Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries (January 11 - 14, 2007)

Purpose. Although a vast literature demonstrates the importance of parental involvement to positive child outcomes in the general population, its role in immigrant families has been understudied. The current investigation addresses this gap in the literature. Informed by acculturation and social capital theories, the study hypothesized that Southeast Asian American parents' acculturation would enhance their active involvement in their adolescent child's life (mediator) which would promote a better intergenerational relationship and stronger self-esteem in the child. The study is important because Southeast Asian parents have suffered significant trauma and are less acculturated than other Asian immigrants. Thus, they may be especially compromised in their ability to effectively engage in their children's lives. Also, as adolescence marks a time of significant transition in the intergenerational relationship and the youth's self-concept, it is important to identify factors that contribute to positive outcomes. Finally, the study holds important service implications.

Methods. A total of 491 Southeast Asian adolescents and their parents from San Diego who participated in the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study comprised the sample. Of these, 47.7% were Vietnamese, 27.1% were Laotian, 16.3% were Cambodian, and 9% were Hmong. Among the parents, 59.7% were fathers, had a mean age of 50.46 years (SD=8.94), and have resided in the United States for 14.23 years (SD=3.92). Among the adolescents, 49.7% were male, had a mean age of 17.37 years (SD=.93), and 91.4% % were non-native born. Adolescents completed paper-pencil surveys while their parents completed in-person interviews.

Parental data included: Parental Acculturation which was measured by their ability to speak, read, write, and understand English. Parental engagement in the child's life was assessed by a 2-item Home-Educational Involvement scale (e.g., discussing educational activities and aspirations), a 3-item School Involvement scale (e.g, involvement with the PTA), and a 2-item Social Involvement scale (e.g., familiarity with child's friends and their parents). Adolescent data included quality of the intergenerational relationship which was measured by a 4-item Family Conflict scale (e.g., “argue because we don't share similar goals”), and a 3-item Family Cohesion scale (e.g., “family togetherness is very important”). Child's Esteem was measured by the 10-item Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (e.g., “I am satisfied with myself”).

Results. The path analysis model provided an overall good fit with the data. As hypothesized, parent's English ability predicted parental involvement in all three domains (standardized betas ranged from .13 to .21, p<.05). Home-educational and social involvement reduced family conflict (standardized betas = -.17 and -.21, p<.05, respectively), while school involvement enhanced family cohesion (standardized beta = .46, p<.01). Finally, intergenerational conflict reduced the adolescent's esteem (standardized beta = -.63, p<.01) while intergenerational cohesion enhanced it (standardized beta = .13, p<.05). As predicted, parental involvement mediated the effect of parental acculturation on the intergenerational relationship and the adolescent's self-esteem.

Implications. The study findings suggest the importance of targeting parental involvement in social work interventions with immigrant families in order to promote a better intergenerational relationship and a positive child outcome.