korean american parental control: acceptance or rejection?

7/27/2019 Korean American Parental Control: Acceptance or Rejection?

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Korean American Parental Control: Acceptance or Rejection?

Author(s): Eunjung KimSource: Ethos, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Sep., 2005), pp. 347-366Published by: Wiley on behalf of the American Anthropological AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4497898 .

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K o r e a n A m e r i c a n P a r e n t a l C o n t r o l :Acceptance o r Rejection?EUNJUNGKIM

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this cross-sectional descriptive studywas to examine relations between parental acceptance-rejectionand behavioral control among 106 Korean American families inthe Midwest. Independent self-report data were gathered fromadolescents, mothers, and fathers, and analyzed with descrip-tive statistics, analyses of variance, analyses of covariance,and Pearson correlations. Both Korean American adolescentsand their parents (mothers and fathers) reported the parentsas warm and loving, as well as moderate to firm in their be-havioral control. Nonetheless, within these ranges, results indi-cated that both adolescents' and mothers' reports of maternalbehavioral control were positively correlated with less overallacceptance. Correlational results for fathers, however, showedthat the more behaviorally controlling they reported themselvesto be (within the moderate tofirm range), the warmer and moreaffectionate they reported themselves to be-but also the morehostile and aggressive they reported themselves to be. This ap-parent contradiction seems to be explainable in the context ofKorean American adaptation to mainstream American culturalideology. [parental warmth, parental behavioral control, KoreanAmericans, young adolescents, perception differences]

T he populationof foreign-born and first-generation Asian Amer-icans in the United States has grown rapidly during the last fewdecades. In particular, the Korean American population has in-creased more than 300 percent during the last 20 years (I. Kim

2004; U.S. Census Bureau 1980, 2005). Following Chinese andETHOS,ol.3,No.,pp. 47-366,SSN091-2131,lectronicSSN548-1352.? 2005 yheAmericannthro-pologicalssociation.ll ightseserved.leaseirectll equestsor ermissionophotocopyr eproducerticlecontenthroughheUniversityfCaliforniaress'sightsnd ermissionsebsite,ttp://www.ucpress.edu/journals/rights.htm.

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348 0 ETHOS

Indian immigrants, Koreans are the third largest Asian-born population inthe United States. Describing Korean American parenting is an importantelement for successful adaptation of first-generation Korean Americans.The limited number of studies has produced interesting but contradic-tory results about parental acceptance-rejection and parental behavioralcontrol in this population, in part because of cultural factors. Specifi-cally, adolescents in Korea perceive greater parental behavioral controlas a manifestation of greater parental acceptance (Rohner and Pettengill1985), whereas Puerto Rican, American, and Korean American childrenand adolescents perceive higher parental behavioral control as a manifes-tation of less parental acceptance (K. C. Kim 1998; Pettengill and Rohner1985; Rohner and Rohner 1981; Saavedra 1980).The studies that have examined Korean American adolescents (K. C.Kim 1998; Pettengill and Rohner 1985) have not considered the adoles-cents' birthplaces. Therefore, it is not clear how the relations betweenparental acceptance-rejection and behavioral control differ betweenKorean-born adolescents and American-born adolescents. Also, no studyhas evaluated the relations between parental acceptance-rejection andparental behavioral control using first-generation Korean American par-ents' reports.The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationshipsbetween parental acceptance-rejection and parental behavioral controlamong Korean American adolescents, mothers, and fathers from data col-lected by independent measures. This study also specifically explored theeffect of adolescents' birthplaces on participants' perceptions of parentalacceptance-rejection and behavioral control. Participants were catego-rized into two groups: families with Korean-born adolescents and familieswith American-born adolescents. Two hypotheses of this study were that:1) adolescents' reports of greater parental behavioral control would bepositively correlated with less parental acceptance, and that 2) parents' re-ports of higher parental behavioral control would be positively correlatedwith greater parental acceptance. This study explored these hypothesesin relation to the adolescents' birthplace, Korea or the United States.

