R

E S E A R C H

E P O R T

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Chinese Immigrant Mothers of Adolescents:

Self-Perceptions of Acculturation Effects
on Parenting

LYDIA P. BUKI
University of Illinois
TSUNG-CHIEH MA
Soochow University
ROBERT D. STROM
SHIRLEY K. STROM
Arizona State University

Immigrant families in the United States experience many adjustments, including the
challenge of parenting in a new context. The relationship between self-perceptions of
parenting behavior and mothers perceived acculturation levels for themselves and their
children was examined in 95 Chinese immigrant mothers. Data showed that mothers
perceived their children as more acculturated than themselves, mothers reported a great
need to learn more about how their children are growing up today, a larger perceived
acculturation gap was associated with more parenting difficulties, and several factors
contributed to perceptions of a more favorable parenting experience. Culturally responsive methodologies used in the translation and administration of measures, and specific
modifications made to develop the Chinese version of the Parent Success Indicator, are
discussed.
Chinese immigrant acculturation parenting mothers

According to the U.S. Immigration and

Naturalization Service (2000), more immigrants were admitted from China, Hong

Kong, and Taiwan to the United States in

the 1980s (444,962) than the two preceding
decades combined. The pace of immigra-

Lydia P. Buki, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois; Tsung-Chieh Ma,

Department of Social Work, Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan; Robert D. Strom, Division of
Psychology in Education, Arizona State University; Shirley K. Strom, Office of Parent Development International, Arizona State University.
We thank Richard M. Suinn, Julie Chen, and Lynn Chang for useful comments on earlier
versions of this article.
Robert D. Strom and Shirley K. Strom are the authors of the Parent Success Indicator.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lydia P. Buki, Department of
Educational Psychology, University of Illinois, 1310 South 6th Street, MC-708, Champaign, Illinois 61820. E-mail: buki@uiuc.edu
Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology
Vol. 9, No. 2, 127140

Copyright 2003 by the Educational Publishing Foundation

1099-9809/03/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/1099-9809.9.2.127
127

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128
tion continues to grow, with 443,721 immigrants from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan
admitted between 1991 and 1998 (U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, 2000).
As of March 2000, it was estimated that
61% of the non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific
Islander population was foreign born (U.S.
Bureau of the Census, 2000), and net immigration is expected to be highest for
this population group than for any other
through the year 2050 (U.S. Bureau of
the Census, 1996). With the growing numbers of Chinese immigrating to the United
States, more issues associated with intergenerational conflicts might be expected.
Acculturation is a major issue for immigrant families in the United States. The concept of acculturation generally refers to the
process by which immigrants adapt to a new
culture (Yu, 1984). In any family, the pace of
individual acculturation varies, with children usually adjusting more rapidly than
parents (Agbayani-Siewert, 1994; Baptiste,
1993; Garcia Coll, Meyer, & Brillon, 1995;
Uba, 1994; Ying, 1999). Intrafamily variance
in acculturation introduces conflicts between traditional values of parents and the
new values embraced by their children. Parents caught in this circumstance perceive
their role as very stressful (Colleran, Gurak,
& Kritz, 1984; Pawliuk et al., 1996; Rosenthal
& Feldman, 1990; Strom, Johnson, & Strom,
1992; Szapocznik et al., 1997; Wakil, Siddique, & Wakil, 1981; Yu, 1984). Szapocznik
et al. (1997), who studied acculturation conflicts in the Latino population, described intergenerational conflicts as follows:
In the case of immigrants, the adolescents
normal striving for independence combines
with the powerful acculturation to the American cultural value of individualism. . . . The
combination may produce an exacerbated
and intensified intrafamilial conflict in which
parents and adolescents feel alienated from
each other. (p. 169)

Most parenting studies have focused on

the maternal role because mothers have traditionally been the primary caregivers of
children in most societies (e.g., Crocker &

