Coparenting in Immigrant Chinese Canadian Families ... - APA PsycNET

Journal of Family Psychology 2013, Vol. 27, No. 6, 905–914

© 2013 American Psychological Association 0893-3200/13/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0034909

Coparenting in Immigrant Chinese Canadian Families: The Role of Discrepancies in Acculturation and Expectations for Adolescent Assistance Lauren J. Chance, Catherine L. Costigan, and Bonnie J. Leadbeater

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University of Victoria For immigrant families, differential acculturation between mothers and fathers may present challenges to parenting adolescents. The current study investigated the concurrent relations among discrepancies in parental acculturation, discrepancies in parental expectations for adolescents, and coparenting quality with a sample of 162 married immigrant Chinese Canadian couples with adolescents (mean age ⫽ 14.94 years; SD ⫽ 1.73). Acculturation was assessed as parents’ behavioral involvement in both Canadian and Chinese cultures. As predicted, mother–father differences in acculturation (in relation to both cultures) were related to discrepant expectations for how much adolescents should assist the family. Further, mother–father differences in Chinese acculturation were related to fathers’ perceptions of a poorer coparenting relationship. Finally, this relation was partially mediated by discrepant parental expectations for adolescent assistance. Implications for parenting roles, enculturation, family dynamics, and intervention are considered. Keywords: coparenting, acculturation, immigrant families, Chinese Canadian, adolescence

relationship. Other behaviors, such as harsh criticism of each other’s parenting, typically diminish the quality of the coparenting relationship. The support/undermining aspect of coparenting represents one of four overlapping, yet distinct, domains of coparenting proposed by Feinberg (2003); the other three domains are child-rearing agreement, parental satisfaction over the division of child-rearing tasks, and parents’ shared responsibility to maintain appropriate boundaries within the family unit. Although the study of the cross-cultural relevance of coparenting in diverse family structures is limited, we focused on the support/undermining domain for its applicability cross-culturally. It is impossible to completely extricate the study of coparenting from its Western frame of reference, but we believe that the presence of supportive coparental relationships with minimal engagement in undermining behaviors is important regardless of one’s cultural background. Research demonstrates the beneficial effects of an effective coparenting relationship. When spouses are “on the same page” (McHale, Rao, & Krasnow, 2000, p. 117), such solidarity theoretically fosters a family climate of predictability and warmth, forming the basis for positive individual and dyadic outcomes (McHale & Fivaz-Depeursinge, 1999). Positive parental perceptions of the coparenting relationship are related to more positive parenting practices (Margolin et al., 2001), higher levels of perceived parenting competence (Floyd, Gilliom, & Costigan, 1998), and lower levels of parenting stress (Margolin et al., 2001). Among families with adolescents, longitudinal research suggests that greater coparenting conflict predicts increases in adolescents’ externalizing symptoms (Baril, Crouter, & McHale, 2007; Feinberg, Kan, & Hetherington, 2007). Thus, a strong coparenting relationship has been linked to more effective parenting and better individual wellbeing.

A coparenting relationship is formed when two (or more) individuals work together to raise children (Feinberg, 2003). Structural family therapists have long discussed the value of parents jointly establishing child-rearing goals and expectations as an important aspect of fostering a positive family climate and children’s behavioral and emotional adjustment (Minuchin, 1974). Effective coparenting reflects the extent to which parents function as a cohesive team in their role as caregivers to the children for whom they hold shared responsibility (Feinberg, 2003). Maintaining a positive coparenting relationship may be difficult when parents hold different ideas about how to raise children. In this study, we investigated whether differences in acculturation between mothers and fathers in immigrant families affect how well they work together as coparents of their adolescent children. Coparenting is defined in the current study as the extent to which parents support or undermine each other in the parenting role. The effectiveness of the coparenting relationship relates to parents’ ability to support each other in their parenting roles and minimize actions that undermine the other parent (Margolin, Gordis, & John, 2001). Some behaviors, such as reciprocally providing emotional and functional parenting support, enhance the overall quality of the coparenting

Lauren J. Chance, Catherine L. Costigan, and Bonnie J. Leadbeater, Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Lauren J. Chance is now completing residency training in the Department of Clinical Health Psychology at the University of Manitoba. This research was supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. We are grateful to the participating families and to the individuals who aided in the collection of data. We thank Michael Hunter for statistical consultation. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lauren J. Chance, Department of Clinical Health Psychology, PZ330-771 Bannatyne Avenue, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3E 3N4 Canada. E-mail: [email protected]

Acculturation and Coparenting All adults who parent together, even those who are raised within the same culture, need to reconcile divergent views on child rearing to maximize support and minimize criticism and conflict in 905


