Poster #157 - Verbal Expressions of Affection in Chinese American Immigrant Parents: Associations with Parenting Style and Cultural Orientation

• In Event: 1-115 - Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Section - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Integrative Statement

Parents’ expression of emotion in the family context plays a critical role in children’s socioemotional development (Eisenberg, Cumberland, & Spinrad, 1998). However, norms regarding parents’ verbal expression of emotion, particularly expressions of praise and affection, vary across ethnic groups. Specifically, Chinese American parents have been found to favor nonverbal rather than verbal expressions of love, and praise their children less frequently than European American parents (Ng, Pomerantz, & Lam, 2007; Wilkins & Gareis, 2006). These cross-cultural differences have often been attributed to differences in parenting style, such that Chinese parents are consistently higher on measures of authoritarian parenting, and lower on measures of authoritative parenting compared to European American parents (Chao, 2000, 2001; Pearson & Rao, 2003; Wu, Robinson, Yang, Hart, Olsen, Porter, et al., 2002).

A seminal line of research by Chao (1998, 2000; 2001) has argued that guan, an indigenous Chinese parenting style, maintains the hierarchical control and discipline common in authoritarian parenting while lacking the explicit affection and warmth common in authoritative parenting. Despite this longstanding assertion, little research to-date with Chinese parents has specifically tested relations between authoritarian parenting styles and explicit expressions of affection.

The present study examined associations between acculturation, parenting styles, and observed verbal expressions of affection between Chinese American immigrant parents (N = 161) and their elementary-age children (7-11 years old; M = 9.06 years; 48.3 % girls). We had two hypotheses:
1. Chinese parents higher in orientation to American culture would express more direct verbal affirmations with their children
2. Chinese parents higher in authoritative parenting styles would express more direct verbal affirmations with their children, while Chinese parents higher in authoritarian parenting styles would provide fewer direct, and more indirect verbal affirmations.

Parents completed the Cultural and Social Acculturation Scale (Chen & Lee, 1996), assessing their orientation to American and Chinese culture. Parents also completed the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (Robinson, Mandleco, Olsen, & Hart, 1995), assessing aspects of authoritarian parenting and authoritative parenting. Parents then participated in an affirmation discussion with their children, in which they were instructed to help their children understand how much they love and care for them, using the language of their choice. Discussions from 72 parent-child dyads were transcribed and translated into English from Mandarin or Cantonese. Parent verbal expressions of affection were then categorized as direct, indirect, or non-affirming (Table 1).

Consistent with hypothesis, parent orientation to American culture was positively correlated with direct and verbal expressions of affection (r = .26, p = .03). Contrary to hypothesis, two aspects of authoritarian parenting were positively correlated with direct expressions, and negatively correlated with indirect expressions. Parental Verbal Hostility was positively correlated with direct expressions of affection (r = .39, p = .001) and negatively correlated with indirect expressions (r = -.33, p = .005). Similarly, Parent Directiveness was positively correlated with verbal and direct expressions of affection (r = .25, p = .037), and negatively correlated with indirect expressions (r = -.20, p = .09).

Authors

• Xue Fang Deng, Wellesley College
  Presenting Author

• Yihe Jamie Zhang, Wellesley College
  Non-Presenting Author

• Cindy Liu, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
  Non-Presenting Author

• Leslie Wang, University of Massachusetts-Boston
  Non-Presenting Author

• Stephen H. Chen, Wellesley College
  Non-Presenting Author