PARENTALCCEPTANCE-REJECTIONNDEHAVIORALONTROLResearchers have identified parental warmth and parental control astwo significant dimensions of parenting (Baumrind 1991; Maccoby andMartin 1983; Rohner 1991). According to Rohner's parental acceptance-

rejection theory (Rohner 2005a; Rohner, Khaleque, and Cournoyer 2005)parental warmth refers to the affectional and behavioral quality betweenparents and adolescents. Depending on the quality, parental warmth



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KoreanAmericanParenting0 349

ranges from parental acceptance to parental rejection. Parental accep-tance represents the presence of parental warmth/affection. In con-trast, parental rejection represents the absence or significant withdrawalof the warmth/affection, and the presence of three elements: hostility/aggression, indifference/neglect, and undifferentiated rejection. Accord-ing to this theory, parental control indicates behavioral control, whichrefers to the level of parental limit-setting on adolescents' behavior and tothe degree of parental reinforcement of the limits. It ranges from permis-siveness, by which parents exercise minimum control over adolescents'behaviors and provide no direction, to strictness, by which parents putmany rules and restrictions over adolescents' behaviors and limit theirautonomy (Rohner 1991, 2005a).

CULTURALDEOLOGYNDHEELATIONSETWEENARENTALACCEPTANCE-REJECTIONNDEHAVIORALONTROLThere is a profound cultural difference in mainstream family systemand values between Korea and the United States. The typical traditional

Koreanfamily system is patrilineal and patriarchal (Oak and Martin2000).The father is expected to be the breadwinner, leader, and the authorityfigure in the household, whereas the mother is expected to be the house-wife, primary caregiver of children, emotional provider, and healer (K. C.Kim and Kim 1995). These traditional paternal and maternal roles are wellexpressed in a popular Korean phrase, om buja mo, "strict father, benev-olent mother" (U. Kim and Choi 1994; Rohner and Pettengill 1985:525).Adolescents are expected to be submissive and obedient to their parents,loyal to the family, and to fulfill their obligation of filial piety to the parentswhen their parents get older (Kelly and Tseng 1992; L. Lee 1995; Oak andMartin 2000).In childrearing, Korean parents assume full responsibility for theirchildren and adolescents' behaviors and outcomes. As a result, they areextensively involved in family members' decision-making regarding chil-dren and adolescents' daily routines, choice of college, choice of profes-sion, and choice of spouse (Lehrer 1996). Korean parents tend to considertheir high level of control and extensive involvement with their adoles-cents' daily lives as a demonstration of their love and interest in theiroffspring's wellbeing. Korean adolescents, in turn, tend to perceive highparental control as a sign of parental love and interest in them.This relationship is well explained by Rohner and Pettengill (1985),whose study showed a positive relationship between adolescents' percep-tion of parental behavioral control and parental warmth/affection, and anegative relationship between parental behavioral control and parental



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350 0 ETHOS

indifference/neglect. Adolescents' perceived higher levels of maternal be-havioral control, however, were associated with higher levels of maternalhostility/aggression and undifferentiated rejection, while there were nosignificant relationships between paternal behavioral control and hostility/aggression and undifferentiated rejection. Higher behavioral control mayhave been perceived to be contrary to mothers' expected role as nurtur-ers and emotional providers, but consistent with the role expectation forfathers. Therefore, adolescents perceived only mothers' practice of higherbehavioral control as an expression of hostility/aggression and undiffer-entiated rejection (Rohner and Pettengill 1985).When Korean families migrate to the United States, they encountera very different family system and values. Family roles in the EuropeanAmerican family system are more egalitarian than those of Korean families(Phinney et al. 2000). Although European American children have obli-gations to their families and parents, they also have greater equality withtheir parents and less obligation to obey them. European American par-ents encourage less interdependence in their children than do parents whomigrate from a collectivistic culture (Phinney et al. 2000) such as Korea.The cultural norm of European American parenting is to raise ado-lescents to be autonomous, independent, and self-reliant (Holmbeck et al.1995; Oak and Martin 2000). European American parents try to nurturetheir adolescents to regulate their own behaviors and to act in a socially ap-propriate manner without explicit parental behavioral control (Grolnickand Farkas 2002). Because the European American norm of parenting isto raise adolescents to be autonomous, in the United States strict parentalbehavioral control can be seen as an intrusion on, and inhibition of, ado-lescents' growing autonomy. Consequently, higher parental behavioralcontrol is associated with hostility/aggression, undifferentiated rejection,and overall low acceptance among American school-age children, PuertoRican adolescent boys, and Korean American adolescents (K. Kim 1998;Pettengill and Rohner 1985; Rohner and Pettengill 1985; Rohner andRohner 1978; Saavedra 1980).In addition, adolescents' reports of higher maternal and paternal be-havioral control were related to adolescents' report of higher parent-adolescent conflict among Korean American adolescents (Pettengilland Rohner 1985). That Korean American adolescents perceive higherparental behavioral control as low overall acceptance may suggest thatKorean American adolescents acquire more American culture, which theylearn from peers and school, than Korean culture, which they learn fromtheir home environment. However, it is unclear whether first-generationKoreanAmerican parents adopt the cultural norms of European Americanparenting.