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CHANCE, COSTIGAN, AND LEADBEATER

the coparenting relationship (McHale & Fivaz-Depeursinge, 1999). Because social and cultural influences outside of the family shape parents’ personal child-rearing ideas (Feinberg, 2003; McHale et al., 2002), mothers and fathers who have immigrated to a new culture may need to bridge a particularly wide gap in child-rearing ideas when they experience differences in their acculturation to the new culture. Acculturation refers to the processes of simultaneously negotiating two cultural dimensions: the heritage culture and the new culture. In the heritage cultural dimension, immigrants vary in the extent to which they maintain aspects of their culture of origin; in the new cultural dimension, they vary in the extent to which they adopt behaviors and values consistent with the settlement culture (Berry, 1997, 2003). Each immigrant, including marital partners, approaches acculturation in their own unique way, which could result in acculturation discrepancies between coparents. The strength of the link between acculturation discrepancies in each cultural dimension and perceptions of coparenting among immigrant parents is the focus of the current study. Acculturation processes are multidimensional and include changes in behavior, identity, and values (Schwartz, Unger, Zamboanga, & Szapocznik, 2010). The current study focuses on the behavioral components of acculturation, including language use, media use, social interactions, and culinary practices, among other behaviors. Language proficiency represents one point of entry into the acquisition of knowledge about a particular culture, and facilitates the ability to engage with social contacts or media sources (Nauck, 2001). Increased familiarity with the behavioral, public aspects of Canadian culture does not automatically mean that immigrant Chinese parents will develop a Canadian identity or internalize the values of the majority Western culture in Canada; acculturation is a much more varied and complex process (Schwartz et al., 2010). However, behavioral engagement in Canadian culture exposes immigrant parents to the expectations of adolescents held by Canadian parents, and may influence a shift in their expectations for their own adolescents. Behavioral acculturation is also important in the context of one’s culture of origin. Social involvement in one’s cultural community functions as a form of social capital, in which connections with other families with a shared cultural background reinforce expectations about appropriate adolescent expectations (Zhou & Bankston, 1994). Immigrant Chinese Canadian parents are more likely to maintain expectations for adolescents that are consistent with Chinese culture if they have greater contact with other immigrant Chinese Canadian families who reinforce these expectations. Therefore, parents’ behavioral acculturation in both the new and heritage cultures can shape their specific ideas about child-rearing, which can affect the overall quality of their coparenting relationship. Specifically, we argue that if immigrant parents acculturate at different rates (i.e., show different degrees of behavioral engagement with Chinese and/or Canadian cultures), competing cultural influences may produce contradictory child-rearing expectations that challenge the coparenting relationship.

Immigrant Chinese Canadian Families Understanding the relations between parental discrepancies in behavioral acculturation and perceptions of coparenting in the context of immigrant Chinese Canadian families is very relevant, given that over the past decade, the largest proportion of new

immigrants arriving in Canada emigrated from the People’s Republic of China (Chui, Tran, & Maheux, 2007). The cultural philosophies that influence parenting norms are quite different in Chinese and Canadian cultures. Traditionally, parenting in Chinese culture is strongly influenced by Confucian philosophy and tends to emphasize filial piety (i.e., a clearly delineated hierarchy of authority within the family, with an emphasis on obedience to one’s elders), strong parental guidance of children’s development, and the centrality of the family unit (Chao & Tseng, 2002; Padmawidjaja & Chao, 2010). In contrast, parenting in Canadian culture tends be more child centered, with a focus on children’s autonomy and identity exploration (Padmawidjaja & Chao, 2010). These parenting beliefs translate to cultural differences in parenting practices. For example, Taiwanese and immigrant Chinese American fathers and mothers endorse parental control and emphasize achievement to a greater extent than nonimmigrant American fathers and mothers (Lin & Fu, 1990). Higher ratings among Chinese families on Western measures of parental control is thought to reflect the culture-specific parenting practice of chiao shun, which focuses on parental guidance of children (Chao, 1994). This idea of parental guidance of children focuses on the socialization of expectations for proper conduct and social norms, in contrast to the negative connotations carried in Western culture about restrictive parental control and an authoritarian parenting style (Chao, 1994). Cultural beliefs about gendered parenting roles are also relevant in the context of the current study. Broad parallels exist between traditional Chinese and traditional Western beliefs about the respective role of mothers and fathers. Mothers are expected to take a central role in direct child-rearing, whereas fathers are more removed from the everyday child-rearing responsibilities and instead function as family patriarch, supporting the family financially and disciplining children as needed. For example, Chinese mothers hold the primary child-rearing responsibility (e.g., providing guidance and training, decision making with respect to childrearing issues), whereas the concept of filial piety places Chinese fathers at the top of the family hierarchy, in which fathers hold the greatest authority with regard to family decisions outside of the domain of child-rearing (Chao, 1994; Chao & Tseng, 2002; Chuang & Su, 2008). Although cultural beliefs about gendered parenting roles have become less pervasive over time in both Canadian and Chinese cultures, the traditional patterns still underlie modern parenting, and are thus relevant when seeking to understand the relations between culture and coparenting.

