Direct and indirect/mediated relations of (a) children's and parents' cultural orientations and (b) parent-child gaps in cultural orientations to children's psychological adjustment were examined in a socioeconomically diverse sample of 258 Chinese American children (age ϭ 6 -9 years) from immigrant families. Parents reported on children's and their own Chinese and American orientations in language proficiency, media use, and social relationships. Parents and teachers rated children's externalizing and internalizing problems and social competence. Using structural equation modeling, we found evidence for both the effects of children's and parents' cultural orientations and the effects of parent-child gaps. Specifically, children's American orientations across domains were associated with their better adjustment (especially social competence). These associations were partly mediated by authoritative parenting. Parents' English and Chinese media use were both associated with higher authoritative parenting, which in turn was associated with children's better adjustment. Furthermore, greater gaps in parent-child Chinese proficiency were associated with children's poorer adjustment, and these relations were partly mediated by authoritative parenting. Together, the findings underscore the complex relations between immigrant families' dual orientations to the host and heritage cultures and children's psychological adjustment.

Asian Americans (AAs) are the second largest foreign‐born population in the United States. Contrary to the “model minority” stereotype that this group is unitarily well adjusted and high achieving, recent research has revealed substantial differences in mental health adjustment among AA children. Although research to identify the risk processes for mental health problems among AA children is underway, it has paid little attention to related asset and protective processes. This article selectively reviews the theory and empirical evidence on a set of child‐, family‐, and neighborhood‐level characteristics for their potential asset or protective roles in AA children's mental health adjustment. These characteristics include (a) child factors (maintenance of heritage culture, bilingualism, coping, and emotion regulation), (b) family factors (authoritative parenting and parental support), and (c) a neighborhood factor (ethnic community). Overall, systematic efforts to identify asset and protective factors for AA children's mental health and understand the underlying developmental mechanisms are nascent. Directions for future research in this area are also discussed.