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KoreanAmericanParenting@351

In summary, previous studies suggest that the relationship be-tween Korean American adolescents' perception of parental acceptance-rejection and parental behavioral control is influenced more by the cul-tural ideology of American society than by the cultural tradition inwhich they grew up at home. In Korea, parental greater behavioralcontrol is related to more parental acceptance, whereas in the UnitedStates higher parental behavioral control is often related to low parentalacceptance.

SIGNIFICANCEF HETUDYThe current study was designed to address gaps in the existing knowl-edge base. First, compared to previous studies that collected data from

only adolescents and not from parents (K. Kim and Rohner 2002; Rohner,Hahn, and Koehn 1992), this study collected data from both adoles-cents and their parents. Because most Korean American parents are first-generation immigrants who migrated to the United States as adults, it ispossible that Korean American parents may share views about parentalbehavioral control that are similar to those of adolescents in Korea. If par-ents view greater parental behavioral control as a manifestation of higherparental acceptance, and their adolescents equate higher behavioral con-trol with low parental acceptance, conflicts in Korean American familiesare likely to emerge.

Second, compared to previous studies that examined a wide ado-lescent age range, this study focused on early adolescence. Parenting ofyoung adolescents (age 11-14) has been shown to be more challengingand stressful due to the rapid developmental changes that occur duringthis period and to the rising importance of peer group norms (Small et al.1988). The rapid developmental changes may affect the parent-child rela-tionship by increasing irritability and the negative emotionality of youngadolescents (Holmbeck et al. 1995).

Finally, this study explored the influence of cultural ideologies bydividing the Korean American families into two groups. One group con-sisted of families with Korean-born adolescents who had lived in Koreaand whose parents had lived in the United States for a shorter periodof time. The other group consisted of families with American-born ado-lescents who had not lived in Korea and whose parents had lived in theUnited States for a longer period of time. Phinney and colleagues (2001)found that adolescents' birthplace could be a reliable demographic vari-able for dividing groups in their study of cultural values among immigrantand nonimmigrant families.



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METHODSampleThe participants were 106 Korean American families, including 106young adolescents with ages ranging from 11 to 14, 104 mothers, and 97fathers. Inclusion criteria were that: 1) the adolescent was between theages 11 and 14; 2) both the mother and father were Korean American;3) the family lived in the United States at the time of the study; and 4)at least one parent was willing to complete the surveys. Single-parentfamilies were excluded from the study. "KoreanAmerican," in this study,was defined as a person who lived with his or her biological Koreanparentsand resided in the United States, regardless of birthplace, at the time ofthe study. The young adolescents (47 boys and 59 girls) in this study hada mean age of 12.40 (SD = 1.12) and had lived in the United States for10.69 years (SD = 3.66), regardless of birthplace. The characteristics ofmothers and fathers revealed significant differences with respect to age[t (93) = -8.0, p < .001], educational level [t (89) = -5.82, p < .001],work hours [t (91) = -8.17, p < .001], and length of stay in the UnitedStates [t (91) = -4.10, p < .001]. As summarized in Table 1, fathers wereolder, more educated, worked more hours, and had lived in the UnitedStates longer than mothers.Procedures

Korean American families were recruited from Korean organizationssuch as churches and language schools in the Midwest United States.Written informed consent was obtained from participating parents, anda completed assent form was obtained from their young adolescents.When there was more than one young adolescent in one household (aged11 to 14), the questionnaire was administered only to the oldest childto represent the family's first experience with the adolescent transition,and parents were asked to respond based on their relationship with this

Table. Characteristicsf KoreanmericandolescentsndTheir arentsAdolescents Mothers Fathers

(n = 106) (n = 104) (n = 97)M (SD) M (SD) M (SD)Agein years 12.40 (1.12) 42.15 (3.95) 45.00 (4.66)U.S.residencyin years 10.69 (3.66) 14.51 (3.21) 16.36 (3.84)Education in years 15.08 (6.96) 16.84 (7.10)Working hours per week 26.64 (21.32) 47.84 (14.18)



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oldest child. Questionnaires were administered in participants' preferredlanguage, English or Korean. Questionnaires were completed indepen-dently. After participants finished the questionnaires, each returned thecompleted questionnaire by mail to the researcher in a self-addressed,stamped envelope, which was provided for each parent and adolescentseparately.Measures

