Project: Impact of Parenting Styles and Family Conflicts in Asian Families

Department: Voyager

Language: English

Start on: Aug 25, 2023

Status: In Progress

Estimated finish by: Mar 1st, 2024

Author: Dongbowei Zhang, Yunzheng Zhang

Data Analysis: Pengfei Wang

Review: Jenny Gao

“If it is what you’re expected to do, you are supposed to do it well”, my mom often says so. In Chinese families, it is very common to see parents have high standards and expectations for their children but barely praise them. This is also known as authoritarian parenting, characterized by high demandingness and low on responsiveness (Zeltser, 2021). This phenomenon is actually seen in most Asian families (Gilette, 2021). Oftentimes, parents do not realize the low warmth family environment is disadvantaged for their children’s development. The authoritarian parenting style is proven to have potential harm to child's mental health in their teen years as well as they enter young adulthood, Harm includes low self-esteem of children, lack of social abilities, and increased chance of suffering from anxiety, etc. (WebMD Editorial Contributors, 2023). 

Children at young ages have not developed their own values or have the capacity to fight against the distorted parent-child relationship or family dynamic. Problems would not burst until children reached their adolescence. It is well known that adolescence is a critical period for both their physical and mental growth. Formation of independent values, and starting and maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships are also essential preparations before they enter early adulthood. Due to changes in hormone levels, family conflicts are also occurring more frequently in adolescence. Severe family conflicts can result in outcomes including adolescent depression, delinquency, and deficit in self-esteem (Laursen & Delay. 2011) Therefore, it is crucial for parents to be aware of the significance of proper parenting styles.

As demonstrated by research and clinical trials, authoritative parenting is the most beneficial parenting style for children's development and family dynamics compared to other parenting styles. The authoritative style is characterized by parents' high control and warmth (Zeltser, 2021). High on warmth serves to form a healthy and close relationship between parent and child, whereas high on control aims to keep consistent and stable rules for children (Zeltser, 2021). However, Chinese parents may find authoritative parenting difficult to accept. One of the reasons is led by the nature of the authoritative parenting style -- its emphasis on praising. In other words, it is essential for parents to praise their children when they have done things well or have met the expectations of parents. The behavior of praising helps create a warm and caring family environment, which further facilitates the forming of a healthy bond between parent and child. It is supported by literature that praising could have a significant positive effect on people (Dewar, 2019). Labeled praise, was shown to have the most ideal result on encouraging children and letting them know exactly what they have done well and understand what is expected in this family.

More to be aware of, authoritative parenting requires frequent and on-time communication between parent and child. It is important for parents and their children to have in-depth communication over rules within the household as well as topics that lead to conflicts easily. With clear rules and consequences of disobeying in mind, children are more likely to follow them and find family environment friendly. 

In a nutshell, parenting style plays a significant role in children's early development as well as parent-child relationships in their adolescence. Chinese parents have been found to possess the potential to improperly handle parent-child interaction and family conflict. In order to reform a healthy relationship between parent and child, parents should dedicate their effort to adopting a well-demonstrated, effective parenting style—authoritative parenting. It will not only help prevent family conflicts but also benefit the child's long-term physical and psychological development. 

References

Dewar, G. (2019). Asian Parenting and Mental Health I Psych Central. Retrieved September 3, 2023, from https://psychcentral.com/health/asian-culture-and-mental-health#asian-american-parenting

Dewar, G. (2019, December 2). The effects of praise: 7 evidence-based tips for using praise wisely. PARENTING SCIENCE. https://parentingscience.com/effects-of-praise/

WebMD Editorial Contributors (2023, April 7). Authoritarian Parenting: What Is It? Retrieved September 3, 2023, from https://www.webmd.com/parenting/authoritarian-parenting-what-is-it

Laursen, B. & DeLay, D. (2011) Parent-Child Conflict—An overview. ScienceDirect Topics. Retrieved September 3, 2023, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/parent-child-conflict 

Zeltser, F. (2021,June 29). A psychologist shares the 4 styles of parenting—And the type that researchers say is the most successful. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/29/child-psychologist-explains-4-types-of-parenting-and-how-to-tell-which-is-right-for-you.html