Intergenerational conflict in Vietnamese-American families

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to better understand parent-child relationships in Vietnamese-American immigrant families. This study investigates how acculturation and parenting style impact the parent-child relationship by examining intergenerational conflict from the perspective of the adult-child. Participants in the study included fifty-two Vietnamese Americans between the ages of eighteen and thirty-four. Culturally sensitive measurement tools were used in this quantitative research when possible. Participants were asked to respond to questions measuring their level of acculturation to mainstream culture as well as to culture of origin. Parenting style in the home was assessed using typologies of authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and the Asian training style of parenting (Chao, 2000). Intergenerational conflict was examined through three domains of family expectations, career and education, and dating and marriage. ☐ This study found significant relationships for parenting style with both mothers and fathers and intergenerational conflict overall and in domains of family expectations, and education and career. Acculturation to culture of origin had no significant impact on parent-child conflict for either mothers or fathers, while acculturation to mainstream culture only showed a significantly positive relationship with mother conflict in the domain of education and career. Regression analyses found that acculturation to mainstream culture along with parenting styles of mothers significantly predicted conflict over education and career when mothers were perceived to be permissive or authoritarian.