The study variables of parental acceptance-rejection and parentalbehavioral control were measured using the Parental Acceptance-Rejection/Control Questionnaire (PARQ/Control,Rohner 1991). Both theadolescents' version and the parents' version of the instrument containedthe same scales and same question items, worded appropriately for devel-opmental level. The PARQ/Control, originally developed in English, hasbeen translated into 28 different languages, including Korean, and hasbeen used nationally and internationally (Rohner 2005b). Several studiesusing the questionnaire in Korean American populations have shown theinstrument to be culturally appropriate (K.Kimand Rohner 2002; Rohneret al. 1992).The PARQportion of the PARQ/Control (PARQ, Rohner 1991) wasused to assess adolescents' and parents' views of parental acceptance-rejection. The PARQ is a 60 item, four-point Likert-scale instrumentconsisting of four subscales including parental warmth/affection (scorerange 20-80), hostility/aggression (15-60), indifference/neglect (15-60),and undifferentiated rejection (10-40). Total PARQscores can range from60-240; scores more than 120 indicate rejection and scores over 150 in-dicate severe rejection (Veneziano and Rohner 1998). Sample questionitems are shown in Table 2. Rohner (1991) has reported evidence for con-vergent, discriminant, and construct validity for the PARQ. The PARQsubscales were significantly correlated with the acceptance, hostility, andrejection scales of the Schaefer's Child's Report of Parent Behavior In-ventory (Rohner 1991). Internal reliability using Cronbach's alpha coef-ficients for the PARQ subscales in the current Korean American samplerange from .74 to .88 for mother, from .72 to .89 for father, from .77 to .90for child-mother, and from .72 to .92 for child-father data.The Control portion of PARQ/Control (Rohner 1991) was used tomeasure adolescents' and parents' perceptions of parental behavioral con-trol. The Control portion is a 13 item, four-point Likert-scale instrument.Scores on the Control Questionnaire range from 13 to 52; scores of 13-26indicate permissive control, 27-39 moderate control, 40-45 firm control,and 46-52 strict control (K. Kim 1998). Sample question items are shownin Table 2. Internal reliability using Cronbach's alpha coefficients of the



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Table . SampleQuestiontems f the Parental cceptance-Rejection/Controlues-tionnaireRohner991)Subdimension Sample questionitem forparentsand adolescentsWarmth/affection I say nice thingsaboutmy child.Myfather/mother ays nice thingsaboutme.Hostility/aggression I say unkindthingsto my child.Myfather/mother ays manyunkindthingsto me.Indifference/neglect I forgetevents thatmy child thinksI should remember.Myfather/mother orgetsthingsI thinkshe/he shouldremember.Undifferentiated I wonder f I reallylove my child.rejection Myfather/motherdoes not reallylove me.Control I tell my childexactlywhattime to be home when he/shegoes out.Myfather/mother ells me exactlywhattime to be homewhen I go out.currentsampleis .60 (mother), .72 (father), .75 (child-mother),and .75(child-father).DataAnalysis

Descriptivestatisticswere computedfor all variables.Todeterminewhetherfamilieswith Korean-born dolescentsdiffered romfamilieswithAmerican-born dolescents,the studysamplewasdivided ntotwogroups.One groupconsisted of familieswith Korean-born dolescentsand theirfamilies(26 adolescents,26 mothers,and24 fathers),andthe othergroupconsisted of families with American-bornadolescents and their parents(80 adolescents, 77 mothers,and 72 fathers).To check the effect of un-equalsamplesize on variance,homogeneityofvariance n twogroupswascheckedusingLevene statisticsandLevene's est forequalityof variance.Both tests revealedthat inequality n groupsize wasnot an issue andthatone-wayanalysesof variance(ANOVA) nd analysesof covariance(AN-COVA)were appropriatestatisticalprocedures.Therefore,ANOVA ndANCOVAwere conductedto look for differencesbetweenthe twogroups.Finally,hypotheseswere tested usingPearsoncorrelations.