The Role of Adolescent Expectations When immigrant Chinese Canadian children reach adolescence, differences in mothers’ and fathers’ expectations for adolescents to assist the family become a culturally and developmentally salient source of disagreement. Culturally driven beliefs about children’s obligations to the family strongly influence the specific expectations parents hold about how much assistance adolescents should provide to the family (Fuligni, Tseng, & Lam, 1999; Phinney, Ong, & Madden, 2000). Parental expectations for adolescent assistance may be one mechanism that explains how acculturation discrepancies affect coparenting quality. Cross-cultural research demonstrates that, on average, greater emphasis is placed on adolescents’ obligations to the family within immigrant Chinese families com-


COPARENTING IN IMMIGRANT CHINESE CANADIAN FAMILIES

pared with nonimmigrant European North American families (e.g., Fuligni et al., 1999). Variability exists within all cultural groups, however, and just as nonimmigrant Canadian parents hold a range of expectations for their adolescents, immigrant Chinese Canadian parents will also display variability in these expectations (McHale et al., 2000). In the current study, discrepant parental expectations about adolescent assistance are expected to mediate the relations between parental behavioral acculturation discrepancies and mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of coparenting quality. Parental agreement has been conceptualized as a domain of coparenting itself (Feinberg, 2003); however, as discussed previously, the construct of coparenting in the current study reflects the support/ undermining domain. If immigrant parents are differentially acculturated toward Chinese and/or Canadian culture, they may also develop discrepant beliefs about the most reasonable and developmentally appropriate expectations of their adolescents. In turn, if mothers and fathers hold differing views about the tasks and activities in which adolescents are expected to participate (e.g., assisting with chores, free time with the family), the maintenance of a strong coparenting relationship may become challenging for various reasons. For example, differential expectations may be associated with increased spousal conflict, as well as with opportunities for adolescents to align with one parent over the other, both of which may contribute to a perception of less support and more undermining within the coparenting relationship. Conversely, if parents share similar expectations for adolescent assistance, fewer opportunities for conflict and family discord will arise, and the process of supporting one another as coparents is likely to proceed more smoothly. To our knowledge, this is the first empirical study to explicitly test the relation between divergent expectations for adolescent assistance and the coparenting relationship; however, research with other developmental periods lends support to our hypotheses. For example, parental discrepancies in child-rearing beliefs prior

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to childbirth are related to decreases in mothers’ perceptions of coparenting support during infancy (Van Egeren, 2003). In addition, among parents of preadolescent children, divergent parenting standards are related to less effective dyadic problem-solving strategies when discussing child-rearing disputes (Margolin et al., 2001). Although both studies focused on predominantly European American families, the presence of solidarity between coparents is thought to be of universal importance (McHale et al., 2000).

The Current Study The current study examines the relations among mother–father discrepancies in behavioral acculturation, their expectations for their adolescents, and their perceptions of coparenting quality within the context of immigrant Chinese Canadian families. We hypothesize that greater discrepancies between mothers’ and fathers’ behavioral acculturation are related to less positive perceptions of the coparenting relationship, and that discrepancies in parents’ expectations for adolescent assistance in the family mediate this relationship. That is, it is hypothesized that parental differences in behavioral acculturation are related to parental differences in expectations for adolescent assistance in the family that, in turn, are related to perceptions of a poorer quality coparenting relationship. Given the evidence in support of the bidimensional nature of acculturation (e.g., Costigan & Su, 2004; Ryder, Alden, & Paulhus, 2000), discrepancies in parents’ Chinese and Canadian behavioral acculturation are measured separately (see Figure 1). Mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of the coparenting relationship are considered separately, rather than creating a composite score averaging each parent’s report of the coparenting relationship. Research conducted with nonimmigrant American families demonstrates differential correlates of coparenting experiences for mothers and fathers. For example, observations of more balanced coparenting interactions (i.e., equivalent warmth and involvement

Figure 1. Mediated effects of behavioral acculturation discrepancies (Chinese culture and Canadian culture) on fathers’ and mothers’ perceptions of coparenting. Error terms for latent variables are displayed in order to demonstrate how dependence between mothers’ and fathers’ data was modeled. All other error terms are omitted for clarity of presentation. ⴱ p ⬍ .05. ⴱⴱ p ⬍ .01. ⴱⴱⴱ p ⬍ .001.

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from both mothers and fathers) are related to more positive selfreported perceptions of coparenting experiences among fathers, but not mothers (Van Egeren, 2004). Therefore, it is plausible that the correlates of coparenting perceptions differ between fathers and mothers in the context of immigrant Chinese Canadian families with adolescents.

research contributes to a growing body of work (e.g., Baril et al., 2007; Feinberg et al., 2007) that is investigating the correlates and consequences of coparenting at later stages of development.

