Asian-American Fathers/Father-Figures: Factors Associated with Harsh Parenting Behavior

Background: More studies have focused on the comparisons of childrearing cultures and practices among white, African-American, and Hispanic parents, and relatively recent and more focus has been on fathers and father-figures and their role in child abuse and neglect.  However, Asian American parents, especially fathers/father-figures, have been understudied even though more research has started focusing on fathers’ parenting and involvement with children.  While much research has been conducted on identifying risk factors related to harsh parenting that may result in child abuse, more culturally-sensitive and culturally-based knowledge on this population is necessary to prevent and intervene for child maltreatment risks.  To fill the gap in the child welfare literature, the present study explored the characteristics of Asian American fathers/father-figures and the risk factors associated with their harsh parenting.    

Methods: This study used the data from 94 Asian American fathers/father-figures who resided in New York. This is a subsample of a larger study that contained data from 572 Asian American parents.  A face-to-face interview survey was conducted 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, harsh parenting was measured by three proxies: (1) psychological aggression; (2) physical aggression; and (3) spanking.  Key independent variables were: (1) beliefs on the outcomes of physical punishment; (2) familism; (3) stress; (4) machismo, and (5) education level.

Results: The average age of fathers/father-figures was 43.67 years (SD=8.3) and ranged from 27 to 78.  About 50% of fathers/father-figures had some college or higher degree of education.  Multivariate analysis results showed that if fathers/father-figures believed that the outcomes of physical punishment would be positive, they were more likely to engage in psychological aggression, physical aggression, and spanking.  Families and machismo were nonsignificant while higher level of education was a significant predictor for psychological aggression and spanking.  Stress was a significant predictor for psychological aggression only. 

Conclusions: There is an urgent need to conduct more studies to learn from and about Asian American fathers/father-figures.  Little research has been conducted to compare Asian American fathers/father-figures to those of white, African American and/or Hispanic.  It will be also important to compare risk factors between Asian American fathers and mothers.  Then, the findings from research can inform practice about how to differentiate services for Asian American fathers from those for mothers.  The findings from this study emphasized the important role of community-based child welfare agencies as they can address different risk factors among Asian American fathers/father-figures with various backgrounds. Interventions addressing beliefs on the outcomes of physical punishment and parenting stress may be essential in reducing the risk for child maltreatment among Asian American fathers/father-figures.