Parent-Child Conflict and Harsh Parenting Among Asian-American Parents

Background: Previous studies on child abuse and neglect have focused on the comparisons of childrearing cultures and practices among white, African-American, and Hispanic parents, while a fast-growing minority population, Asian-American parents, has been understudied. Researchers in child welfare have examined various risk and protective factors related to harsh parenting that might lead to child maltreatment. One of the factors that may affect childrearing practice is a parent-child conflict due to high expectations or cultural gap between the parent and the child. More culturally-sensitive and culturally-based knowledge on parent-child interactions among Asian immigrant families is necessary to prevent and intervene for child maltreatment risks. To fill the gap in the child welfare literature, the present study examined parent-child conflict and its association with harsh parenting among Asian-American parents.    

Methods: This study used the complete data from 400 Asian American parents who resided in New York. Each participant had a face-to-face interview survey with a licensed bi-lingual social worker. The survey questions included: (1) cultural values; (2) childrearing practices and beliefs; (3) parental stress and mastery; (4) child discipline; (5) feelings of being a parent and social support; (6) life experiences; and (7) family demographic information. In this study, the dependent variable, harsh parenting, was measured by: (1) psychological aggression; (2) physical aggression; (3) neglect; and (4) spanking.  The key independent variable was parent-child conflict as measured by the Family Acculturation Conflicts Scale. Control variables included individual and family demographics, parent’s beliefs on the outcomes of physical punishment and values of familism. Multivariate OLS regressions were used to examine the possible effects of parent-child conflict on harsh parenting.

Results: The average age of parents was 40.7 years (SD=7.16) and ranged from 21 to 78.  Sixty-six percent of parents had some college or higher degree of education. The size of household varied ranged from 2 to 13 (M=4.22; SD=1.32). Multivariate analysis results showed that if parents reported higher parent-child conflict, they were more likely to engage in psychological aggression and neglect. If participants reported stronger beliefs in corporal punishment, they were more likely to engage in psychological aggression, physical aggression, or spanking.  In this model, familism was statistically nonsignificant. Moreover, a higher level of education of parents was a significant predictor for psychological aggression and spanking.

Conclusions: The findings from this study imply that issues around acculturation, which may cause a parent-child conflict, should be addressed when working immigrant families. Cultural values and beliefs should be understood by social service and public health professionals while acknowledging that there are variances not only between different ethnic groups but also within an ethnic group. Community-based social service agencies may provide educational programs to clarify the differences between discipline and abuse. Different parenting styles (e.g., authoritative) and alternative “discipline” styles (e.g., reinforcements) can be introduced. Community outreach to raise awareness about potential negative outcomes of physical punishment may be important. Future studies should explore the role of familism in Asian families as well as the child-parent interactions of parents with a high level of education.