Method Participants


Contributions to the Literature The current study represents a novel contribution to the family relations literature in several ways that address limitations previously identified (Costigan, 2011; McHale et al., 2002). First, we investigate spousal differences in acculturation. To date, research on within-family acculturation discrepancies has focused on the parent-child dyad (Telzer, 2010). In contrast to the growing literature documenting parent-child acculturation gaps, differences in acculturation for mothers and fathers are rarely investigated, perhaps due to the common assumption that similarities in parents’ age will equate to similarities in behavioral acculturation (Costigan, 2011). However, mothers’ and fathers’ acculturation experiences can diverge when each occupies different education, employment, and social contexts in their everyday lives. The few studies that have examined differences between immigrant fathers’ and mothers’ rates of acculturation show that parental acculturation discrepancies exist (Ataca & Berry, 2002; Costigan & Dokis, 2006). In a sample of Chinese Canadian families with young adolescents, fathers endorsed greater engagement in Canadian behaviors than mothers, whereas mothers endorsed greater engagement in Chinese behaviors (Costigan & Dokis, 2006). Similarly, a study of immigrant Turkish Canadian couples showed gender differences in the acculturation styles of low-socioeconomic-status couples: Significantly more husbands than wives endorsed bicultural (Turkish and Canadian) and assimilated (more Canadian than Turkish) orientations (Ataca & Berry, 2002). Taken together, these studies suggest that (a) it cannot be assumed that immigrant adults will endorse heritage cultural behaviors, or adopt the behaviors of the new culture, to the same extent; and (b) mean-level differences may present in the form of greater behavioral acculturation toward the Canadian culture for fathers compared with mothers. However, additional research is needed to further support the latter conclusion. Second, the study of coparenting among ethnically diverse immigrant families is also a new area of investigation, as past empirical research on coparenting has focused mainly on heterosexual, married, nonimmigrant couples of European ancestry (McHale et al., 2002). Although the coparenting literature frequently references the importance of cultural origins (e.g., Feinberg, 2003), the role of culture is rarely studied (McHale et al., 2002). In one exception, McHale and colleagues (2000) found that for middle-class urban mothers living in the People’s Republic of China, perceptions of integrity and togetherness within the coparenting relationship were associated with greater academic competence among preschool-aged children, whereas perceptions of criticism and conflict within the coparenting relationship were associated with internalizing and externalizing problems. Third, we examine coparenting during the adolescent developmental period. To date, the majority of research into coparenting processes has focused on families with young children (e.g., Gable, Crnic, & Belsky, 1994; McHale et al., 2000; Van Egeren, 2004). The current

Participants for the current study were drawn from a larger study of immigrant Chinese Canadian families. Families (N ⫽ 182) were recruited from either a midsized city or a large metropolitan area in Western Canada. For the current study, only data collected from married, two-parent families were used (n ⫽ 162). On average, fathers were 47.03 years old (SD ⫽ 5.67) and mothers were 44.66 years old (SD ⫽ 4.69). Adolescents were, on average, 14.94 years old (SD ⫽ 1.73), and 51.6% were female. Parents had been married an average of 19.02 years (SD ⫽ 4.23). The mean length of residence in Canada was 10.95 years (SD ⫽ 7.03) for fathers and 10.49 years (SD ⫽ 6.32) for mothers. In the majority (95.7%) of families, both parents emigrated from the same region (People’s Republic of China, 64.2%; Taiwan, 20.4%; Hong Kong, 11.1%). A small percentage of fathers did not complete high school (7.5%), 11.2% completed high school, 20.4% completed vocational school or college, 27.2% completed a 4-year university degree, and 33.5% completed graduate or professional school. Mothers’ educational levels were as follows: 6.1% did not complete high school, 13.6% completed high school, 32.7% completed vocational school or college, 33.3% completed a 4-year university degree, and 14.2% completed graduate or professional school. The majority of fathers (73.2%) worked full time, and 15.9% were engaged in part-time employment. Approximately half of mothers worked full-time (50.9%), and 18.6% were employed part time. Among parents who were not employed, 5.1% of fathers and 9.3% of mothers were looking for employment, and 5.7% of fathers and 21.1% of mothers were unemployed by choice. Families were eligible to participate if both parents emigrated voluntarily from the Peoples’ Republic of China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong after the age of 18; self-identified as being of Chinese ethnicity; had lived in Canada for at least two years; and had a child between 12 and 17 years of age. The majority of the sample (67%) was randomly recruited through a survey research center, which contacted individuals with Chinese last names from two cities in Western Canada. The remaining families were referred from participating families.

Procedure Fathers, mothers, and adolescents independently completed selfreport questionnaires at home; only parent data were analyzed for the current study. Two research assistants provided families with questionnaire booklets and answered any questions that arose. At least one research assistant (and, typically, both) spoke the family’s native language. Family members were given the option of completing questionnaires in Chinese or English script, and nearly all parents selected the Chinese questionnaires. All English measures were translated into Chinese by a team of bilingual individuals from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, and then back-translated by another team of bilingual individuals. In order to ensure accuracy, the back-translated English measures were compared with the original


English measures, and the few discrepancies were resolved by discussion. Families received small monetary compensation for their time. The project received approval from the Human Research Ethics Board at the University of Victoria.


