How Are Neighborhood Structural Indexes Associated with Parenting Stress Among Asian Immigrant Families?

Background: The Asian immigrant population is the fourth largest immigrant population in the United States, and its parenting stress issues have been consistently recognized in previous studies. However, little attention has been paid to neighborhood-level factors and their parenting stress. To fill this research gap, this study examined two questions: (1) Is there a direct relationship between neighborhood structural indexes and parenting stress among Asian immigrant families? (2) Do cultural orientation and social support indirectly affect parenting stress among Asian immigrant families?

Methods: This study used two datasets: the 2010-17 Study of Asian American Families (SAAF) and the 2016 American Community Survey 5-year estimates. The two datasets were matched using ZIP codes, and the final sample size was 849. Parenting stress was measured by the Parenting Stress Index Short Form. Neighborhood structural indexes included three indexes: neighborhood economic disadvantages, residential instability, and ethnic heterogeneity. Cultural orientation was measured by cultural values and cultural practices. Cultural values were measured by the Multiphasic Assessment of Cultural Constructs-Short Form. Cultural practice was assessed by the Korean Acculturation Scale. Social support was measured by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Related demographic variables were controlled. Mplus 8.0 was used to estimate structural equation models. Bootstrapping was applied to test the indirect effects.

Results: The model fit is acceptable: CFI = .97, RMSEA = .048, SRMR = .09. Neighborhood economic disadvantages and ethnic heterogeneity were directly associated with parenting stress among Asian immigrant families respectively (b = 0.12, p = .001; b = -0.11, p = .002). Then, for indirect effects, Asian parents living in a neighborhood with high economic disadvantages had stronger preferences for their traditional culture (b = 0.12, p = .01) and lower social support (b = -0.10, p = 0.02), which increased their parenting stress (b = 0.14, p < .001). Living in a community with higher ethnic diversity increased Asian immigrants’ preference for their traditional cultural values (b = 0.12, p = .006), and in turn, increased the parenting stress level (b = 0.14, p = .001). Interestingly, compared with cultural values, living in a neighborhood with more residents from other ethnicities made Asian immigrants more likely to practice American culture than Asian culture (b = -0.09, p = .03), which also increased their parenting stress.

Conclusions: The findings contribute to the field in two ways. First, this study examined neighborhood-level community effects among Asian immigrants, which is an underserved population in terms of mental health and well-being. The Asian immigrant population has grown rapidly, but its parenting stress and behaviors and needs are not well understood, and related services are severely lacking. Second, this study focused on the interactive effects of cultural orientation, social support, and neighborhood factors on minority families’ well-being, going beyond the traditional individual-level perspective. Further research and practice should focus on: (a) community-based practice for Asian immigrant communities to promote mental health and parenting; and (b) factors and inventions that can effectively facilitate Asian immigrant families’ healthy community experiences and cultural orientation.