BUKI, MA, STROM,

AND

STROM

Sheppard, 1999; Lu, 1994; Melson, Ladd, &

Hsu, 1993). Some studies have focused on
specific maternal groups, such as single
mothers (Malo, 1994; Nelson, 1995; Simons,
Beaman, & Conger, 1993), teenage mothers
(Spieker & Bensley, 1994; Turner, Grindstaff, & Phillips, 1990), or employed mothers (Benin & Keith, 1995; Gjerdingen &
Chaloner, 1994a, 1994b; Hibbard & Pope,
1992). However, little is known about parenting in relation to immigrant mothers in
general, and even less is known about Chinese immigrant mothers (e.g., Lin & Fu,
1990; Wang & Phinney, 1998; Ying, 1999).
In a study of predominantly Asian immigrant parents in Canada, Pawliuk et al.
(1996) found that parents tended to be less
acculturated to the majority culture than
their children, a trend consistent with previous observations of immigrant families
(e.g., Rumbault, 2000; Sluzki, 1979; Szapocznik et al., 1997; Ying, 1999). The investigators also found that children who experienced a larger acculturation gap with their
parents were less competent in certain areas
of social and emotional development; as in
most studies addressing acculturation, the
authors measured language preference and
use to determine, in part, participants acculturation level (Pawliuk et al., 1996). Similarly, Tseng and Fuglini (2000) showed that
adolescent children of immigrant parents in
northern California reported more relational difficulties with their parents when
their language preference was different
from the parents. Moreover, they found
that adolescent boys tended to speak only
English at higher rates than adolescent girls,
who tended to speak both the parents native language and English at higher rates
(Tseng & Fuglini, 2000).
Neglecting the needs of Chinese immigrant mothers may result in greater mental
health needs in their children and in greater
intergenerational isolation. This isolation
has the potential to threaten the integrity of
a traditionally collectivistic culture, in which
the strength of the family rests on the
strength of the individual members. Efforts
are needed to address the populations

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CHINESE MOTHERS
needs in a timely manner and to promote
intergenerational strength and understanding as we strive to meet the challenges posed
by continued immigration.
In this effort, the present study was designed to examine the self-perceptions of
parenting behavior of Chinese immigrant
mothers; the relationships between the selfreported gap in acculturation ratings for
themselves and their children and their selfperceptions of parenting behavior; and the
degree of association between mothers and
childrens demographic characteristics and
self-reported acculturation ratings for mothers and their children. It is important to
study mothers self-perceptions because interventions will be more effective if they take
into consideration how mothers conceptualize the challenges they experience as parents. We expected to find that mothers perceive themselves as less acculturated to U.S.
culture than their children, and that mothers who report a greater acculturation gap
experience more parenting challenges than
mothers who report a smaller acculturation
gap with their children. In addition, we expected that mothers with higher formal education and higher household incomes
would report a smaller acculturation gap
with their children than mothers who have
attained lower levels of formal education
and have lower household incomes. Moreover, we predicted that mothers encounter
greater parenting challenges with their sons
than with their daughters.

Method
Participants
A nonrandom sample of 100 mothers, all of
whom self-identified as Chinese, participated in this study. Participants varied in social class and country of origin, but all were
affiliated with a formal support organization
(e.g., Chinese language school, communitybased family support agency, church) in
New York City at the time they were recruited. The developmental nature of par-

129
enting and the adaptation process necessitated that participants would be relatively
homogeneous with regard to life stage. For
this reason, only foreign-born mothers who
came to the United States after the age of
16, who had a child between 10 and 14 years
of age, and who did not have physical or
mental disabilities were included in the
sample. The age of 16 was selected to ensure
that respondents grew up and received most
of their formal education in their country of
origin. The reason for selecting mothers of
children age 10 to 14 was that children of
this age are strongly influenced by school
life and are highly socialized by their peers.
Studying these cohorts allows a closer look
at how the gap in acculturation between parents and children may impact on parenting
roles. If the mother had more than one
child within this age group, she was asked
to provide information about the one
with whom she had the most conflict. This
ensured the inclusion of data on extreme
cases and adequate statistical power for the
analyses.
Measures
PARENT SUCCESS INDICATOR (PSI). This scale,
which measures parenting behavior, was selected because of its focus on children in the
early and preadolescent age range. There
were no comparable scales already available
in Chinese at the time the study was designed; therefore, the measure was chosen
and adapted for use with the Chinese immigrant population. Strom and Strom (1998)
developed the PSI in two versions, one for
the parent and another for the child, to allow for intergenerational comparisons of
parenting behavior. Only the parent version
was used in this study.
The parent version of the PSI (Strom &
Strom, 1998) comprises 60 items, with
Likert-type ratings ranging from 1 to 4,
higher scores indicating strength in a specific parenting task. The PSI provides six
subscale scores, each formed by the average
ratings on 10 unique items. Each subscale
represents a fundamental aspect of parent-