RESULTSGroupifferencesnFamily embers'haracteristicsasednAdolescents'irthplace

Preliminary nalysesofdataonfamilycharacteristicswereconductedto lookfor differencesbetweenfamilieswithKorean-borndolescentsand



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families with American-born adolescents. Approximately 25 percent ofadolescents were born in Korea and the remaining 75 percent in the UnitedStates. (See Table 3). There was no difference in mean age for the twogroups. American-born adolescents had lived twice as long in the UnitedStates as Korean-born adolescents [F(1,103) = 86.73, p < .001]. Therewere equal numbers of boys (50 percent) and girls (50 percent) for theKorean-born families, and there were more girls (57.5 percent) than boys(42.5 percent) in the American-born families.All mothers and fathers were born in Korea,with the exception of onemother and one father, whose data were not analyzed by birthplace. Thecharacteristics of parents revealed that mothers of American-born adoles-cents were less educated [F(1,102) = 6.34, p < .05], and had lived in theUnited States longer [F(1,102) = 87.57, p < .001] than had mothers ofKorean-born adolescents (Table 3). Fathers of American-born adolescentswere older [F(1,96) = 6.20, p < .05], and had lived in the United Stateslonger [F(1,96) = 102.04, p < .001] than had fathers of Korean-born ado-lescents. No significant differences were found in terms of family income.

Koreanmericanarentalcceptance-RejectionndParentalBehavioralontrolOverall, the adolescents perceived their mothers and fathers as warmand moderately behavioral controlling (Table 4). Correspondingly, bothmothers and fathers reported themselves as warm and moderately (fa-

ther) to firmly (mother) behavioral controlling. Korean-born adolescentsperceived their mothers as less indifferent/neglecting [F(1,102) = 5.42,p < .05], less undifferentiated rejecting [F(1,102) = 4.15, p < .05], andmore overall accepting [F(1,102) = 4.11, p < .05] than did American-born adolescents. No difference was found in the adolescents' reports ofmaternal behavioral control, paternal acceptance-rejection, or paternalbehavioral control between the two groups. In addition, no differenceswere noted in terms of parents' reports of parental acceptance-rejectionand behavioral control.

Mothers of Korean-born adolescents were more educated than weremothers of American-born adolescents. Results indicated that mothers'years of education had a significant main effect on adolescents' percep-tions of overall maternal acceptance-rejection [F(1,99) = 4.41, p < .05].Controlling for the significant effect of mothers' education, however, re-moved the effect of child birthplace [F(2,98) = .99, p = ns] on adolescents'perceptions of overall maternal acceptance-rejection. In addition, therewere no main effects of either mothers' education or child birthplace onadolescents' perceptions of maternal indifference/neglect and undifferen-tiated rejection.



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Table . CharacteristicsfTwoGroupsfKoreanmericanamiliesndGroupifferencesAdolescents (n = 106) Mothers (n = 104)

Korea America Korea America(n = 26) (n = 80) (n = 26) (n = 78)M (SD) M (SD) M (SD) M (SD)

Age in years 12.7 (1.2) 12.3 (1.1) 41.7 (4.6) 42.3 (3.8)U.S. residency in years 6.29 (4.34) 12.07 (1.96)*** 6.7 (4.7) 17.8 (5.2)***Education in years 15.9 (2.8) 14.1 (3.2)*Working hours per week 20.6 (24.3) 28.7 (20.0)Note. Korea = Families with Korean-born adolescents; America = Families with U.S.-born ado*p < .05, **p< .01, ***p< .001.



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Table . DifferencesnPerceptionsnParental cceptance-RejectionndControl etweenFamilieAdolescents

MothersTotal Korean American Total(n = 104) (n = 26) (n = 78) (n = 103)Adolescents' report M (SD) M (SD) M (SD) M (SD)

Warmth/affection 67.31 (9.76) 69.73 (9.25) 66.50 (9.86) 65.05 (9.97)Hostility/Aggression 28.48 (8.48) 26.08 (5.45) 29.28 (9.16) 26.80 (7.05)Indifference/Neglect 25.06 (6.31) 22.62 (6.11) 25.87 (6.19)* 26.74 (6.66)Undifferentiated rejection 19.15 (5.64) 17.23 (3.68) 19.79 (6.04)* 18.23 (4.88)Overall acceptance-rejection 105.41 (27.18) 96.19 (20.93) 108.49 (28.42)* 106.87 (24.57)Control 36.44 (5.45) 34.96 (5.88) 36.94 (5.24) 35.12 (5.66)Mothers

Total Korean American Total(n = 104) (n = 26) (n = 78) (n = 97)Parents' reports M (SD) M (SD) M (SD) M (SD)

Warmth/affection 73.38 (5.65) 74.54 (6.33) 72.99 (5.39) 70.74 (6.84)Hostility/Aggression 29.96 (6.26) 28.08 (5.57) 30.59 (6.39) 26.60 (6.26)Indifference/Neglect 20.81 (3.97) 19.69 (4.00) 21.18 (3.91) 22.20 (4.52)Undifferentiated rejection 15.97 (3.62) 15.42 (3.58) 16.15 (3.63) 14.94 (3.78)Overall acceptance-rejection 93.36 (16.13) 88.65 (15.69) 94.94 (16.06) 92.91 (16.07)Control 40.89 (3.95) 40.38 (3.75) 41.06 (4.03) 38.91 (4.98)Note. Korea = Families with a Korean-born adolescents; America = Families with a U.S.-born ad*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p< .001.