Measures Behavioral acculturation. Parents’ behavioral orientation toward Chinese and Canadian cultures was assessed using a measure based on the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans II (ARSMA-II; Cuéllar, Arnold, & Maldonado, 1995). Twenty items were selected to assess culturally based behaviors such as language use (e.g., “I speak English,” “I speak Chinese”), media preferences (e.g., “I enjoy Chinese language TV,” “I enjoy English language TV”), and social ties (e.g., “My friends now are of Chinese origins,” “My friends now are of White/Canadian origins”). Additional items pertaining to culinary preferences, celebration of cultural holidays and traditions, preferences for medical treatment, and political involvement were incorporated from other acculturation measures (specifically, the Asian American Multidimensional Acculturation Scale [Chung, Kim, & Abreu, 2004]; the Vancouver Index of Acculturation [Ryder et al., 2000]; and the Stephenson Multigroup Acculturation Scale [Stephenson, 2000]). In total, 17 items addressed behaviors related to Chinese culture, and a parallel set of 17 items addressed behaviors related to Canadian culture. Participants responded on a 5-point scale, with 1 corresponding to not at all, and 5 corresponding to extremely often or almost always. The original version of the ARSMA-II has demonstrated good internal consistency and validity in previous research with Asian American young adults (Liem, Lim, & Liem, 2000), Chinese Canadian university students (Chia & Costigan, 2006), and immigrant Chinese Canadian parents (Costigan & Su, 2004). In the current sample, internal consistency was excellent for both Chinese behavioral acculturation (␣ ⫽ .86 for fathers; ␣ ⫽ .86 for mothers) and Canadian behavioral acculturation (␣ ⫽ .86 for fathers; ␣ ⫽ .82 for mothers). Expectations for family assistance. Parents’ expectations about the extent to which adolescents should provide assistance to the family were assessed using the 11-item Current Assistance subscale of the Family Obligations Scale. This scale was originally created to assess adolescents’ sense of obligation to assist their families (Fuligni et al., 1999), but was adapted for the current study to assess parents’ expectations. Parents were asked, “How often do you expect your child to engage in the following activities?” Items referred to behavioral expectations for adolescents within the household and family unit (e.g., “Run errands that the family needs done,” “Spend time with the family on weekends”). Previous research using the adapted Family Obligations Scale for parents showed good reliability and validity with immigrant Chinese Canadian parents (Costigan & Su, 2008). Internal consistency for this subscale was excellent for both fathers (␣ ⫽ .81) and mothers (␣ ⫽ .81) in the current sample. Coparenting. Two subscales measuring various domains of coparenting quality were adapted from the Family Experiences Questionnaire (Frank et al., 1991). The subscales consisted of five items each and assessed each parent’s appreciation of their spouse’s parenting contributions and efforts (Shared Responsibility; e.g., “My spouse is willing to make some personal sacrifices in order to help with the parenting”), and each parent’s perception of

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being undermined and criticized in their parenting role by their spouse (Spouse Criticism; e.g., “As a parent, I cannot seem to do anything right in my spouse’s eyes”). Participants were asked to respond on a 4-point scale, from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). The internal consistency of all 10 items was good (␣ ⫽ .78 for fathers; ␣ ⫽ .79 for mothers). The internal consistency of the individual subscales ranged from good to poor (fathers’ Shared Responsibility, ␣ ⫽ .63; fathers’ Spouse Criticism, ␣ ⫽ .78; mothers’ Shared Responsibility, ␣ ⫽ .72; mothers’ Spouse Criticism, ␣ ⫽ .70).

Data Analytic Strategy Following Kenny, Kashy, and Cook (2006), distance scores were used to index discrepancies between mothers and fathers in behavioral acculturation and expectations for adolescents’ family assistance. To compute a distance score, the mother’s rating on each item was subtracted from the father’s rating on the corresponding item, and the difference was then squared. These squared values were summed across all of the items, and then the square root of each sum was computed for each scale (Kenny et al., 2006). The resulting distance scores have a lower bound of zero (indicating perfect similarity), and higher values indicate greater dissimilarity (or “distance”) between mothers’ and fathers’ scores. Distance scores were computed for the constructs of Chinese behavioral acculturation, Canadian behavioral acculturation, and expectations for adolescent assistance. The hypothesized models were evaluated using structural equation modeling, with AMOS 19 software (Arbuckle, 2010). The three constructs that were assessed using distance scores were entered into the model as observed variables. Fathers’ and mothers’ perceptions of coparenting were represented by separate latent variables, with the subscales of Shared Responsibility and Spouse Criticism included as observed indicators. The creation of a latent coparenting variable attenuates measurement error (Ullman, 2007). As shown in Figure 1, both subscales loaded significantly on the latent coparenting factor for both mothers and fathers. Residual error terms for fathers’ and mothers’ perceptions of coparenting were allowed to correlate in order to account for nonindependence between family members (Kenny et al., 2006). Due to the lower reliability of fathers’ reports of shared responsibility, analyses were repeated using the 10-item coparenting scale as an observed variable. The path coefficients from this model were similar in direction, significance, and magnitude compared with the latent model.

Results Descriptive Statistics Means and standard deviations for parents’ individual scores and the discrepancy variables are presented in Table 1. Mothers reported significantly higher Chinese behavioral acculturation than fathers. Fathers reported significantly higher levels of perceived spouse criticism than mothers. Examination of Mahalanobis distances revealed no multivariate outliers. Intercorrelations among the main study variables are presented in Table 2. In addition, the zero-order correlations between Canadian and Chinese behavioral acculturation, and between each dimension of behavioral accultur-


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Table 1 Descriptive Statistics for Main Study Variables

Variable Chinese behavioral acculturation Canadian behavioral acculturation Expectations for adolescent assistance Coparenting Shared responsibility Spouse criticism


ⴱ

p ⬍ .05.