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130
ing: communication, use of time, teaching,
frustration, satisfaction, and information
needs. For example, items comprising the
subscales include the following: I am good
at listening to my child (communication),
I have difficulty arranging time to spend
with my child (use of time), I try to teach
my child how to use imagination and be creative (teaching), I am frustrated by my
childs values (frustration), I like being
with my child (satisfaction), and I need
more information about helping my child
succeed at school (information needs).
The psychometric properties of the PSI
were initially determined by examining responses from a sample of 1,650 parents
and adolescents (see Strom & Strom, 1998).
The sample included African American
(34%), Mexican American (17%), and nonHispanic White (49%) individuals and represented a wide range of education and income levels. The Mexican American sample
included a large percentage of parents born
in Mexico (74%). A confirmatory factor
analysis found that 57 of the 60 items loaded
at .40 or greater on the anticipated scales,
whereas no items loaded significantly on two
different factors. Reliability estimates for the
entire scale were high, with Cronbach alphas ranging from .92 to .95. Estimates on
subscales were also high for each of the ethnic groups, ranging from .77 to .94 (Strom
& Strom, 1998). In the present study, subscale scores were used for the analyses. A
subscale score was completed for a participant if she had answered at least 7 of the 10
items on the subscale. Alpha coefficients for
the subscales ranged from .75 to .94, with
sample sizes for the subscales ranging from
62 to 87.
SUINNLEW ASIAN SELF-IDENTITY ACCULTURATION SCALE (SLASIA). The SLASIA (Suinn, Ahuna, & Khoo, 1992) is a multiplechoice questionnaire with 21 items rated on
a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (low level
of acculturation) to 5 (high level of acculturation). In the present study, some items were
dropped because they did not fit the sample.
For example, certain items would have yielded

BUKI, MA, STROM,

AND

STROM

the same response for all participants as a

result of the inclusion/exclusion criteria
(e.g., ethnic identification of parents, ethnic
origin of friends during childhood). Also,
the term Asian in the original scale was
changed to Chinese. The scale was selected
because it is the most widely used measure
of acculturation with Asian populations.
To assess mothers perceived acculturation differences between themselves and
their children, we asked mothers to identify
their own level of adaptation and their perception of their childs acculturation level
on the same sheet. The intergenerational
difference (child score minus mother score)
was computed and subsequently used as a
dependent variable.
The SLASIA was validated with a sample
of 324 Asian American university students
(Suinn et al., 1992). The reliability analysis
yielded a Cronbachs alpha of .91, comparable with the internal consistency estimates
of .88 reported in Suinn, Rickard-Figueroa,
Lew, and Vigils (1987) study, and .89 reported by Atkinson and Gim (1989). Data
on use of the subscale with communitybased populations are limited. Iwamasa, Pai,
Hilliard, and Lin (1998) attempted to establish the adequacy of psychometric properties for the SLASIA with a community
sample of 123 Japanese Americans in Los
Angeles, California. The authors concluded
that the psychometric properties were adequate, obtaining an overall alpha reliability
coefficient of .71. In the present administration of the SLASIA, alpha coefficients for
mothers and children were .72 and .68, respectively. These reliabilities are very similar
to those obtained for the Japanese American
community sample by Iwamasa et al. (1998).
Therefore, they are considered adequate for
this sample.
DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONNAIRE. Information
was collected on demographic variables that
could influence parental behavior, such as
maternal age and education, marital status,
length of residence in the United States,
age of child, sex of child, and household
income.

CHINESE MOTHERS

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Translation Process and Instrument Adaptation