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Relationshipetween arentalcceptance-RejectionndParentalBehavioralontrol:dolescents'eportsPearson correlations were conducted between adolescents' report ofparental acceptance-rejection and parental behavioral control to test thefirst hypothesis that adolescents' perceptions of parental behavioral con-trol would be positively related to less parental acceptance (Table 5). Re-sults indicated that young adolescents' perception of maternal and pater-nal behavioral controls were positively correlated with several attributesof maternal and paternal acceptance-rejection. Specifically, adolescents'

perception of maternal hostility/aggression, indifference/neglect, and un-differentiated rejection increased with higher perceived levels of maternalbehavioral control. Accordingly, overall perceived acceptance decreasedas behavioral control increased. Meanwhile, adolescents' perception of pa-ternal hostility/aggression and undifferentiated rejection increased withperceptions of higher paternal behavioral control. Therefore, the first hy-pothesis was supported.When adolescents' birthplace was considered, Korean-born adoles-cents' reports of maternal and paternal behavioral control were not cor-related with any of the maternal and paternal acceptance-rejection at-tributes. American-born adolescents' perception of maternal and paternalhostility/aggression and undifferentiated rejection increased with highermaternal and paternal behavioral control. Consequently, American-bornadolescents' perception of overall maternal acceptance decreased as per-ceived maternal behavioral control increased.Relationshipetweenarentalcceptance-RejectionndParentalBehavioralontrol:arents'eports

Pearson correlations were conducted between parents' reports ofparental acceptance-rejection and behavioral control to test the sec-ond hypothesis that the parents' perceptions of higher parental be-havioral control would be positively related to greater parental accep-tance (Table 5). Results indicated that mothers' perceptions of their ownhostility/aggression, undifferentiated rejection, and overall acceptance-rejection of their adolescents increased with greater behavioral con-trol over their adolescents. In contrast, fathers' perception of their ownwarmth/affection increased with their perception of higher behavioralcontrol over their adolescents. Fathers' perception of hostility/aggressionalso, however, increased with their perception of higher behavioral con-trol. Therefore, the second hypothesis was only partially supported by thefathers' data.

When adolescents' birthplace was considered, in both groups, moth-ers' perception of their hostility/aggression and undifferentiated rejection



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Table . CorrelationsetweenAdolescents'ndParents' erceptionsfParental cceptance-Warmth/ Hostility/ Neglect/ UndifferentiAdolescents' report Affection Aggression Indifference rejection

Maternal control (n = 104) -.14 .46*** .20* .47***Korea (n = 26) .12 .23 .06 .32America (n = 78) -.20 .52*** .21 .49***Paternal control (n = 103) .10 .39*** -.09 .32***Korea (n = 26) .30 .17 -.17 .15America (n = 77) -.00 .45*** -.06 .36**Warmth/ Hostility/ Neglect/ UndifferentiParents' report Affection Aggression Indifference rejection

Maternal control (n = 104) -.03 .39*** -.13 .32***Korea (n = 26) .04 .48* -.21 .42*America (n = 78) -.04 .36** -.12 .29*Father (n = 97) .41*** .29** -.18 .18Korea (n = 24) .52** -.12 -.36 .18America (n = 73) .38*** .40*** -.14 .18Note. Numbers represent Pearson correlation coefficients.Korea = Families with a Korean-born adolescent; America = Families with a U.S.-born adol*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p< .001.



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increased with perceptions of their greater behavioral control (seeTable 5). Meanwhile, in both groups, fathers' perceptions of theirwarmth/affection ncreased with their perception of higher behavioralcontrol, but only for fathers of American-bornadolescents did percep-tion of their hostility/aggressionncreasewith higherpaternalbehavioralcontrol.