ⴱⴱ

Father M (SD)

Mother M (SD)

3.42 (.52) 2.77 (.49) 3.53 (.48)

3.51 (.54) 2.79 (.53) 3.60 (.47)

3.08 (.32) 1.96 (.41)

3.08 (.38) 1.84 (.40)

Distance score t(161) ⫺1.99ⴱ ⫺.55 ⫺1.48

M (SD)

Range

4.40 (1.33) 3.83 (1.35) 3.05 (1.48)

.00–9.64 .00–8.19 .00–8.12

— —

— —

.03 3.05ⴱⴱ

p ⬍ .01.

analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed only two significant differences in the main study variables based on parents’ region of origin (People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong), or employment status (full time, part time, unemployed by choice, unemployed and looking). Fathers’ reports of shared responsibility differed based on fathers’ region of origin, F(2, 157) ⫽ 3.91, p ⫽ .02, with post hoc analyses revealing that fathers who immigrated from Taiwan reported more shared responsibility than fathers who immigrated from the People’s Republic of China. Mothers’ reports of shared responsibility differed based on mothers’ employment status, F(3, 157) ⫽ 3.36, p ⫽ .02, with post hoc analyses revealing that mothers who chose not to work outside the home reported more shared responsibility than mothers who were currently seeking employment. Overall, no single background variable was related to multiple main study variables, in a manner that might confound the main findings of the study. In the context of the large number of preliminary analyses (N ⫽ 84), the number of significant findings is quite small. Furthermore, if a Bonferroni correction (i.e., .05/84) were applied to reduce the probability of chance findings, an alpha level of .001 would be used, rendering these five results nonsignificant. Therefore, no control variables were included in the final models.

ation and expectations for adolescent assistance, were calculated. In the current sample, Chinese behavioral acculturation was inversely related to Canadian behavioral acculturation for fathers (r ⫽ ⫺.40, p ⬍ .001) and mothers (r ⫽ ⫺.30, p ⬍ .001). Fathers’ Chinese behavioral acculturation was positively related to expectations for adolescent assistance, r ⫽ .23, p ⬍ .01, but fathers’ Canadian behavioral acculturation was not significantly related, r ⫽ .06, p ⫽ .43. For mothers, neither Chinese behavioral acculturation, r ⫽ .06, p ⫽ .31, nor Canadian behavioral acculturation, r ⫽ .14, p ⫽ .10, were related to expectations for adolescent assistance. Prior to testing the hypothesized models, relations between the main study variables (i.e., discrepancy in Chinese acculturation, discrepancy in Canadian acculturation, discrepancy in expectations for adolescent assistance, and mothers’ and fathers’ reports on each coparenting subscale) and key background variables (i.e., family recruitment source, adolescent age and gender, parental age, length of residence in Canada, length of marriage, region of origin, and employment status) were examined. T tests assessing differences in the main study variables based on recruitment source (randomly recruited couples vs. couples referred by participating families) and adolescent gender revealed no significant differences. Correlational analyses showed very few significant relations; only mothers’ reports of shared responsibility were related to longer maternal length of residence in Canada (r ⫽ .16, p ⫽ .04) and parents’ length of marriage (r ⫽ .19, p ⫽ .02). Paternal age, maternal age, adolescent age, and paternal length of residence were unrelated to the main study variables. Finally,

Assessing Model Fit Model fit was evaluated using the chi-square goodness-of-fit test, the ratio of chi-square to degrees of freedom (␹2/df; Bollen, 1989), the comparative fit index (CFI; Bentler, 1990), and the root

Table 2 Intercorrelations Among Main Study Variables Variable Acculturation discrepancies (Chinese) Acculturation discrepancies (Canadian) Discrepant adolescent assistance expectations Shared responsibility Spouse criticism

Acculturation discrepancy (Chinese)

Acculturation discrepancy (Canadian)

—

.47ⴱⴱⴱ

ⴱⴱⴱ

Discrepant adolescent assistance expectations

Shared responsibility

Spouse criticism

.29ⴱⴱⴱ

⫺.04

.03

ⴱⴱⴱ

.47

—

.27

.00

.01

.29ⴱⴱⴱ ⫺.15 .23ⴱⴱ

.27ⴱⴱⴱ .04 .08

— ⫺.17ⴱ .22ⴱⴱ

⫺.24ⴱⴱ .15 ⫺.44ⴱⴱⴱ

.04 ⫺.51ⴱⴱⴱ .27ⴱⴱ

Note. Correlations under diagonal represent relations among fathers’ perceptions of coparenting and main study variables, whereas correlations above diagonal represent relations among mothers’ perceptions of coparenting and main study variables. Correlations on diagonal represent correlations between fathers’ and mothers’ reports on each coparenting indicator; correlations between dyadic indices of discrepancy are repeated above and below the diagonal. ⴱ p ⬍ .05. ⴱⴱ p ⬍ .01. ⴱⴱⴱ p ⬍ .001.



