Su Yeong Kim

Accent, Perpetual Foreigner Stereotype, and Perceived Discrimination as Indirect Links Between English Proficiency and Depressive Symptoms in Chinese American Adolescents

The current study uses García Coll et al.s (1996) developmental competence model of ethnic minority children and Kims (1999) racial triangulation theory as frameworks for investigating the mechanisms whereby early adolescent English proficiency relates to perceived discriminatory experiences and adolescent depressive symptoms. Data from 444 adolescents (239 girls and 205 boys, with a mean age of 13.0 years for Wave 1 and 17.0 years for Wave 2) and their parents living in major metropolitan areas of Northern California were collected. The structural equation modeling analyses indicate that self-reported low levels of English proficiency among Chinese American adolescents in middle school are related to these same students later reporting that they speak English with an accent in high school, which in turn relates significantly to their perceiving that they have been stereotyped as perpetual foreigners. For girls, a perpetual foreigner stereotype relates to perceptions of chronic daily discrimination, increasing the risk of depressive symptoms. For boys, the path is different: A perpetual foreigner stereotype is apparently related to discriminatory victimization experiences, which increase the risk of depressive symptoms.

Acculturation-based and everyday family conflict in Chinese American families

Everyday conflict (studied primarily among European American families) is viewed as an assertion of autonomy from parents that is normative during adolescence. Acculturation-based conflict (studied primarily among Asian- and Latino-heritage families) is viewed as a threat to relatedness with parents rather than the normative assertion of autonomy. Our overarching goal for the chapter is to integrate our knowledge of these two types of family conflict that have been studied separately to arrive at a new understanding of what family conflict means for Chinese American adolescents and their parents.

Development of an Asian American parental racial-ethnic socialization scale.

OBJECTIVE To develop a measure of parental racial-ethnic socialization that is appropriate for Asian American families. METHOD To test the reliability and validity of this new measure, we surveyed 575 Asian American emerging adults (49% female, 79% U.S. born). RESULTS Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the results show 7 reliable subscales: maintenance of heritage culture, becoming American, awareness of discrimination, avoidance of other groups, minimization of race, promotion of equality, and cultural pluralism. Tests of factorial invariance show that overall, the subscales demonstrate, at minimum, partial metric invariance across gender, age, nativity, educational attainment, parent educational attainment, geographic region of residence, and Asian-heritage region. Thus, the relations among the subscales with other variables can be compared across these different subgroups. The subscales also correlated with ethnic identity, ethnic centrality, perceptions of discrimination, and pluralistic orientation, demonstrating construct validity. CONCLUSION In an increasingly complex and diverse social world, our scale will be useful for gaining a better understanding of how Asian American parents socialize their children regarding issues of race, discrimination, culture, and diversity. (PsycINFO Database Record

Longitudinal Measurement Equivalence of Subjective Language Brokering Experiences Scale in Mexican American Adolescents.

Objective: Language brokering occurs frequently in immigrant families and can have significant implications for the well-being of family members involved. The present study aimed to develop and validate a measure that can be used to assess multiple dimensions of subjective language brokering experiences among Mexican American adolescents. Method: Participants were 557 adolescent language brokers (54.2% female, Mage.wave1 = 12.96, SD = .94) in Mexican American families. Results: Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, we were able to identify 7 reliable subscales of language brokering: linguistic benefits, socioemotional benefits, efficacy, positive parent–child relationships, parental dependence, negative feelings, and centrality. Tests of factorial invariance show that these subscales demonstrate, at minimum, partial strict invariance across time and across experiences of translating for mothers and fathers, and in most cases, also across adolescent gender, nativity, and translation frequency. Thus, in general, the means of the subscales and the relations among the subscales with other variables can be compared across these different occasions and groups. Tests of criterion-related validity demonstrated that these subscales correlated, concurrently and longitudinally, with parental warmth and hostility, parent–child alienation, adolescent family obligation, depressive symptoms, resilience, and life meaning. Conclusion: This reliable and valid subjective language brokering experiences scale will be helpful for gaining a better understanding of adolescents’ language brokering experiences with their mothers and fathers, and how such experiences may influence their development.

Parent-Adolescent Discrepancies in Reports of Parenting and Adolescent Outcomes in Mexican Immigrant Families.

Parents and adolescents often have discrepant views of parenting which pose challenges for researchers regarding how to deal with information from multiple informants. Although recent studies indicate that parent–adolescent discrepancies in reports of parenting can be useful in predicting adolescent outcomes, their findings are mixed regarding whether discrepancies relate to more positive or more negative adolescent outcomes. This study examined the longitudinal implications of parent–adolescent discrepancies in reports of parenting (warmth, monitoring, and reasoning) on adolescent behavioral, psychological, academic, and physical health outcomes among Mexican immigrant families in the United States. Participants were 604 adolescents (54% female, Mage.wave1 = 12.41 years) and their parents. Taking a person-centered approach, this study identified distinct patterns of parent–adolescent discrepancies in parenting and their different associations with later adolescent outcomes. Adolescents’ more negative perceptions of parenting relative to parents were associated with more negative adolescent outcomes, whereas adolescents’ more positive perceptions relative to parents related to more positive adolescent outcomes. There were also variations in discrepancy patterns and their associations with adolescent outcomes between mother–adolescent vs. father-adolescent dyads. Findings of the current study highlight individual variations of discrepancies among parent–adolescent dyads and the importance of considering both the magnitude and direction of discrepancies regarding their associations with adolescent well-being.

