• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.111-121
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to examine how immigrant Korean American parents' aspirations for children's educational attainment are related to their childrearing behavior, their beliefs about the nature of children's intelligence, their level of acculturation, and their beliefs about achievement. One hundred and twenty five immigrant Korean mothers in the United States participated in the study. The present study found that parental expectation for a daughter's educational attainment was significantly related to the mother's educational level. The results of regression analysis also indicated that for daughters, the significant predictors for parents' aspirations for children's educational attainment were the mothers' educational level and parental beliefs about achievement; for sons, significant predictors were the mothers' educational level and parental nurturance.

• Child Studies in Asia-Pacific Contexts
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.105-122
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• 2013

The relationship between an adolescent and his/her parents is one of the most important relationships that can have a significant effect on adolescents' well-being and functioning. While there has been an increase in research on Asian American families in recent years, still much less is known about adolescent-parent relationships in these families. Asian American adolescents face some of the challenges that mainstream European American adolescents face, but their experiences are complicated by the cultural and immigration-related factors that have unique contribution to their relationships with their parents. As such, there is urgent need for research that identifies and provides a comprehensive understanding of factors that contribute to the experiences of Asian American immigrant families. The current paper provides a systematic look at adolescent-parent relationships in Asian American immigrant families using the Bronfenbrenner's ecological model. More specifically, this paper provides a succinct review of the literature on developmental issues, immigration, and culture-related factors that affect Asian American adolescent-parent relationships, and guided by Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory, an ecological framework of Asian American adolescent-parent relationships is proposed.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.1631-1643
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• 2016

Depressive symptoms are one of the biggest mental health issues among Korean American adolescents. Previous studies have found that parental warmth and intergenerational family conflict have a major impact on depressive symptoms among Korean American adolescents. This cross-sectional study examines the mediation effects of intergenerational family conflict between perceived parental warmth and depressive symptoms among 97 Korean American adolescents aged 14 to 18 years old in the Pacific Northwest region. The results revealed that 60% of participants experienced depressive symptoms. In addition, mother-adolescent conflict significantly mediated between perceived parental warmth and depressive symptoms while father-adolescent conflict did not significantly mediate. The finding suggests the need to develop intervention programs for Korean American adolescents and their parents that focus on creating an understanding of the difference between Korean culture and American culture, identifying early signs of depressive symptoms, and decreasing intergenerational family conflict by teaching parents to express parental warmth effectively.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.75-86
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• 2005

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.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.125-142
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• 2010

The main purpose of this study was to examine whether different cultures affect attachment style by comparing Korean and American adolescents, with a focus on parent attachment and peer attachment. Data were collected from middle and high school students(291 Korean adolescents, 158 American adolescents), and the participants were asked to report on the revised version of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment(IPPA-R). The analysis showed significant differences on both parent and peer attachment between Korean and American adolescents: Korean adolescents had more negative relationships with their parents compared to American adolescents. In contrast, Korean adolescents had more positive relations(high trust and communication score, low alienation score) with their friends than American adolescents. More results on the relationships between attachment style and socio-environmental variables were presented, and each of these results could be interpreted by cultural difference. Based on these results, parent-child programs and peer programs that can enrich the relationships that a child has with his or her parents and friends were introduced for researchers, educators, teachers, and counselors. The implications and recommendations for future research were also presented.

• Child Studies in Asia-Pacific Contexts
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.91-107
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• 2012

This study aimed to understand communicative and socialization practices of immigrant bilingual families in everyday learning situations by examining interactions between parents and children in the United States. Drawn on language socialization theory and socio-cultural factors influencing immigrants, this study explored how three Korean American mothers struggled as they helped their children with homework by interviewing the mothers and observing mother-child interaction during homework time. The study paid attention to the emotional values of immigrant parents that they tried to teach their children who are members in two distinctive communities, such as Korean American and mainstream American. The findings showed that parental socialization practices had effects on children's emotional and social competence and at the same time the socialization process was bidirectional. Mothers started with Korean values, but they faced challenges with the English language, different demands for American homework, and children's rejection of their attempts. Mothers needed to change their strategy and borrow American ways of keeping emotional distance from their children by acknowledging their independence. Their struggles are discussed with attention to their language choice and culture.

• Child Studies in Asia-Pacific Contexts
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.11-27
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• 2012

We examined play interactions between siblings when one child has autism in a Vietnamese American and a European American family. Analysis was based on video recorded free play sessions with each set of siblings at their home. Interviews with the typically developing sibling and parents also provided supplemental data to aid our knowledge about their play behavior. This study describes the role of the typically developing sibling in play and the types of play engaged in by siblings. Findings indicate that the two sets of siblings differed in their play behavior. Specifically, significant differences were noted in the role of the typically developing sibling in play, and the types of play engaged in by the siblings. The perceptions of the typically developing siblings and parents regarding autism also differed across families, significantly affecting their play behavior. Implications for research are described.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.71-87
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to investigate how a sense of community, community provisions, and acculturation attitudes towards Korean and American cultures are related to Korean immigrant parents' parental satisfaction. 477 surveys, consisting of 291 females and 186 males, were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results showed that a sense of community directly influenced acculturation attitudes toward American culture and parental satisfaction. Acculturation attitudes toward American culture also directly influenced parental satisfaction. A sense of community had significant indirect effects on parental satisfaction. These results imply that a sense of community within a larger community plays an important role in Korean immigrant parents' acquisition of identities as members of a new country. Building a sense of community is also important for them to experience less acculturation stress and become more satisfied with their parenting while adjusting to a new culture. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.583-590
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• 2009

This study analyzed temperament of ethnic Korean children residing in Korea comparing them with Korean children and American children residing in the USA. Parents of 169 Korean, Korean-American and American 4-7-year-old children rated them on the Very Short Form of Children's Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ; Rothbart et al., 2001). On most subscales, Korean children were reported higher than ethnic Korean children in the US while Korean-American children were rated lower than others. Attention focusing was influenced by macro systems; shifting and impulsivity were more sensitive to biological or micro systems. The bilingual setting of Korean-American children may explain the difference in control of this group from others. This study clearly showed that ecological settings play important roles in temperament.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.57-71
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• 2003

This study investigates the relationships between parental efficacy and parental practices among Korean immigrant parents in the US. Parental efficacy constitutes a special aspect of parental belief systems focusing on the beliefs that parents have the capabilities to manage the tasks of nurturing and socializing their children. Results showed that parental efficacy was positively related to the authoritative dimension of parental practices. However, there was no significant negative relationship between parental efficacy and the authoritarian dimension of parental practices. Interestingly, the authoritative and authoritarian dimensions of parental practices were highly correlated among Korean immigrant parents. This finding is in contrast to much of the research on Anglo American parenting that indicates that authoritarian practices are not compatible with authoritative practices. For Korean immigrant parents, authoritarian practices seem not to have detrimental connotation. Therefore, it can be assumed that Korean immigrant parents parental practices have different underlying mechanisms compared to Anglo American parents. We need to focus parenting research with a broader perspective on the sociological and historical context from which parental practices arise.