Before the instruments could be administered to the immigrant mothers, they had to
be translated into Chinese. Finishing the initial translation did not ensure that all Chinese speakers would understand the content. Compared with the verbatim literal
translation, putting the language into a comprehensible colloquial form that would be
understood by people with little formal education was difficult. The challenge was to
adapt the instrument in a culturally relevant
and comprehensible form while maintaining the meaning of the original items (Sperber, Devellis, & Boehlecke, 1994).
There were four stages for translation of
the PSI and SLASIA. First, the instruments
were translated from English into written
Chinese by one of the authors (Tsung-Chieh
Ma), a native of Taiwan for whom Mandarin
Chinese is the primary language. Second,
the Chinese versions were translated back
into English by another translator. Both the
translator and back-translator were fluent in
Chinese and English and were highly educated. In comparing the two English versions, few changes were needed. Next, to ensure comprehension and cultural sensitivity
to the different Chinese languages, we consulted four bilingual professionals (three social workers and one high school bilingual
teacher). The two Mandarin speakers (one
of whom also speaks Taiwanese) and two
Cantonese speakers reviewed the questionnaires in both the written Chinese and English versions, and idiomatic changes were
made to ensure comprehension.
There were two major issues regarding
the translation from English to Chinese: (a)
Grammar and sentence construction are different in Chinese than in English (e.g.,
there is no tense or singular/plural in Chinese grammar), and (b) some English concepts do not have matching terms in Chinese. Because of these factors, most of the
sentences had to be reorganized. For example, the item I am good at listening to
my child in English was translated to Listening to my child, I can do it. Also, Chi-

131
nese people seldom make a statement such
as I am good at because it does not reflect
humility; therefore, it was translated as I
can do. The expression I am frustrated
was translated as I do not know what to do
because frustrated is emotionally too
strong for Chinese people. Given the need
for this cultural modification, the frustration subscale was relabeled as the uncertainty subscale to provide a more accurate
reflection of the construct as measured in
this study.
Two potentially problematic items were
identified. The PSI item I am good at trusting my child as a basis for our relationship
is difficult for Chinese people to understand
because the concept of trusting a child is
new for Chinese parents. Also, the Chinese
definition of relationship is different from
that in Western culture: In Chinese culture,
relationship is defined by a role rather than
by the quality of an interaction. A parent
child relationship is not mutual in Chinese,
parents are always right is the famous Confucian dictum (Chiang, Barrett, & Nunez,
2000; Hsu, 1981; Jose, Huntsinger, Huntsinger, & Liaw, 2000). In addition, the consultants raised questions about the item I
try to teach my child how to use imagination
and be creative because creativity and
imagination are not encouraged in Chinese
education (Hsu, 1981).
The fourth step in the translation process was to conduct a pretest of the translated version with individuals similar to
those targeted in the present study. The pretest was conducted with two Chinese immigrant mothers, one Mandarin-speaking and
one Cantonese-speaking. A pretest using bilingual and bicultural people who have lived
in both cultures for a long time can yield
more effective items (Wesley & Karr, 1966).
Based on the feedback from this pretest, revisions were made to generate the final Chinese version.
The most significant change made during this step of the instrument adaptation
process was adding not apply and other
as possible answers to items in the PSI and
SLASIA. This change was made in response

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132
to the difficulty indicated by pretesters when
answering some items. One mother said that
she would rather answer does not apply
instead of never for items like I am good
at discussing my childs concerns about dating and I try to teach my child how to
manage money. She stated the reason she
had not discussed dating and managing
money with her child was that she thought
her child was too young, not that she did not
want to discuss these issues.
Procedure
Participants were recruited by one of the authors (Tsung-Chieh Ma). Mothers were
identified through key people in the community who introduced the interviewer to
them. The gatekeepers were ministers,
teachers, and presidents of Chinese language schools. When a trusted member of
the community made the introductions, the
mothers were eager to help, some refusing a
$15 cash incentive. Christian ministers knew
everyone in their church and assisted by introducing the researcher to mothers in their
congregations. In contrast, reverends from a
Buddhist church were unable to make personal introductions because they did not
know which members of their temple had
children. Some mothers volunteered to take
questionnaires home to give to their friends.
Because it was difficult to arrange meeting times, especially for mothers living and
working outside of New York City, most participants preferred to take the questionnaires home. Their main concern was time.
Therefore, of 100 participants, 28 mothers
responded to the self-administered paperand-pencil questionnaire in the presence of
the investigator (on average, participants
completed the materials in 45 min), and 72
mothers completed the questionnaires on
their own (taking between 1 and 14 days to
return the materials). On occasion, participants who filled out the materials in the
presence of the investigator asked for clarification on a question. Although mothers
who took the questionnaires home did not
have an opportunity to have a question clari-

BUKI, MA, STROM,

AND

STROM

fied, given the extent of the work done on

the translations and pretesting of assessments, the difficulty inherent in filling out
the questionnaires was considered minimal.
Therefore, although participants did not fill
out the instruments under standardized
conditions, the quality of the data should
not be compromised.
The questionnaire response rate was
93% (100 out of 112). One mother did not
finish the questionnaire because her child
was crying, 2 mothers thought the questionnaire was too long, and another considered
it too personal. The remaining 8 nonrespondents were women whom the researcher did
not have a chance to meet face to face.

