Poster #134 - Discrimination and Ethnic Identity Resolution Predict Chinese Immigrant Mothers’ Psychological Control

• In Event: 3-106 - Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: PS 11 Section - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Integrative Statement

Parental psychological control (PPC) includes practices that induce children’s compliance through manipulative techniques (Barber, 1996) and has been found to undermine children’s development (Pomerantz & Wang, 2009). Chinese mothers who hold more traditional Asian values that emphasize children’s obedience (Chao, 1994) tend to use more PPC (Wang et al., 2007). However, less is known about how contextual factors in the U.S. may impact Chinese immigrant mothers’ use of PPC. The rejection-identification model (Branscombe et al., 1999) posits that perceived racial discrimination may increase Chinese immigrant mothers’ identification with their Asian cultural values as a coping mechanism, which in turn, may lead to more use of PPC. Moreover, this association may be moderated by mothers’ ethnic identity resolution. Mothers who have resolved what their ethnic identities means to them may react more intensively to discrimination because they are more invested in their ethnicity (Downey & Feldman, 1996), and thereby increase their identification with heritage cultural values more than those with less resolved ethnic identities. Thus, the present study examined whether perceived discrimination, ethnic identity resolution, and their interactions would be associated with Chinese immigrant mothers’ traditional Asian values, and in turn, their use of PPC 6 months later.
Participants were 149 Chinese immigrant mothers of preschoolers (Mage=37.88, SD=4.79) recruited from Maryland, U.S.A, who reported on the perceived intensity of their experiences with racial discrimination (Yoo & Lee, 2004; α=.89), ethnic identity resolution (Umaña-Taylor et al., α=.82), and traditional Asian values (Kim & Hong, 2004; α=.78) at Time 1 (T1), and psychologically controlling practices (Olsen et al., 2002; α=.91) at both T1 and six months later at Time 2 (T2).
Path analysis conducted to test the proposed model indicated that the model fit the data well, χ2(8)=15.99, RMSEA=0.08, CFI=0.95, SRMR=0.06. The interaction between T1 perceived discrimination intensity and T1 ethnic identity resolution was significantly associated with Chinese immigrant mothers’ T1 traditional Asian values, which in turn positively predicted T2 PPC (Figure 1), after controlling for T1 PPC. Specifically, greater perceived discrimination intensity was associated with stronger identification with traditional Asian values only at high levels of ethnic identity resolution (Figure 2). The conditional indirect effect of discrimination intensity on PPC at high levels of ethnic identity resolution was significant (b=0.03, 95% CI[0.01, 0.06]).
Chinese immigrant mothers who experienced more intense racial discrimination more strongly identified with their heritage cultural values, perhaps as a coping strategy to preserve their well-being (Branscombe et al., 1999). Stronger identification with traditional cultural values, in turn, predicted higher levels of psychologically controlling practices, which are more normative in Asian cultures due to the focus on social harmony and children’s conformity (Chao, 1994). However, this association was only found in mothers who have resolved and internalized the meaning of their Chinese ethnicity, perhaps because ethnic discrimination poses a more severe threat to their self-concept than those who are less identified with their ethnic group (Downey & Feldman, 1996). These findings will be discussed considering the cultural and immigrant context of these families.

Authors

• Xiaoli Zong, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
  Presenting Author

• Jing Yu, NICHD
  Non-Presenting Author

• Xiaofang Xue, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
  Non-Presenting Author

• Salih Barman, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
  Non-Presenting Author

• Charissa S. L. Cheah, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
  Non-Presenting Author