DISCUSSIONThis study examined relationships between parental acceptance-

rejectionandparentalbehavioralcontrolamongKoreanAmericanyoungadolescents,mothers,and fathersusingindependentmeasures.It furtherexploredthe relationshipsaccordingto adolescents'birthplace.Koreanmericanarentalcceptance-RejectionndBehavioralontrol

Overall,both Korean American young adolescents and their par-ents (mothersand fathers)reportedthat the parentstended to be warmand loving, as well as moderate to firm in their behavioral control.These findingsarecongruentwith previousstudiesamongKoreanAmer-icans (K. Kim and Rohner 2002). When child birthplace was consid-ered, Korean-bornadolescents perceived their mothers as less neglect-ing, less undifferentiatingly ejecting, and more overall accepting thandid American-bornadolescents.These differences,however,disappearedwhen mothers' education was controlled for. In fact, mothers' highereducation was the significantpredictorof overall maternalacceptance.Thisfinding s consistent with Shrake's 1996) findingthat KoreanAmer-ican adolescents with college-graduatemothers perceived their moth-ers as warmer and less hostile than did adolescents with less educatedmothers.Relationshipetween arentalcceptance-RejectionndParentalBehavioralontrol:oungdolescents'eports

As expected in the first hypothesis, young adolescents' reports ofgreaterparentalbehavioralcontrol werepositivelyrelatedto less parentalacceptance when adolescents' birthplace was not considered. Specifically,adolescents perceived both their mothers' and their fathers' higher behav-ioral control as more hostile, aggressive, and undifferentiatingly rejecting.This adolescent perception is probably related to the cultural value of au-tonomy and independence in the United States. In particular, as youngadolescents enter middle school, they are given more freedom and are



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expected to be more self-reliant than they were in elementary school.Consequently, young adolescents struggle to increase their autonomy andindependence. They may perceive their parents' greater behavioral con-trol as an indication that parents don't understand their lives and theirneed for more autonomy. These adolescents may experience more con-flicts with their parents and may argue with them about parental behav-ioral control, resulting in increased perceptions of parental hostility andlowered warmth/affection. These adolescents may also perceive more be-havioral controlling mothers as being more indifferent or neglecting oftheir need for autonomy. This finding is congruent with previous findingsamong Korean American adolescents and school-age American children(K. Kim 1998; Rohner, Hahn, and Rohner 1980; Rohner and Pettengill1985).When adolescents' birthplace was considered, however, onlyAmerican-born adolescents' reports of maternal and paternal behavioralcontrol were positively correlated with attributions of lower parental ac-ceptance. Korean-born adolescents' reports of maternal and paternal be-havioral control were not correlated with any of the attributions of re-duced parental acceptance. This may reflect how the values of a societycan affect adolescents' views of parental behavioral control. Those whowere born and raised mainly in the United States may have adopted thevalue of independence and autonomy, whereas those who were born inKorea and migrated to the United States might perceive higher parentalbehavioral control as a sign of parental acceptance-rejection and accep-tance, similar to adolescents in Korea. It seemed somewhat evident, al-though not statistically significant in this small sample, that Korean-bornadolescents' reports of greater parental behavioral control tended to be as-sociated with their reports of greater parental warmth/affection and lessindifference/neglect.Relationshipetween arentalcceptance-RejectionndParentalBehavioralontrol:arents'eports

The second hypothesis concerned relationships between parents' per-ceptions of their own acceptance-rejection and behavioral control. Itwas predicted that parents' reports of higher parental behavioral con-trol would be positively correlated with higher parental acceptance whenadolescents' birthplace was not considered. Contrary to the prediction,mothers' reports of greater maternal behavioral control were not associ-ated with greater parental acceptance, but were positively correlated withmaternal hostility/aggression, undifferentiated rejection, and less over-all acceptance. Compared to the Rohner and Pettengill (1985) sample,Korean American mothers in this sample lost the positive relationship



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between maternal behavioral control and warmth/affection, and the neg-ative relation between maternal behavioral control and neglect, whilemaintaining the positive relation between maternal behavioral controland hostility and undifferentiated rejection. This comparison suggeststhat these mothers might have actively changed their perceptions ofparental acceptance-rejection and behavioral control. Specifically, as theiradolescents' primary caregivers, they may have realized that their ado-lescents did not perceive parental behavioral control and authority asparental warmth/affection or as interest in them, but instead that per-ceived parental behavioral control led to adolescents' perceptions of theirparents as hostile, aggressive, and rejecting.