mean square error of approximation (RMSEA; Steiger, 1990). Good model fit is indicated by a nonsignificant chi-square value, a ␹2/df ratio less than 3.0, a CFI of .95 or greater, and an RMSEA of less than .08. Before testing the mediated model, a model of direct effects was tested, which excluded discrepant expectations for family assistance. The direct associations between behavioral acculturation discrepancies and perceptions of coparenting showed excellent model fit, ␹2(5) ⫽ 2.77, p ⫽ .74 (␹2/df ⫽ .55, CFI ⫽ 1.00, RMSEA ⫽ .00, RMSEA 90% CI [.00, .08]). The pathway between behavioral acculturation discrepancies in Chinese culture and fathers’ perceptions of coparenting was significant (bⴱ ⫽ ⫺.34, p ⫽ .01). Greater Chinese behavioral acculturation discrepancies were related to fathers’ perceptions of poorer coparenting quality. As shown in Figure 1, including parental discrepancies in expectations for adolescents’ family assistance as a mediator also showed good model fit, ␹2(7) ⫽ 11.51, p ⫽ .12 (␹2/df ⫽ 1.64, CFI ⫽ .97, RMSEA ⫽ .06, RMSEA 90% CI [.00, .13]). The pathways between behavioral acculturation discrepancies and discrepant expectations for adolescents’ family assistance were significant for both Chinese (bⴱ ⫽ .21, p ⫽ .01) and Canadian (bⴱ ⫽ .17, p ⫽ .04) behavioral acculturation (see Figure 1). In each case, greater behavioral acculturation discrepancies were related to greater discrepancies in expectations about the amount of family assistance adolescents should provide. Discrepant expectations about adolescents’ family assistance were also significantly related to father’s (bⴱ ⫽ ⫺.24, p ⫽ .03) and mothers’ (bⴱ ⫽ ⫺.23, p ⫽ .03) perceptions of coparenting. These relations were in the expected direction, such that greater discrepancies predicted perceptions of poorer coparenting. Bootstrapping analyses were performed (1,000 bootstrapped samples) to evaluate the significance of the mediated paths between behavioral acculturation discrepancies and fathers’ perceptions of coparenting. These tests confirmed the significance of the indirect path from discrepancies in Chinese behavioral acculturation to fathers’ perceptions of coparenting via discrepant expectations of adolescents, with a standardized indirect path coefficient of ⫺.05 (p ⫽ .02; 95% CI [⫺.12, ⫺.01]). The indirect path from discrepancies in Canadian behavioral acculturation to fathers’ perceptions of coparenting via discrepant expectations of adolescents was significant only at a trend level (p ⫽ .08; 95% CI [⫺.12, .003]). The indirect paths from discrepancies in Chinese (p ⫽ .23; 95% CI [⫺.12, .02]) and Canadian (p ⫽ .29; 95% CI [⫺.11, .02]) behavioral acculturation to mothers’ perceptions of coparenting, via discrepant expectations of adolescents, were not significant. To evaluate whether discrepant expectations for adolescents’ family assistance fully or partially mediated the direct effect between parental discrepancies in Chinese behavioral acculturation and fathers’ perceptions of coparenting, a constrained version of the mediated model was analyzed (not shown), with the direct path between discrepancies in Chinese behavioral acculturation and fathers’ reports of coparenting constrained to zero, ␹2(9) ⫽ 18.30, p ⫽ .03 (␹2/df ⫽ 2.03, CFI ⫽ .94, RMSEA ⫽ .08, RMSEA 90% CI [.02, .13]). This model also fit the data fairly well; however, the chi-square difference value between the constrained model and the 2 model in Figure 1 was significant, ␹DIFF (2) ⫽ 6.79, p ⫽ .03, suggesting that the fit of the unconstrained model was better than the constrained model. This finding supports partial mediation, rather than full mediation. Further supporting a partial mediation

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interpretation, the direct relation between Chinese behavioral acculturation discrepancies and fathers’ perceptions of coparenting remained significant even after the mediator was added (bⴱ ⫽ ⫺.28, p ⫽ .02). Therefore, the results suggest that other factors likely influence relations between parental discrepancies in Chinese behavioral acculturation and fathers’ perceptions of the coparenting relationship, in addition to parental discrepancies in expectations for adolescents’ family assistance.