Results
Participants
The total number of participants who provided usable questionnaires was 95. The
mothers average age was 42 years (SD =
4.53). The average age at time of arrival in
the United States was 28 years (SD = 5.96),
and the average length of stay was 14 years
(SD = 6.52). A majority (94%) of the respondents was married. About a third (32%) had
an undergraduate degree, 17% had a graduate degree, and most had attained their
highest educational level outside of the
United States (63%). Few (11%) had 8 years
or less of formal education. Fifty-two percent
of the respondents had part-time jobs, 34%
were homemakers, and 15% worked full
time. Over half of the mothers (55%) reported annual household incomes above
$50,000, whereas 8% reported incomes under $20,000. Eleven percent of participants
declined to provide information on income.
The majority of respondents immigrated
from Taiwan (58%), the next largest groups
came from Hong Kong and China (20%
each), and a minority came from Vietnam
(2%).
The participants had, on average, two
children (M = 2.08, SD = 0.68). Sixteen percent of mothers had one child, 63% of

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CHINESE MOTHERS

133

mothers had two children, 18% of mothers

had three children, and 3% had four children. The average age of the children selected by the mothers was 12.10 (SD = 1.42);
approximately 46% were female and 54%
male. Sixty-five percent of the children (n =
61) were born in the United States. Households, on average, included four members
(M = 4.21, SD = 1.03). Eighty percent of the
respondents lived with their husbands and
children, 13% lived with their husbands,
children, and extended family members,
and 6% lived in a household with children
only.
Perceived Acculturation Gap
Table 1 shows the means and standard deviations reported by mothers for themselves
and their children on the SLASIA. Mothers
assigned themselves much lower scores for
language used in reading and writing than
they did for their children, creating the largest acculturation gap reported for any item
on the SLASIA. In all cases, mothers reported significantly higher acculturation
scores for their children than for themselves. The mean total scale score for the

mothers own acculturation was 2.11 (SD =

.48), and the mean scale score for mothers
perceptions of their childrens acculturation
was 3.48 (SD = .42). A paired t test yielded a
statistically significant difference between
the two scores, t(94) = 28.83, p < .001. The
variable perceived acculturation gap (PAG)
was created by subtracting the mothers acculturation score from the childrens. This
variable was used in subsequent analyses.
Parenting Self-Perceptions
Mothers perceived themselves as having
relative strengths in satisfaction (M = 3.44,
SD = 0.41), teaching (M = 3.42, SD = 0.40),
and communication (M = 3.34, SD = 0.39).
In contrast, they reported a great need for
information about how their children are
growing up (M = 1.88, SD = 0.77). Scores
for the use of time (M = 2.50, SD = 0.50)
and uncertainty (M = 2.75, SD = 0.60) subscales were in the average range. In instances in which mothers left an item blank
or answered an item with the option does
not apply, we assumed that the mothers
did not feel these items were relevant to
their life experiences and therefore chose

TABLE 1 Means and Standard Deviations for SLASIA Item Scores Across Generation
Mother a
Variable
Spoken language
Language preference
Music preference
Movie preference
Read language
Written language
Community interaction
Preference for associates
Pride
Acculturation rating
Participation in activities
Identity
Food preference at home
Food preference in restaurants

Child b

SD

SD

tc

2.13
1.88
2.41
2.90
1.95
1.91
1.97
2.27
2.50
1.79
2.74
1.36
1.75
2.01

0.87
0.82
0.93
1.05
0.61
0.65
1.49
1.69
1.25
0.73
1.04
0.73
0.55
0.71

3.48
3.84
4.04
4.11
4.37
4.48
3.56
3.69
3.28
3.12
3.09
2.38
2.32
3.01

0.82
0.93
0.76
0.83
0.62
0.60
1.18
1.38
1.04
0.91
1.10
1.15
0.89
0.98

14.81***
15.99***
13.90***
10.42***
28.34***
28.89***
10.01***
8.17***
6.85***
13.45***
4.33***
8.38***
6.11***
8.93***

Note. SLASIA = SuinnLew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale.

a

n ranges from 89 to 95.

