Date of Award

May 2018

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Advisor(s)

Jaipaul Roopnarine

Keywords

chinese, guan, immigrant, parenting, shaming, training

Subject Categories

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Abstract

This study utilized a confluence of propositions within interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory, the developmental niche model, model of acculturation strategies, and the cultural normativeness hypothesis to examine links between shaming and training parenting strategies, and psychological and academic outcomes among children of Chinese immigrants living in the U.S. The sample consisted of 51 Chinese ninth and tenth grade children and their mothers residing in the Cleveland metropolitan area. Mothers and children were asked to complete the Parental Training Scale, Critical Comparison and Shaming Questionnaire (CCS), and also asked about their perception of the normativeness of these parenting practices in their community. Mothers also filled out the Kessler 10 Psychological Distress Scale, and children were asked to report on their end of year letter grades. The research questions explored included: (1) What was the prevalence of the use of guan and shaming among Chinese-American mothers and did they vary by generational status and socio-economic status? (2) What were the direct associations between maternal use of guan and shaming and Chinese American 9th and 10th grade children’s psychological distress and academic performance? and (3) Did children’s perceptions of the normativeness of the use of guan and shaming moderate the associations between the use of guan and shaming and children’s psychological distress and academic performance? Did mother’s perceptions of the normativeness of the use of guan and shaming moderate the associations between their use of guan and shaming and children’s psychological distress and academic performance? Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple regression techniques. Results indicated that mothers in the study strongly endorsed guan parenting, but less so shaming parenting. Mothers’ reports of shaming was a significant predictor of children’s psychological distress, but not children’s academic performance. Children’s reports of guan and shaming were significant predictors of their academic performance, but not their psychological distress. Children’s perceived cultural normativeness moderated the relation between maternal use of shaming and children’s psychological distress such that the association between mothers’ reports of the use of shaming and children’s psychological distress was stronger for children perceiving low cultural normativeness of shaming than for those perceiving high cultural normativeness of shaming. Findings are discussed in terms of the prevalence of the two indigenous parenting practices in Chinese immigrant families and their associations with children’s social adjustment and academic outcomes.

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