ADVANTAGES AND CHALLENGES IN PARENTING

1

• ADVANTAGES AND CHALLENGES IN PARENTING
• OF ASIAN INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AND THEIR SPOUSES
• KYONG-AH KWON, MEI-JU MERYL KO, LARISSA FRIAS,
• JUDITH MYERS-WALLS, TING LU
• PURDUE UNIVERSITY

Twenty-nine Asian international graduate
students and their spouses with at least 1 child
were interviewed. They were asked about their
parenting experiences in the U.S. Advantages and
challenges related to their parenting were
identified. The main advantages included the
parents practice of a more family-centered life
and better school system in the U.S. Among the
challenges were the lack of child care support
and their concern about their childrens
adjustment. From the findings, the Asian
parents need support to raise their children in
another culture.

• 29 Asian (15 Korean, 6 Chinese, 4 Taiwanese, 4
  Filipino)
• international graduate students and spouses at
• a large Midwestern University with a child.
• 18 females (5 grad students 13 non-student
  spouses)
• 11 male grad students
• Parent age range 5(26-30 yrs),20(31-35),3(36-40)
  
• Child age M4 yrs (prenatal-9 yrs)
• Number of years stayed in U. S. A. M3.8 yrs
  (1-6yrs)
• All the participants have higher than B. A.
  Degree.
• Most of the participants living in graduate
  student housing

Results
Abstract
Participants

• As they come from the same countries as the
  participants
• (Korea, Taiwan, China, Philippines), 4 of the
  authors are
• able to understand the meaning and cultural
  context of the
• participants experiences
• They share much of acculturative experience with
  the
• participants as Asian international graduate
  students
• Two of researchers have experiences as a parent
  as well.
• One researcher is a U.S. professor who balances
  the
• analysis with an outsider perspective.

Researchers Characteristics

• Parenting in Transition
• Moving to another culture results in separation
  from intimate relationships change in
  socio-economic status loss of familiar roles
  within family and society, native language, and
  familiar social values and customs, which may
  increase the stress level and lower parental
  self-efficacy (Moro, 2003).
• Understanding Parenting in Cultural Context
• According to Ecological Theory, a major task in
  developmental science is to examine and explain
  roles within contexts in family and child
  development (Bronfenbrenner Morris, 1998).
• Culture provides a model for parenting beliefs
  and practices (include child care, cultural
  orientation towards family and work, desirable
  behaviors) (Bornstein Cheah, 2006)
• Importance of Social Support for Parenting
• According to Belskys ecological model of
  parenting (1984), social support is one of the
  main contextual determinants of parenting of
  infants and young children.
• Parents having social support feel more
  efficacious about their parenting abilities
  (Elder et al.,1995).
• Both social support and parental self-efficacy
  predict more warm and controlling parenting (Izzo
  et al., 2000)

Background

• Qualitative research methods
• Convenience sampling
• One-hour-semi-structured interviews in the
  participants
• native language.
• The interviews were audio-taped, transcribed, and
  translated
• to English.
• Data analysis technique
• a) open coding
• b) axial coding
• c) selective coding

Research Procedure

• Most of research in parenting in cultural context
  or transition
• has been done with immigrants and rarely with
  Asian
• international student parents due to their
  temporary stay
• However, Asian international graduate student
  parents may
• experience unique patterns of acculturative and
• parenting stresses and need support.

Gaps in Research

Ecological Approach
Phenomenological Approach

• Asian international student parents bring their
  own cultural
• beliefs for parenting as they also try to adapt
  in the new
• culture of parenting in the US.
• Parents are concerned with their childrens
  adjustment as the
• children experience difficulties growing up in
  different cultures.
• Parents hope that children retain their own
  culture as well as
• adapt to the new culture. To help this balanced
  development, they
• need social support information-based
  resources.
• Moving to the U.S. resulted in the loss of
  familiar and social
• support systems including the extended family and
  friends.
• Parents needed to rebuild a new social support
  system with
• other student parent groups from their own
  country.

Discussion

• For future research, employing other
  methodologies like
• participant observation will help to collect more
  in-depth
• Information about the experiences of Asian
  student parents.
• This research looked at the general themes across
  the different
• samples of Asian student parents.However, there
  might be
• subgroup differences in their experiences that
  could be found
• (e.g. differences due to familiarity of the
  English language)
• The community and school system need to
  understand where
• the families come from and provide culturally
  sensitive services.
• The sample size and area of the sample can be
  extended
• and improved to include other Asian international
  student groups.

Implications for Research and Practice
Culture
Community School Medical system
Culture
Family System

• What advantages do the Asian international
  graduate
• student couples report from raising their child
  in U. S.?
• What challenges do they encounter in playing a
  parenting
• role in U. S.?
• What kind of support do they need to better
  parent their
• child in another culture?

Research Questions