***p < .001.

n ranges from 90 to 95.

n ranges from 87 to 94.

BUKI, MA, STROM,

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134
not to perform mean substitutions in the calculations of the subscale scores. The two
items previously identified as potentially
problematic, I am good at trusting my child
as a basis for our relationship and I try to
teach my child how to use imagination and
be creative did not yield an unusually high
number of missing responses (3 and 4,
respectively).
Pearson correlations among the PSI subscales are presented in Table 2. Mothers
who reported better communication with
their children also reported strengths in
teaching and felt more satisfied in their role.
Mothers who reported skill in administering
time with their children, who were more satisfied in their role, and who indicated less
need for information about their children
also reported less uncertainty.
Perceived Acculturation Gap, Parenting
Self-Perceptions, and
Demographic Characteristics
Results show that mothers who perceived
larger acculturation gaps with their children
also tended to have more difficulty communicating with them and tended to experience more uncertainty and less satisfaction
(see Table 2). Pearson correlation coefficients measuring the degree of association
among PAG, PSI subscale scores, and demographic characteristics are shown in Table 3.
As can be seen in the table, mothers who
attained higher educational levels reported
a lower PAG. In addition, mothers who re-

AND

STROM

ported strengths in teaching also reported

higher incomes. Mothers who provided information for sons reported larger acculturation gaps and more uncertainty than
mothers reporting on daughters.
Historically, education and income have
been associated with higher acculturation
levels. Because of the statistically significant
correlations found between PAG and education, and between teaching and income, the
correlations between PAG and PSI subscales
were recalculated, removing the effects of
formal education and income. Partial correlations are presented in Table 4. As the table
shows, the findings are similar to those in
Table 2 with few exceptions. Holding formal
education and income constant, mothers
satisfaction scores are no longer associated
with PAG or with teaching. Moreover, mothers use of time is no longer associated with
information needs. In contrast, a statistically
significant relationship emerged showing
that mothers who reported strengths in
communication also felt less uncertain in
their role.

Discussion
The present study extends our knowledge
base in three ways: (a) It addresses the interplay between self-perceptions of parenting skills and self-reported acculturation gap
for an understudied population, (b) it provides evidence of successful use of culturally

TABLE 2 Intercorrelations Between the PSI Subscales and Perceived Acculturation Gap
Variable

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

.14

.49***
.09

.20
.47***
.12

.34***
.18
.22*
.55***

.13
.28**
.16
.31**
.02

.24*
.15
.13
.28***
.21*
.04

Communication
Use of time
Teaching
Uncertainty
Satisfaction
Information needs
Gap

Note.

n ranges from 85 to 95. PSI = Parent Success Indicator.

*p < .05.

**p < .01.

***p < .001.

CHINESE MOTHERS

135

TABLE 3 Correlations for Perceived Acculturation Gap and PSI Subscale Scores Across
Demographic Characteristics

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Variable
Gap
Communication
Use of time
Teaching
Uncertainty
Satisfaction
Information needs
Note.

Length of
stay in U.S.

Mothers
age

Educational
level

.00
.01
.06
.03
.03
.03
.03

.04
.12
.07
.02
.04
.02
.07

.23*
.18
.18
.20
.09
.05
.04

Income

Sex of
child

Childs
country
of birth

.19
.02
.02
.25*
.04
.01
.02

.22*
.08
.02
.05
.22*
.09
.05

.02
.16
.14
.00
.02
.02
.14

n ranges from 79 to 95. PSI = Parent Success Indicator.

*p < .05.

responsive research methodologies with a

community sample of Chinese immigrant
mothers, and (c) it includes details of the
modification and pilot test of the PSI (Strom
& Strom, 1998) Chinese version. These
points are discussed below.
Perceived Acculturation Gap and
Parenting Self-Perceptions
Consistent with previous observations of immigrant families (e.g., Pawliuk et al., 1996;
Sluzki, 1979; Szapocznik et al., 1997; Ying,
1999), every Chinese immigrant mother reported a lower level of acculturation for herself than for her child. It is not surprising
that the largest acculturation gaps between
mothers and their children reflected the

mothers higher preference for reading and

writing in Chinese. The acculturation gap,
however, was not uniform across all children. Mothers who provided information
about their sons reported a larger acculturation gap and more uncertainty than mothers
reporting on daughters. This finding, we believe, is related more to gender role socialization than to immigration issues. In traditional Chinese culture, mothers have
greater expectations for boys than for girls
because boys carry the family last name.
Higher expectations could result in more
uncertainty when handling challenging parenting situations. Moreover, mothers may attribute gender socialization differences to
differences in acculturation. Conversely, it is
possible that boys are exhibiting greater ac-

