Family cohesion as a moderator of the relationship between parents' socialization behaviors and adolescents' ethnic identity importance in Chinese immigrant families

Summary

The primary purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effects of Chinese family cohesion on the relationship between Chinese parents' socialization behavior patterns and the importance of their children's ethnic identity. A group of Chinese American adolescents between the ages of 13 and 16 was selected for this study. The group is composed of 30 (55.6 %) males and 24 (44.4 %) females, of whom 23 (42.6 %) are first-generation (individuals born in China and who have immigrated to the... Show moreThe primary purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effects of Chinese family cohesion on the relationship between Chinese parents' socialization behavior patterns and the importance of their children's ethnic identity. A group of Chinese American adolescents between the ages of 13 and 16 was selected for this study. The group is composed of 30 (55.6 %) males and 24 (44.4 %) females, of whom 23 (42.6 %) are first-generation (individuals born in China and who have immigrated to the United States) and 31 (57.4 %) are second-generation (individuals born in the United States who have at least one foreign-born parent). The parents' socialization behavior patterns considered are parents' use of the Chinese language and their ethnic affiliation, which may provide a context in which Chinese children have a positive sense of their ethnic identity (Liebkind & Jasinskaja-Lahti, 2000). There was a significant positive correlation between the importance of adolescents' ethnic identity and Chinese family cohesion. Additionally, neither first-generation nor second-generation status affected the level of family cohesion. Moderation could not be tested as the criteria were for these analyses were not met; family cohesion was tested as a predictor. Neither, Chinese parents' socialization behavior patterns, nor family cohesion predicted the importance of their children's ethnic identity. While this was not supported by significance in the further analyses, there was an important trend in this direction. Show less