Culture's Influence on Stressors, Parental Socialization, and Developmental Processes in the Mental Health of Children of Immigrants

Children of immigrants represent one in four children in the United States and will represent one in three children by 2050. Children of Asian and Latino immigrants together represent the majority of children of immigrants in the United States. Children of immigrants may be immigrants themselves, or they may have been born in the United States to foreign-born parents; their status may be legal or undocumented. We review transcultural and culture-specific factors that influence the various ways in which stressors are experienced; we also discuss the ways in which parental socialization and developmental processes function as risk factors or protective factors in their influence on the mental health of children of immigrants. Children of immigrants with elevated risk for mental health problems are more likely to be undocumented immigrants, refugees, or unaccompanied minors. We describe interventions and policies that show promise for reducing mental health problems among children of immigrants in the United States.

Acculturation-Related Stressors and Individual Adjustment in Asian American Families

As one of the largest and fastest growing immigrant populations, Asian Americans face various acculturative stressors (e.g., discrimination, perpetual foreigner stereotype, and intergenerational acculturation gap). This chapter discusses implications of these acculturative stressors on individual adjustment and family processes in Asian American families. Asian American individuals’ experiences of acculturative stressors can influence their own adjustment directly, as well as other family members’ adjustment indirectly, through family processes. Moreover, the association between acculturative stressors and individual adjustment can be moderated by demographic variables, personal attributes, and social resources. To provide a more comprehensive understanding of the relation between acculturative stressors and individual adjustment in Asian Americans, future studies can (a) incorporate a family systems approach, (b) examine the role of parental ethnic-racial socialization, (c) consider reciprocal relationships between stressors and individual outcomes, (d) explore potential positive changes associated with acculturative stressors, and (e) use a longitudinal design.

Profiles of Language Brokering Experiences and Contextual Stressors: Implications for Adolescent Outcomes in Mexican Immigrant Families

Adolescents from Mexican immigrant families are often embedded in a challenging social environment and experience multiple contextual stressors, including economic stress, discrimination, and foreigner stress. We consider how the effects of these contextual stressors may be amplified or diminished for adolescents who function as language brokers, interpreting and mediating for their English-limited parents. Using two waves of survey data collected from a sample (N = 604 at Wave 1; N = 483 at Wave 2) of Mexican American adolescents with ages ranging from 11 to 15 (Mage = 12.41, 54% female), four distinct brokering—stress profiles were identified. Latent profile analyses revealed that with moderate levels of contextual stress, adolescents with more positive language brokering experiences (protective group) demonstrated more favorable outcomes than those with neutral language brokering experiences (moderate group) and those who did not involve themselves as frequently in language brokering activities (less-involved group). In contrast, high levels of contextual stress, coupled with more negative language brokering experiences (risk group), produced the least favorable outcomes among adolescents.

Acute salivary cortisol response among Mexican American adolescents in immigrant families.

Objectives: Though previous research has indicated that language brokering can be stressful, the findings are mixed, pointing to potential moderators of the association. Guided by an ecological perspective, we examined the role of individual, family, and environmental factors in Mexican American adolescents’ acute cortisol responses to language brokering. Method: The study consisted of 46 Mexican American adolescents recruited around a metropolitan city in Central Texas. Participants translated a difficult medical document from English to Spanish for their parents, followed by an arithmetic task (modeled after the Trier Social Stress Test [TSST]). Participants’ perceptions (perceived efficacy and parental dependence), parental hostility, and discrimination experiences were assessed via self-report and were examined as moderators of adolescents’ responses to the task. Results: Results revealed differential responses to the task based on individual, family, and environmental factors. High efficacy and low dependence−parental hostility−discrimination related to stress responses characterized by low baselines, steeper reactivity, and faster recovery. Low efficacy and high dependence related to greater baseline stress and a slower recovery. High levels of parental hostility related to a slower recovery. High levels of discrimination related to greater baseline stress. Conclusions: The study demonstrates that the modified TSST task can elicit an acute hypothalamic−pituitary−adrenal axis response, but the nature of this response is dependent upon participants’ perceptions of language brokering (parental dependence and efficacy), parental hostility, and discrimination experiences. Adolescents’ individual characteristics and contextual demands remain important considerations in understanding their acute stress responses.

Stability and Change in Parenting and Adjustment Profiles Across Early, Middle, and Late Adolescence in Chinese American Families

Chinese American parents have a reputation for being “tiger” parents, and Chinese American adolescents are widely viewed as “model” minorities. However, these stereotypes fail to capture the within-group variation among Chinese Americans. This chapter aims to present findings on Chinese Americans’ parenting profiles and adolescent adjustment profiles. Four parenting profiles were identified. Supportive (high levels of positive and low levels of negative parenting) was the most prevalent parenting profile, followed by tiger (high levels of both positive and negative parenting), easygoing (low on both positive and negative parenting), and harsh (low levels of positive and high levels of negative parenting). Three adolescent profiles were identified. Well-adjusted (high levels of academic and socioemotional well-being) was the most prevalent adjustment profile, followed by paradoxically adjusted (high levels of academic and low levels of socioemotional well-being) and poorly adjusted (low levels of academic and socioemotional well-being). There was evidence for stability and change both in Chinese American parenting profiles and in adolescent adjustment profiles across early, middle, and late adolescence. Across the course of adolescence, mothers were found to exert less tiger parenting, while fathers were found to exert more tiger parenting. Slightly more than half of adolescents (55%) stayed in the same adjustment profile across time. Tiger parenting related to a stable paradoxically adjusted adjustment profile, suggesting that tiger parenting may promote academic success, but at the cost of psychological well-being across the course of adolescence. Supportive parenting consistently related to stably well-adjusted adjustment profiles for Chinese American adolescents.