TABLE 4 Partial Correlations of PSI Subscales and Perceived Acculturation Gap Holding
Constant Household Income and Formal Education Level (N = 72)
Variable

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

.18

.46***
.09

.28*
.40***
.14

.32**
.10
.16
.51***

.13
.21
.20
.27*
.04

.26*
.10
.09
.29**
.19
.05

Communication
Use of time
Teaching
Uncertainty
Satisfaction
Information needs
Gap

Note. PSI = Parent Success Indicator.

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

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136
culturation than girls, given their gender socialization. Further research is needed to
replicate and better understand the nature
of this finding.
Parenting challenges such as communication problems, uncertainty about how to
handle certain situations, and lower parenting satisfaction were reported by mothers
who perceived a larger acculturation gap
with their children. This finding may indicate that mothers who experience more uncertainty and dissatisfaction in their role attribute their challenges to differences in
acculturation levels with their children.
However, it may also indicate that measurable acculturation differences result in less
satisfaction and greater uncertainty for a
parent, which is consistent with previous
findings (e.g., Tseng & Fuglini, 2000). Given
the correlational nature of our analyses,
however, caution should be exercised not to
make attributions of causality when interpreting this finding.
As expected, mothers with more formal
education reported a smaller acculturation
gap than their less formally educated counterparts. Certainly, immigrants who come to
the United States in pursuit of education,
with the goal of attaining professional mobility, would be more adept at the English
language and have more exposure to U.S.
culture than those who immigrate because
of economic strain. This exposure would result in a higher self-reported acculturation
score, rendering the reported acculturation
gap smaller, which is supported by our findings. In addition, highly educated mothers
may have more accurate perceptions of their
acculturation levels and how their own acculturation compares to their childrens,
which would also produce a smaller perceived acculturation gap. Holding formal
education and income constant, a new relationship emerged showing that participants
who reported strengths in communication
also reported less uncertainty in their role.
Consistent with other findings in this study,
mothers who have skill in communicating
with their children are likely to have a better
understanding of the challenges encoun-

BUKI, MA, STROM,

AND

STROM

tered by their children, consequently feeling

more confident about how to handle different parenting situations.
Use of Culturally Responsive
Research Methodologies
The use of culturally appropriate outreach
and research methodologies ensured a high
response rate of 93%. Several factors contributed to this success, and although not
novel, their continued use in combination
may result in a high response rate in future
research. In the translation phase, with the
help of the consultants, most of the items
were rewritten to resemble the language of
daily use, and potentially problematic items
were identified. The investigator who conducted the recruitment was a member of the
population from which participants were
drawn; she spoke Chinese and English and
was able to deal in both cultural spheres effectively. Recruitment took place at community-based settings frequented by the target
population, and most potential participants
were introduced to the recruiter by community gatekeepers. The support of these
trusted members of the community facilitated the mothers willingness to participate
in the study. Evidently, our ability to enter
the participants world through language
matching, cultural understanding, and informal networks resulted in high rates of
participation.
Modification of the PSI Chinese Version
As a result of the pilot test, the option does
not apply was added to the PSI. Adding this
alternative allowed the inspection of items
that were perceived as irrelevant to the participants parenting experience. Many participants responded to the following questions by checking does not apply: (a) I am
good at discussing my childs concerns
about dating, (b) I need more information about helping my child deal with bullies
and gangs, (c) I need more information
about helping my child with drug and alcohol prevention, and (d) I am frustrated by

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CHINESE MOTHERS
my childs values. Upon further inspection,
we determined that 67% of missing values
corresponded to mothers in the lower half
of the distribution for acculturation scores.
These items may not appear relevant to the
least acculturated parents but will be relevant to parents who are more aware of issues faced by 10- to 14-year-olds in the
United States. We believe, therefore, that by
eliminating these items or making the recommendation that these items be deleted in
future studies, valuable data may be lost.
Consequently, in future studies we suggest
that the option does not apply be retained
and that such responses be examined in relation to acculturation, as we did in the present study.

