Intergenerational family conflict and ethnic identity among Chinese American college students.

Abstract

There has been a call for increased attention to experiences of sociocultural contexts and their role in mental health and help-seeking among specific subgroups of Asian Americans (Leong, Park, & Kalibatseva, 2013). In particular, as suggested by the integrative contextual framework of minority youth development (García Coll & Marks, 2012), racial minority adolescents and emerging adults develop identity and psychological well-being through their experiences within multiple contexts. Guided by this perspective, the present study examined the role of specific developmental and contextual factors (e.g., acculturation-based intergenerational family conflict and ethnic identity) on depressive and anxiety symptoms and help-seeking attitudes among Chinese American college students. One-hundred and 73 Chinese American college students (132 women and 36 men) from various geographic regions in the U.S. completed a series of questionnaires administered online, assessing acculturation-based intergenerational family conflict, ethnic identity, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and help-seeking attitudes. The findings indicated that the seriousness of acculturation-based intergenerational family conflict and the commitment dimension of ethnic identity were associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety. Additionally, the exploration dimension of ethnic identity was associated with less favorable attitudes toward seeking help from mental health professionals. There was no association between acculturation-based intergenerational family conflict and help-seeking attitudes. The findings underscore the importance of developing culturally informed interventions that attend to the intensity of family conflict and one’s sense of connection to ethnic community in the college context.

An Unusual College Experience: 16-Month Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms and Anxiety among Chinese New Undergraduate Students of 2019 during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…It is interesting to note that the high–stable group was associated with more family conflict and less devastation from separation compared to the recovery group, suggesting that conflict between students and their parents may have a more long-term negative psychological impact on students compared to other conflicts. Previous studies have found that family conflict is associated with higher depressive symptoms, anxiety, and GPA among Chinese undergraduates [ 46 , 47 ]. Chinese parents are known to have high expectations for their children in terms of academic achievement [ 48 ].…”

Understanding the Ethnic Self: A Qualitative Study of 1.5 Generation Korean American Immigrants

“…Furthermore, parents' attitudes and values focused on their culture of origin can lead to intergenerational differences in acculturation, thereby influencing bicultural identity development of their child (Tummala-Narra et al, 2021;Wang et al, 2016). Korean parents' parenting styles are heavily influenced by Confucian values that focus on patriarchal, authoritarian, and hierarchical family systems embedded in Korean culture (Kim & Agee, 2018).…”

“…This gap in acculturation and cultural values between parents and child is likely to increase as the child goes into adolescence (Wang et al, 2016). Research shows that the intergenerational acculturation gap is associated with poor parent-child relationship and children's low perceptions of their parental warmth (Tummala-Narra et al, 2021;Wang et al, 2016). This negative family functioning was related to children's negative attitudes toward Asian culture (Qin et al, 2008;Yoon et al, 2017).…”

Influence of deep learning-based journal reading guidance system on students’ national cognition and cultural acceptance

“…More precisely, they are cowardice, paranoia, aggression, inferiority complex, and unwarranted worry ( Carvajal et al, 2021 ). Studies have shown that Educational Psychology can well assist psychotherapy and prevent mental illness ( Niu et al, 2020 ; Tummala-Narra et al, 2021 ). Traditionally, theoretical art education teaches students to shape correct values by appreciating art theory and history ( Taliaferro et al, 2020 ).…”