes. Based on data collected from 55 Chinese American parents of children with developmental disabilities, this study examined the relationships between individual characteristics, parents’ perceptions of developmental disability, social support, severity of disability, and parents’ self-reported physical health and depressive symptoms. The findings showed that Chinese American parents exhibited different pathways for better health outcomes. Overall social support, specific support from family and friends/co-workers, and community involvement were significant correlates of maternal self-reported physical health and depressive symptoms. Fear of stigmatization was significantly and positively associated with maternal depressive symptoms. Similarly, education and employment status correlated with paternal self-reported physical health and depressive symptoms. The ages of parents and their children were found to be negatively correlated with paternal depressive symptoms. The child’s disability severity level was not associated with parents’ self-reported physical health and depressive symptoms. The findings also confirmed that parents’ self-reported physical health status was significantly and negatively associated with their own depressive symptoms. Chinese American mothers experienced poor physical health and greater depressive symptoms compared to Chinese American fathers. The study’s clinical implications and limitations are discussed.

How do children of immigrants perform? Evidence from Australian nationwide standardized tests

We examine the educational achievement of children of immigrants and native-born parents in Australia, using nationally representative panel data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children linked to nationwide standardized examinations. The findings indicate that children of immigrants perform significantly better than children of native-born Australians in five subjects and three grade levels. While this reflects Australia's shift towards skill-based immigration policy, such a striking difference in performance based on the parents’ country of origin and/or linguistic background suggests a role for cultural capital. Further, children of Asian immigrant parents outperform children of parents from other countries of origin. Children with immigrant parents from non-English-speaking backgrounds outperform children of both English-speaking immigrants and native-born Australians. Using matching techniques, we compare children from similar backgrounds of native-born and immigrant parents. The results suggest that unobservables such as differences in motivation could be driving the comparatively higher achievements of children of immigrants.

통합적 문헌 고찰을 통한 장애 아동 아시아 이민자 부모의 교육 관점과 한국 특수 체육교육의 연계성

The purpose of this integrative review was to analyze studies focused on the perspectives and concerns of Asian immigrant parents of children with disabilities. Key word searches were used to identify articles from electronic databases over a 19-year period from 2000 through 2019. Each study includes in this review met the inclusion criteria. Additionally, practical application and/or theoretical literature articles were analyzed in this review to support the concept and/or understanding of Asian culture. Fourteen articles, met all inclusion criteria, were reviewed, analyzed systematically, and summarized into three categories, which were: (a) Asian culture, (b) raising and educating children with disabilities, and (c) challenges of Asian parents of children with disabilities. Based on the findings of several research studies, Asian immigrant parents of children with disabilities need more comprehensive supports and assistant from professionals and focused attention from scholars in the physical education contexts to apprise school professionals to be culturally sensitive while working with Asian immigrant parents of children with disabilities.

Asian Immigrant Parents' Role Enactment While Accessing and Using Services for Their Child With Developmental Disabilities in the United States: A Meta-Synthesis Study.

We conducted a meta-synthesis to explore how Asian immigrant parents in the United States enact their perceived parental role while using health and educational services for their child with developmental disabilities. We identified 11 qualitative studies for analysis, and examined these studies using a constant comparative approach and thematic analysis informed by role theory and acculturation theory. Based on our analysis, five themes related to parents' role enactment emerged: (a) parents perceive a multifaceted parental role; (b) parents' individual factors influence their role enactment; (c) system factors influence parents' role enactment; (d) parents use coping strategies to address role dissatisfaction; and (e) parental role enactment is a continuously evolving process influenced by acculturation, which spirals them toward their ultimate goal of helping their child thrive. Findings can inform practitioners' and researchers' understanding of how to create a culturally safe environment to support Asian immigrant parents in realizing their parental role.

Asian Americans in the Suburbs: Race, Class, and Korean Immigrant Parental Engagement

ABSTRACT Drawing upon an ethnography of Korean American families in the Chicago suburbs, this article examines how Asian immigrant parents’ engagement is shaped by race, ethnicity, class, and the suburban context. Their children’s education was a driving force in parents’ decisions to settle in the suburbs. Once they arrived, parents were motivated by social mobility, first generation immigrant concerns, and racialized anxieties in their efforts to support children’s education. Parents sought to provide children with ethnic-racial socialization through Korean language school. Conversely, they turned to a private ethnic supplementary academy (hagwon) for both academic enrichment and access to white American cultural capital. Middle class Asian American parent engagement differs in both form and motivation from that of white middle class parents, demonstrating the continued relevance of race for class-advantaged Asian Americans in the suburbs.