The impact of Chinese Canadian adolescents' perceptions of parental warmth and control on their psychological adjustment

• Main Author: Ho, Cynthia
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/6883

There is limited research on parenting and its impact on Chinese Canadian youth. The current study sought to investigate the impact of Chinese Canadian adolescents’ perceptions of parental warmth and control on their psychological adjustment, while taking their cultural identity into consideration. The study sample consisted of 192 self-identified Chinese Canadian adolescents enrolled in grades 8 through 12 at four public urban high schools in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Adolescents completed the Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA), the Mother and Father versions of the Child Parental Acceptance-Rejection/ Control Questionnaire (PARQ/ Control), and the Adult Personality Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ). A bivariate correlation analysis revealed that neither demographic nor cultural variables were significantly associated with psychological adjustment. As hypothesized, perceived maternal/ paternal warmth was significantly and positively associated with psychological adjustment. Perceived maternal/ paternal control was significantly and negatively associated with both perceived maternal/ paternal warmth and psychological adjustment. A series of regression analyses indicated that perceived maternal/ paternal warmth partially mediated the impact of perceived maternal/ paternal control on psychological adjustment. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis further revealed that while perceived maternal/ paternal control contributed to adolescents’ psychological adjustment, perceived maternal warmth was the greatest contributor. Perceived paternal warmth was not considered an important contributor to this model. The theoretical and empirical significance of the study findings, and implications for future research and counselling practice, are discussed.