Relations among acculturation, parenting and depressive symptoms for immigrant Chinese mothers and fathers

• Main Author: Koryzma, Céline Marion
• Other Authors: Costigan, Catherine
• Language: English; en
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: parent and child; cultural assimilation; Chinese; Canada; UVic Subject Index::Humanities and Social Sciences::Psychology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1828/2284

The relations among acculturation, parenting and depressive symptoms were examined among 98 immigrant Chinese mothers and fathers with early adolescents in Canada. Parents completed measures assessing their involvement in Canadian and Chinese culture, their symptoms of depression, and their parenting practices (i.e., expressive warmth, firm control, Chinese parenting beliefs and restrictive control). Greater Canadian orientation was associated with more expressive warmth and firm control for parents, whereas greater Chinese orientation was associated with stronger Chinese parenting beliefs. Greater Canadian orientation was associated with fewer depressive symptoms for all mothers, and for fathers who were low in Chinese orientation. Symptoms of depression were negatively related to firm control and expressive warmth for parents, and positively related to restrictive control for fathers. Finally, symptoms of depression partially mediated the relation between Canadian orientation and firm control for mothers, as well as the relation between Canadian orientation and expressive warmth for fathers.