The Impact of Intergenerational Cultural Dissonance on Alcohol Use Among Vietnamese and Cambodian Adolescents in the United States

Abstract

Purpose Rates of alcohol use may be increasing among Asian American adolescents. Among youth from Asian immigrant families, intergenerational cultural dissonance (ICD), a difference in acculturation between children and caregivers, is associated with adverse childhood outcomes. This study investigates the longitudinal association of ICD and alcohol use among youth from immigrant Vietnamese and Cambodian families in the U.S. Methods Two waves of annual data, wave 4 (baseline for this study) and wave 5 (follow-up), were obtained from the Cross Cultural Families project, a longitudinal study of 327 Vietnamese and Cambodian immigrant families in Washington State. The Asian American Family Conflicts Scale was used to measure ICD. Adolescent alcohol use was measured as any drinking in the past 30 days. A multiple logistic regression model was estimated with the outcome, alcohol use, measured at the follow-up visit and all predictors, including ICD, measured at baseline. Sex, nationality, nativity, and acculturation were tested as modifiers of the ICD-alcohol use relationship. Results Nine percent of adolescents (age range 13-18) reported alcohol use at baseline and this increased significantly (p<.0001) to 16% one year later. ICD was associated with increased odds of alcohol use at follow-up (OR: 1.57; 95% CI: 1.03, 2.41; p=.04). None of the interactions were statistically significant. Conclusions ICD is a significant predictor of alcohol use among Vietnamese and Cambodian adolescents. Interventions that should be targeted toward reducing ICD through enhancing parent-child communication and teaching bicultural competence skills may help prevent alcohol use problems among youth from immigrant families.

Social Capital as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Perceived Discrimination and Alcohol and Cannabis Use Among Immigrant and Non-immigrant Adolescents in Israel

“…Families need to cope with financial and occupational challenges ( Leventhal and Brooks-Gunn, 2000 ), a loss of family and social networks, and the need to learn a new language, culture and norms ( Torres et al, 2012 ). Intergenerational cultural dissonance ( Kane et al, 2016 ) can make it hard for parents to monitor, particularly as their children may be resistant to accepting their parents values and norms. Immigrant adolescents may experience lower social support, due to the difficulties they have in fitting in and the sense of alienation and feeling different ( Walsh et al, 2017 ).…”

Parenting Behaviors as Moderators of the Relationship between Immigrant Status and Alcohol Use among Adolescents in Israel

“…In their study (Lorenzo-Blanco et al, 2019), parental cultural stress predicted adolescent-reported family functioning (parental involvement, positive parenting, and family cohesion) which in turn predicted adolescent binge drinking. A lack of cultural knowledge following immigration, together with “intergenerational cultural dissonance (ICD)” (a clash between parents and children over cultural values; Kane et al, 2016) and language barriers (Wang et al, 2012) can lead to immigrant parents being less able or confident to fulfill roles of support and be less involved in the lives of their children (Pantin et al, 2003; Wang et al, 2012). Adolescents may also take on parental roles within the family, leading to a greater sense of autonomy, yet also burden, and lead them to rely emotionally less on parents (Ponizovsky et al, 2012; Weisskirch & Alva, 2002).…”

The Hidden Matrix: Perspectives of Youth and Their Parents on Immigration and Youth Delinquent Behavior

“…Despite the young people immigrating, at large, at a very early age, the difficulties of immigration are prolific and notable in the narratives: the difficulties the young people had in fitting in, the sense of alienation and feeling different (Walsh, Sagis-Krebs, & Gross, 2018), and the search for a peer group where they would feel a sense of strength and belonging (McNeely & Falci, 2004; Newman, Lohman, & Newman, 2007); the reactions to name calling and discrimination (Jasinskaja, Lahti, Liebkind, & Perhoniemi, 2006), which led to expressions of violence and fighting back; the multiple financial, occupational, and familial stressors that the parents discussed (Cano et al, 2015; Conger et al, 2010), which prevented them from being involved in the children’s lives (Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000; Pantin et al, 2003) with children turning to their peers for support (Zdun, 2011). The participants, especially the parents, also mentioned the cultural differences, such as in styles of discipline (Shor, 2000, 2005), resulting in parent–child conflict in which the acculturation gap led parents to find it difficult to fulfill roles of supervision and monitoring (Kane et al, 2016). It is clear that many of these difficulties and challenges can be relevant for all families with lower financial resources, living in neighborhoods with high levels of crime, and families where parents are not able to be present.…”

“…Immigrant adolescents are simultaneously undergoing a process of enculturation (internalization and embedding of the cultural values of the heritage culture) in parallel with their own and their family’s processes of acculturation (internalization of values and practices of the receiving culture; Kwak, 2003). Within an “acculturation gap-distress model” (Telzer, 2010), immigrant adolescents may accept more easily new cultural values and practices than their parents (Portes, 1997), leading to intergenerational conflict (Schwartz et al, 2012; Szapocznik, Scopetta, Kurtines, & Aranalde, 1978) or “intergenerational cultural dissonance [ICD]” (Kane et al, 2016) between parents and adolescents (Kwak, 2003). ICD has been found to predict increasing use of alcohol among Asian and Latino adolescents in the United States (Kane et al, 2016) and delinquency among Moroccan youth in the Netherlands (Stevens, Veen, & Vollebergh, 2014).…”

“…Within an “acculturation gap-distress model” (Telzer, 2010), immigrant adolescents may accept more easily new cultural values and practices than their parents (Portes, 1997), leading to intergenerational conflict (Schwartz et al, 2012; Szapocznik, Scopetta, Kurtines, & Aranalde, 1978) or “intergenerational cultural dissonance [ICD]” (Kane et al, 2016) between parents and adolescents (Kwak, 2003). ICD has been found to predict increasing use of alcohol among Asian and Latino adolescents in the United States (Kane et al, 2016) and delinquency among Moroccan youth in the Netherlands (Stevens, Veen, & Vollebergh, 2014). Widening acculturation gaps between parents and adolescents can lead to adolescents acting as language or cultural brokers (Buriel, Perez, de Ment, Chavez, & Moran, 1998; Valdes, Chavez, & Angelelli, 2003) and experiencing an emotional burden of parental role taking (Kam & Lazarevic, 2014).…”