THE LINK BETWEEN ACCULTURATION DISPARITY AND CONFLICT AMONG CHINESE CANADIAN IMMIGRANT MOTHER-ADOLESCENT DYADS

This study explores the assumption that acculturation disparity can disrupt the quality of parent-adolescent relationships among immigrant families. Participants included 113 Chinese Canadian immigrant and 30 Anglo-Canadian mothers and their children living in Toronto, Canada. Self-reports of mothers’ and adolescents’ acculturation and perceptions of conflict in the mother-adolescent relationship and mothers’ responses to vignettes depicting adolescent misbehavior were obtained. Acculturation disparity was associated with reports of a greater number of conflicts, particularly regarding interpersonal issues, but not with reports of the emotional intensity of these conflicts nor with mothers’ use of more negative responses to hypothetical depictions of adolescent misbehavior. Some interesting cross-cultural differences were also found. The importance of exploring the construct of acculturation disparity as a useful tool both methodologically and clinically is discussed.