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Understanding a Unique Aspect of Intergenerational Conflict among Korean American Adolescents  

Lee Jee-Sook (Researcher Seoul Welfare Foundation)
Publication Information
International Journal of Human Ecology / v.6, no.1, 2005 , pp. 75-86 More about this Journal
Abstract
This study examines unique manifestations of intergenerational conflict related to the acculturation process of immigrant families. No scale that measured the acculturation aspect of intergenerational conflict exsited. Thus, a new scale was developed to investigate this unique aspect among Korean American adolescents. The study design was cross-sectional, and employed a convenience sampling method. The participants were Korean American adolescents of junior and senior high school age, 14 to18 years old. The study was conducted at eleven Korean churches and one hakwon (private out-of-school studies .institute) in Fairfax County, Virginia. Korean American adolescents expressed that the issues related to education, such as academic pressures and high expectations, caused intergenerational conflict most frequently. Unlike findings from previous studies, the participants indicated that language differences between parents and children rarely caused intergenerational conflict. Contrary to previous findings, none of the characteristics variables, such as age, gender, length of residency and language preference, were significantly correlated with this unique conflict. This study provides a rare opportunity to enhance our understanding on how Korean American adolescents interact with their immigrant parents.
Keywords
intergenerational conflict; Korean American adolescents; acculturation; immigrant families;
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