Limitations of the Study

One important limitation of this study is that
the gap in acculturation was calculated using ratings provided by the mothers for
themselves and their children. As a result,
the findings are based on the mothers perceptions of their childrens acculturation
level rather than on a more objective measure of the construct. There is a possibility
that participants may have underestimated
their childrens level of acculturation, particularly given that the mothers themselves
did not grow up in this country and may
have had little knowledge of their childrens
behaviors and preferences outside the
home. Mothers who felt generally more
challenged in their parental role might have
overestimated their childrens acculturation
scores if they attributed some of the parental
difficulties to differences in acculturation
with their children. Moreover, mothers who
were feeling stressed may have had more difficulty assessing acculturation levels accurately. These and other potential sources of
bias would be eliminated in future studies by
conducting an intergenerational study. Performing a validation of childrens acculturation ratings would clarify whether the gaps
were an artifact of mothers perceptions or
true differences that can be substantiated by

137
the childrens self-reports (Leung & Kwan,
1998).
Asking mothers to provide information
on the child with whom they have the most
conflict could have biased the results as well.
The impact of this directive cannot be ascertained, yet it might have been mitigated by
the fact that 16% of mothers had only one
child, and mothers who had four children,
for whom the likelihood of having more
than one child in the selected age range was
greater, comprised only 3% of participants.
Also, a greater bias might be suspected if
mothers would have reported data on their
sons more often than on their daughters,
given that they tended to have more conflict
with their sons. However, the percentage of
mothers who reported data on sons (54%)
was roughly equivalent to the percentage
who reported on daughters (46%). In retrospect, we realize that other strategies might
have ensured adequate variance without introducing potential bias (e.g., requiring half
of the mothers with two or more eligible
children to report on the child with whom
they have most conflict, and the other half
to report on the child with whom they have
the least conflict).
Notably, some participants (n = 28) answered the questionnaires with an investigator present and may have felt embarrassed
to disclose certain information. Of the 9
mothers who did not report their household
incomes, 8 had filled out the questionnaires
in the presence of a researcher. Although
this pattern was noted prior to data entry, we
could not conduct further analyses as a function of researcher presence because this information was not documented during the
data entry process.
In addition, there are limitations imposed by the measures used in this study.
Neither the SLASIA nor the PSI has been
normed on Chinese immigrant mothers,
and the cross-cultural equivalence of the
parenting subscales has not been investigated. The communication subscale of the
PSI, for instance, includes many items addressing verbal communication and few addressing nonverbal communication. The lat-

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138
ter may be more prevalent in Chinese
families than in U.S. mainstream families.
Past research, such as that conducted by
Wang and Phinney (1998) and Lin and Fu
(1990), which shows that the concept of authoritarian parenting as practiced by Chinese immigrant mothers is different from
the way it is practiced by non-Hispanic
White mothers, supports the need to establish the cross-cultural equivalence of the
constructs being measured.
Implications for Intervention
All of the areas uncovered lend themselves
nicely to intervention. For instance, mothers
revealed a great need for information about
their childrens experiences and environment, such as their childrens fears, goals,
school experiences, and friendships. Presumably, mothers who are less acculturated
face substantial barriers in accessing this information, such as language and time.
Therefore, psychoeducational programs are
needed to facilitate parents awareness of
the challenges their children face in everyday life. Parenting programs should not only
give parents information about what it is like
for their children to grow up in todays U.S.
society but should give parents the communication tools needed to obtain that information when holding daily conversations
with their children.
Although there are limited data on the
effectiveness of parenting curricula with
Chinese immigrant parents, there are some
promising findings. Ying (1999) showed that
the SITICAF (Strengthening of Intergenerational/Intercultural Ties in Immigrant Chinese American Families) parenting curriculum was very effective with Chinese
immigrant parents in northern California.
This parenting program was developed specifically for the Chinese immigrant population and addresses most of the areas of need
uncovered in this study (e.g., obtaining
more information about children, learning
how to cope with parenting stress). There is
a great need to assess the effectiveness of
programs such as SITICAF with Chinese im-

BUKI, MA, STROM,

AND

STROM

migrant parents in other areas of the country. Programs that are research based and
accessible to the community have the potential to help immigrant parents who seek to
be effective in their roles in a new cultural
context.

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