Wayne Reed

Internal Adjustments Accompanying Children of Chinese Immigrants

            In my last research posting I touched on the dimensions of home and social contact in regards to the acculturation of children of Chinese immigrants.  With this posting I want to go further into the internal conflicts that are involved with this process and examine more about how the immigrant values evolve from the parents to their children (that is, from the immigrants who first come to American to their children).  There is a notable disparity between the cultural norms of the new (Western) society and the parental conceptions of cultural norms from China that tends to develop internal conflict in the children of immigrants, yet there is a noticeable tendency to encourage more individualistic characteristics from the parents when they are in America.

            The cultural conflict that arises in Chinese immigrant families is the difference between the collectivist society and the individualist society.  The Chinese support a rigid hierarchical society in which obedience and conformity are highly valued, and this value extends to the family where the parent’s authority is unquestioned and the dependence on the parents is crucial to the family functioning as a unit.  In contrast, the American family promotes independence and self reliance, and conformity is not highly expected.  As a result, children of Chinese immigrants have parents who are more controlling and stress achievement to them more so than nonimmigrant families. (Feldman, Rosenthal)

            Interestingly enough, compared with nonimmigrant Chinese (i.e., Chinese still living in China) there is more pressure to succeed in the Chinese immigrant families, yet the family values of conformity are more relaxed.  The Feldman and Rosenthal article compared Chinese immigrant to nonimmigrant Westerners and to nonimmigrant Chinese in Hong Kong which revealed differences in all three groups.  For example, Chinese immigrants and Westerners both viewed their parents as authorities, but Chinese immigrant families demanded more conformity.  On the other hand, Chinese immigrant children were allowed more “opportunity for diversity of opinion” than their counterparts in China (Feldman and Rosenthal 511).  There seems to be a gradual promotion of the Western cultural values, such as individualism, in the Chinese immigrant family.  However, the increase in the pressure to succeed may be, in part, an effort to maintain a certain control that is lost due to the children’s more rapid acculturation.  Yet we still see a “loosening of the family boundaries while maintaining conformity to family values” which shows the beginnings of a value change from the old country to the new.  (Feldman and Rosenthal 511)

            However, while parents do slowly acculturate themselves, there is still a discernible conflict in values which may adversely effect their children’s self esteem, slowing the process of acculturation.  Most of the pressure for them comes from attempting to integrate socially.  According to Berryman, “Family and peers are two very important institutions which foster or inhibit the development of a positive self-concept….  Chinese adolescents quite often find value conflicts between home and school as a consequence of cultural differences” (Berryman). 

            Consequentially, one of the ways America fosters acculturation for adolescents is through recreation.  American recreation differs remarkably from Chinese recreation.  Ironically, Chinese recreation revolves around more independent play, while American recreation usually involves many participants and team play.  Recreation in China is also considered leisure and lacks the physical exertion found in American recreation.  Besides the physical benefits of recreation that help a person’s self-esteem, they gain interpersonal experience beneficial to self-esteem and a feeling of achievement and learning that comes with new types of recreation.  As Berryman says, “Participation in recreation provides youth a context for trying out abilities and evaluating themselves in every aspect to establish and balance their self-esteem.” (Berryman)

            So, children of Chinese immigrants do face a unique struggle with acculturation as a model minority.  The parents do not tend to acculturate nearly as quickly as their children, nor do they have the duality of pressure.  Indeed, often times the immigrants’ children are the ones helping their parents understand the way the culture works.  But, we do see significant changes in the family structure that aid in the acculturation process and we see that there are ways, like Western media and recreation, that help them overcome the internal struggle that comes along with the disparity in value systems.  The children of immigrants seem to accustom themselves to these differences and the struggles may even end up being quite beneficial.

Works Cited

Berryman, Doris L., Ping Yu. “The Relationship Among Self-Esteem, Acculturation, and Recreation Participation of Recently Arrived Chinese Immigrant Adolescents.” Journal of Leisure Research. 28.4 (1996). Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection.  26 June 2006.

Feldman, Shirley S., Doreen A. Rosenthal.  “The Acculturation of Chinese Immigrants: Perceived Effects on Family Functioning of Length of Residence in Two Cultural Contexts.”  The Journal of Genetic Psychology.  15.4 (1990): EBSCO. 26 June    2006.

Kaufman, Julia.  “The Interplay Between Social and Cultural Determinants of School Effort and Success: An Investigation of Chinese Immigrants and Second-Generation Chinese Students’ Perceptions Toward School.” Social Science Quarterly.  85.5 (2004): 1275-1298. EBSCO.  26 June 2006.