Acculturation Conflict, Cultural Parenting Self‐Efficacy, and Perceived Parenting Competence in Asian American and Latino/a Families

• Date: 01 December 2017
• Author: Terese Glatz,Christy M. Buchanan,Lisa Kiang
• Published date: 01 December 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12266

Acculturation Conflict, Cultural Parenting

Self-Efficacy, and Perceived Parenting Competence

in Asian American and Latino/a Families

LISA KIANG*

TERESE GLATZ

†

CHRISTY M. BUCHANAN*

Parents from immigrant backgrounds must deal with normative parenting demands as

well as unique challenges associated with acculturation processes. The current study exam-

ines the independent and interactive influences of acculturation conflict and cultural par-

enting self-efficacy (PSE; e.g., parents’ confidence in instilling heritage, American, and

bicultural values in their children) on perceptions of general parenting competence. Using

data from 58 Asian American and 153 Latin American parents of children in grades 6–12,

ethnic differences were also explored. Results suggest that lower acculturation conflict is

associated with higher perceptions of general parenting competence for both Asian and

Latin American parents. Higher cultural PSE is associated with higher perceived general

parenting competence for Latino/a parents only. One significant interaction was found,

and only for Asian Americans, whereby the negative association between acculturation con-

flict and perceptions of parenting competence was weaker for those who felt efficacious in

transmitting heritage messages. Results are discussed in light of clinical implications and

the need for further recognition and study of culturally relevant factors and framew orks

among families from immigrant backgrounds.

Keywords: Acculturation; Parenting Competence; Cultural Parenting Self-Efficacy;

Parent–Child Conflict; Immigrant Families

Fam Proc 56:943–961, 2017

Parenting among families from immigrant backgrounds is uniquely challenging and

rewarding (Garcia Coll & Pachter, 2002). Above and beyond normative parenting

demands, challenges for parents with a history of immigrant experiences include pressure

to adapt to the mainstream environment while considering what heritage identity and val-

ues to retain and pass down to their children (Jambunathan, Burts, & Pierce, 2000).

Although these pressures might be especially salient for parents with direct immigration

experiences (i.e., those who are foreign-born), research suggests that acculturation pro-

cesses are relevant for many generations to come, including for parents from second and

later generations (Rumbaut, 2004). As such, examining the role of culture in the parenting

perceptions of immigrant parents, defined as those who have immigrated themselves (e.g.,

first generation) or who were U.S.-born and whose own parents or earlier ancestors were

immigrants (e.g., second generation and beyond), is particularly vital.

*Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC.

†

School of Law, Psychology, and Social Work,

€

Orebro University,

€

Orebro, Sweden.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lisa Kiang, Department of Psychology,

Wake Forest University, P.O. Box 7778, Winston-Salem, NC 27109. E-mail: kiangl@wfu.edu.

943

Family Process, Vol. 56, No. 4, 2017 ©2016 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12266

Despite being highly relevant to the experience of immigration, issues of acculturation

and culturally specific constructs of parenting self-efficacy (PSE) have rarely been recog-

nized as predictors of parents’ perceived competence, defined in the current study as the

degree to which parents feel capable in their parenting role in gene ral (Abidin, 1995). At

the same time, theory and research have highlighted the importance of acknowledging

cultural influences in child development (e.g., Garcia Coll et al.’s [1996] integrated model

of development), and the relevance of culture in promoting positive outcomes (e.g., Berry’s

[2003] bicultural identity). Thus, there is a need for systematic integration of these issues

with the traditional parenting literature.

The goal of the present research was to address this need to merge these largely dis-

parate literatures—on parents’ sense of general competence and culturally relevant par-

enting issues—to learn more about the parenting context among families from immigrant

backgrounds. It is important to examine these issues among parents who have immigrated

themselves as well as those who were U.S.-born, the latter of which are especially under-

studied in the field. As depicted in Figure 1, we exam ined how parent–child acculturation

conflict and the perceptions of PSE that are specifically linked to cultural socialization

goals are independently and interactively related to perceptions of general parenting com-

petence among Asian American and Latino/a parents, who represent the two most rapidly

growing but still understudied immigrant populations in the United States today (U.S.

Census, 2011). Understanding these links has key implications for contributing to theoret-

ical knowledge and informing the possible development of effective, culturally sensitive

intervention programs to optimize parenting and child outcomes.

Culturally Relevant Correlates of Perceived Parenting Competence

Although theoretical and empirical foundations of perceived parenting competence con-

tinue to be largely based on Western and Eurocentric perspectives (Teti & Candelaria,

2008), many scholars agree that parenting needs to be considered in light of the cultural

contexts and specific environments in which it occurs (Coard, Wallace, Stevenson, & Brot-

man, 2004; Jensen & Dost-G€

ozkan, 2015). For instance, Ogbu’s (1981) long-standing

Acculturation conflict

Cultural parenting self-

efficacy (Heritage,

American, and

bicultural)

Perceived

parenting

competence

Control variables

(Family income, parent

nativity, child’s grade)

FIGURE 1. Conceptual and Analytical Model Examining Predictors of Perceived General Parenting

Competence.

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