Parental authority and its impact on the self-esteem of Chinese American college students

This study examined the relationship between styles of parental authority, acculturation and self-esteem of second generation Chinese American college students. Using Diana Baumrind's parental typology (authoritarian, authoritative and permissive), it was hypothesized that: (1) subjects would rate their parents highest in authoritarian parenting styles; (2) acculturation levels would interact with the relationship between authoritarian styles and self-esteem; and (3) authoritative parenting style would be most positively associated with self-esteem. In addition, personal upbringing experiences of ten selected subjects were investigated through interviews.; Seventy-seven (77) subjects were recruited from Asian American studies classrooms from two large Bay Area universities. These subjects were between the ages of 18 and 23, from intact families, and were raised predominantly in the U.S. by their Chinese immigrant parents. These subjects self-administered the Parental Authority Questionnaire, the Suinn-Lew Asia Self-Identity Scale, and the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. Following the administration of the questionnaires, subjects were rank ordered and interviews were conducted on subjects with the five highest and lowest self-esteem scores.; Hypotheses were partially supported by the finding that subjects rated their parents significantly higher on authoritarian styles than on permissive styles for both mothers and fathers. However, results failed to show significant differences between authoritarian and authoritative styles for mothers or fathers. In addition, mothers' mean score on reported authoritative style slightly exceeded the authoritarian style. Results supported the second hypothesis: acculturation was found to interact with the association between authoritarian style and self-esteem and even influenced the direction of association. Lastly, mother's authoritative style was confirmed as significantly and most positively correlated with self-esteem. In contrast, father's permissive style was significantly and positively correlated with self-esteem. Qualitative results showed that the main differences in child rearing experiences between high and low self-esteem subjects were found in the amount and quality of nurturing behaviors.; These findings point to a strong cultural component of the relationship between parental authority and self-esteem; specifically, they suggest that the degree of cultural match between parents and children may be related to bicultural youths' adjustment to their Chinese parents and Anglo American society. In addition, they suggest a positive relationship between acculturation and bicultural stress in second generation Chinese Americans.