Cultural Values Moderate Bidirectional Associations Between Chinese-Immigrant Mothers’ Emotion Socialization and Children’s Emotions

• In Event: Unfolding Emotion Socialization in Chinese-Heritage Families

Abstract

Culture provides a context in which emotion socialization is embedded (Halberstadt & Lozada, 2011), and the bidirectional effects between parents’ emotion socialization and children’s emotional behaviors work differently across cultures. Yet, the bidirectional associations between parents’ emotion socialization practices and children’s emotions within an emotion-laden situation remain unexplored among Chinese-immigrant families despite preliminary research findings showing Chinese-immigrant mothers’ risk of engaging in controlling socialization practices and children’s higher levels of emotional distress compared to their European American counterparts (Huang, Cheng, Calzada, & Brotman, 2012). Moreover, Eisenberg et al.’s (1998) model emphasized contextual moderators in these bidirectional associations but there is limited research on the role of culture in emotion socialization processes. Thus, this study examined the moderating role of Asian cultural values (ACV) in the bidirectional associations between Chinese-immigrant mothers’ observed emotion socialization practices (i.e., emotion coaching [EC], emotion dismissing [ED], and moral and behavioral socialization [MBS]) and their children’s expressed anger and sadness.
Seventy-five Chinese-immigrant mothers (Mage=40.71 years, SD=3.61) and their children (Mage=6.72 years, SD=0.95; 55% female) experienced a validated disappointment-inducing paradigm (Cole, 1986). Children ranked eight toys, completed a filler task, and were given their least desired prize. In Interval 1, the mother and disappointed child were left alone by the researchers for two minutes. In Interval 2, the researcher returned to acknowledge their mistake and left the room for 30 seconds. Mothers’ use of EC, ED and MBS practices, and children’s anger and sadness were coded (κInterval1=.88-1.00; κInterval2=.91-1.00).
Descriptives and correlations were provided in Table 1. Results (see Figure 1) revealed that mothers’ ED practices led to more intensified display of anger and sadness in children; however, this effect was buffered by mothers’ endorsement of ACV. Thus, ED may be less likely to exacerbate the expression of anger and sadness in children when mothers hold more ACV, perhaps because these practices align with cultural values towards interdependence and are considered more normative in the Chinese culture than in mainstream American culture (Fung & Lau, 2009; Pomerantz & Wang, 2009). In addition, mothers’ use of EC was associated with less anger and sadness in children when mothers endorsed fewer ACV, indicating a greater cultural fit of autonomy-supporting emotion socialization practices within the U.S. context. Similarly, children’s anger and sadness were more likely to evoke mothers’ use of EC practices when mothers endorsed less ACV. Mothers who hold less traditional Asian values may view warmer and autonomy-promoting practices that encourage and validate children’s emotions to be adaptive for their children in the U.S. (Cheah et al., 2013). Additionally, children’s anger and sadness also evoked mothers’ greater use of MBS practices when mothers endorsed stronger ACV. Mothers who hold more cultural values of social harmony, self-reflection, and morality (Fung & Lau, 2009; Ho, 2008) may use MBS practices to foster emotional restraint in children and teach children how to appropriately behave. Collectively, findings revealed the importance of cultural values in the interplay between maternal emotional socialization and child emotions. Findings will be discussed within the cultural and immigration context.

Authors

• Kathy T. T. Vu, N/A
  Non-Presenting Author

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

• Suqing Wang, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
  Presenting Author

• Amy Halberstadt, North Carolina State University
  Non-Presenting Author