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Asian American Mental Health pp 185–201Cite as

Assessing Asian and Asian American Parenting: A Review of the Literature

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Part of the book series: International and Cultural Psychology Series ((ICUP))

Abstract

Parenting is the primary method for socializing children (Darling & Steinberg, 1993). Culture is a critical force in this socialization process. Cultural values shape socialization goals to influence parenting style and practices, which in turn relate to child outcomes (Chao, 2000; Darling & Steinberg, 1993). Chao’s (1995) study demonstrates these relationships by comparing the cultural values and parenting practices of mothers from European American and Asian American backgrounds. She found that socialization goals of Asian American mothers were consistent with an interdependent and collectivistic orientation of Asian culture (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Triandis, 1995). Asian American mothers emphasized interdependence by encouraging children toward high academic achievement to bring honor to the family. This contrasted with the European American socialization goal of emphasizing an independent and individualistic orientation (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Triandis, 1995). European American mothers emphasized a sense of self-esteem in their children, stressing the personal well-being of the individual.

We thank Xiaojia for our discussions on many of the topics presented in this chapter Support for the writing of this chapter was provided through the Jewell L. Taylor and Ellen H. Richards Fellowships from the American Association of Family and COnsumer Sciences to the first author and the Cota-Robles Fellowship from the University of California,Davis,to the second author

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Authors
  1. Su Yeong Kim
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  2. Vivian Y. Wong
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The California Endowment Funds, Sacramento, California, USA

    Karen S. Kurasaki

  2. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA

    Sumie Okazaki

  3. University of California, Davis, California, USA

    Stanley Sue

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Kim, S.Y., Wong, V.Y. (2002). Assessing Asian and Asian American Parenting: A Review of the Literature. In: Kurasaki, K.S., Okazaki, S., Sue, S. (eds) Asian American Mental Health. International and Cultural Psychology Series. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0735-2_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0735-2_13

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