Mothers' sensitivity toward their adolescents' perceptions may haveresulted from cultural adaptation. Korean American mothers in this sam-ple worked outside the home an average of 27 hours per week, whereasfathers worked an average of 48 hours per week. With more time available,these mothers may have had more opportunity to become friends withEuropean American neighbors or parents of their adolescents' friends.Through them, these Korean American mothers may have had moreopportunities to learn about mainstream European American parentingpractices. This conclusion is similar to Harris and Verven's (1998) find-ing that more acculturated Greek Americans (both men and women)tended to reject hierarchical family roles and parental behavioral controlsignificantly more than did less acculturated Greek Americans. Womenin particular were significantly more acculturated and tended to re-ject traditional family values more than did men (Harris and Verven1998).

Perhaps mothers' sensitivity to their adolescents' perceptions was re-lated to their social status within the traditional Korean family system inwhich, historically, Korean women and children were of secondary im-portance. They were expected to be submissive to their husbands and fa-thers in the household (Abelmann 1997; Lee 1995; Oak and Martin2000).This status of being subordinate might have predisposed Korean Americanmothers to identify themselves with their adolescents more than with theirhusbands. Consequently, these mothers might have more easily adoptedtheir adolescents' viewpoints. No difference was found between mothers ofKorean-born and American-born children, indicating that Korean Amer-ican mothers changed their perceptions during the early years of theirresidence in the United States.

As expected, fathers' reports of higher paternal behavioral controlwere positively correlated with their reports of higher warmth/affection.This finding is consistent with the traditional view of Korean fathers, whoperceived themselves as the main authority of the household (Lehrer1996; Rohner and Pettengill 1985). Korean fathers practice their authority



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KoreanAmericanParenting@363

through extensive involvement in adolescents' decision making and con-trolling adolescents' behaviors (Lehrer 1996; Rohner and Pettengill 1985).Therefore, Korean American fathers might still express their parentalacceptance and interest in their child through higher levels of behav-ioral control, resulting in a positive correlation between fathers' report ofparental behavioral control and parental warmth/affection. In other words,Korean American fathers maintained traditional Korean parenting atti-tudes. However, even for fathers, higher paternal behavioral control waspositively correlated with more hostility/aggression because these fathersmay have adapted to their adolescents' perceptions through the processof heavily involving themselves in their decisions.

When adolescents' birthplaces were considered, paternal behavioralcontrol in both groups of fathers was positively related to parentalwarmth/affection. This finding might suggest that Korean American fa-thers consider their paternal behavioral control as warmth/affection andare highly resistant to change. In addition, only fathers with American-born adolescents showed a positive relationship between paternal behav-ioral control and parental hostility/aggression. This might indicate thatchange in fathers' viewpoints about parental acceptance-rejection takes along time to achieve (the average was 20 years of residence in the UnitedStates for the current sample).

CONCLUSIONThis study found that Korean American family members had differ-ent perceptions of parental acceptance-rejection and parental behavioralcontrol, which may reflect adaptation to the mainstream, European Amer-

ican cultural ideology of the United States. Specifically, young adolescentsand mothers viewed greater parental behavioral control as a sign of lessparental acceptance, whereas fathers viewed higher parental behavioralcontrol as a demonstration of greater parental warmth/affection. Furtherresearch is needed concerning Korean American adolescents and moth-ers regarding the transition in parenting from traditional Korean to main-stream European American ideology. It is questionable whether KoreanAmerican fathers will change their perceptions of paternal behavioral con-trol as an expression of parental acceptance. It is necessary to examinethe role of both adolescents' and parents' perceptions of parenting duringthe cultural adaptation process. Previous research has found that differ-ent rates of cultural adaptation were related to family conflicts, which inturn were related to problem behaviors among minority children (R. Leeand Liu 2001; Szapocznic et al. 1986; Szapocznic and Kurtines 1993; Uba1984). Therefore, it is necessary to determine the relationship between



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different rates of cultural adaptation among family members, family con-flicts, and Korean American adolescents' problem behaviors.

EUNJUNGIMsAssistantrofessorfFamilyndChildursingt heUniversityfWashington.NOTES

Acknowledgments. This article is based on Eunjung Kim's doctoral dissertation at theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison. This article was presented at the 32nd Society for Cross-Cultural Research Annual Meeting, Charleston, SC. The author gives thanks to her advisorand dissertation committee: Marilyn McCubbin, Patricia Becker, Patricia Lasky, StephenSmall, and Inge Bretherton. She also gives thanks to Dr. Ronald Rohner and the KoreanAmerican families that participated in the study. This study was funded by NRSA fellow-ship from the NIHININR#NR07499-02. Correspondence concerning this article should beaddressed to Eunjung Kim, The Department of Family and Child Nursing, University ofWashington, PO Box 357262, Seattle, WA 98195. E-mail: [email protected].

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