Discussion Our findings demonstrated a process by which differential acculturation between mothers and fathers in immigrant families may influence child-rearing expectations and coparenting relationship quality. Consistent with previous research concerning the strong cultural basis of individuals’ family obligation beliefs (e.g., Fuligni et al., 1999; Phinney et al., 2000), acculturation discrepancies were related to divergent views on how much adolescents should assist their families. Notably, parental acculturation differences in each cultural dimension (Chinese and Canadian) were related to discrepant child-rearing expectations. Exposure to Canadian culture may enhance parental beliefs that less family assistance is required of adolescents, relative to Chinese cultural norms. If one parent is more immersed in Canadian culture than their spouse, the parent with greater exposure to Canadian culture may come to expect less assistance from their adolescent child. Similarly, if one parent retains a strong connection to Chinese culture, via social connections and various forms of media, traditional Chinese parenting beliefs that expect high adolescent assistance to the family may be reinforced. Direct relations between Chinese acculturation discrepancies and coparenting were significant for fathers, but not mothers, a relation that was mediated by discrepancies in expectations for adolescent assistance. Understanding this pattern of findings requires attention to parenting roles in the context of immigrant Chinese families. Evidence suggests that for both immigrant and nonimmigrant fathers of Chinese ethnicity, fathering roles have expanded beyond the traditional Confucian conceptualization of the father as economic provider and disciplinarian to include greater involvement in childcare duties (Chuang & Su, 2008). This shift in beliefs about the role of the father may translate into greater direct involvement in everyday decision making among contemporary immigrant Chinese fathers. Nonetheless, decisions about child-rearing in Chinese Canadian families tend to be made either by mothers alone or by parents jointly; fathers make relatively few decisions alone (Chuang & Su, 2009). This suggests that although contemporary immigrant Chinese fathers actively contribute to child-rearing, mothers may maintain a leadership role in the context of parenting decisions. Fathers’ involvement appears to occur mainly in the context of joint decision making, with few child-rearing decisions made by fathers independently. This dynamic between parents may simultaneously create favorable consequences (e.g., support for the mother in the childrearing process) and unfavorable consequences (e.g., more opportunities for mothers to criticize fathers’ input into child-rearing decisions; Floyd et al., 1998) in the coparenting relationship. An examination of the direct correlations among the main study variables highlights the importance of spouse criticism for fathers in particular. If parents are differentially engaged in Chinese culture,


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they may experience a higher level of disagreement about the extent to which adolescents are obligated to assist their family. As immigrant Chinese Canadian fathers navigate contemporary parenting roles, they may become more outspoken in their opinions about day-to-day child-rearing issues, which is traditionally considered to be the domain of the mother. If mothers frequently criticize and dismiss fathers’ input, fathers are likely to view the coparenting relationship less positively. Discrepancy in Chinese behavioral acculturation was a stronger predictor of coparenting quality than discrepancy in Canadian behavioral acculturation. The construct of Chinese behavioral acculturation is closely aligned with the concept of enculturation, which refers to the transmission of the norms and values of one’s heritage culture in a new cultural setting, particularly in the context of second-generation children who grow up with limited exposure to their culture of origin (Kim, Ahn, & Lam, 2009). The socialization of the heritage culture may be particularly important for immigrant parents with children who immigrated at a young age, or were born in the adopted country, as the majority of their development takes place in a new culture. If one parent maintains Chinese culture to a greater extent than their spouse, they may be concerned that their spouse will not support them in passing down traditional Chinese values to their children, leading to a sense of a poorer coparenting relationship. Even immigrant parents with similar behavioral acculturation may struggle with how to pass on the heritage values they deem most important, in the face of immersion of a different, often contradictory culture. Having a spouse who is increasingly less invested in one’s culture of origin may increase the isolation felt by each spouse as they follow different acculturation trajectories. In contrast, immigrant parents likely feel less pressure and responsibility for socializing their children into the adopted culture, because their children’s exposure to the dominant culture is pervasive, embedded in most of their peer and school activities. Consequently, discrepancies in Canadian behavioral acculturation may engender less concern within the coparenting relationship compared with discrepancies in Chinese behavioral acculturation. An important direction for future research is the investigation of factors that mediate the relations between discrepant parental expectations and coparenting. The literature on family obligation expectations tends to focus on adolescents’ perspectives. Parents’ views, including discrepancies in expectations for adolescent assistance, clearly warrant further investigation. Spousal differences in expectations may influence the supportive– undermining aspect of the coparenting relationship via the process of triangulation. Triangulation occurs when a parent forms an alliance with their child in a manner that undermines the other parent, typically in the context of parental conflict (Margolin et al., 2001). It exemplifies the breakdown of appropriate boundaries within the family unit identified by Feinberg (2003), and has been found to be detrimental to family relationships and individual adjustment (Margolin et al., 2001). In immigrant families, adolescents often become oriented to the dominant culture in the new country more quickly than their parents, a trajectory which is paired with varying degrees of maintenance of Chinese culture (Berry, 2003). The parent whose acculturation profile is more similar to the adolescent may support the adolescent, leading to parental disputes over adolescents’ responsibilities, triangulation within the family, and ruptures in the coparenting relationship, as one parent feels undermined by their

spouse. Conversely, if parents are similarly involved in Chinese and Canadian cultures, and hold more similar views on adolescent assistance, it is likely easier to function as a cohesive team, with fewer disagreements about parenting and less risk of triangulation, promoting a more positive coparenting relationship. The cross-sectional nature of the current study limits our findings. Testing the theorized models with longitudinal data would allow for more definitive statements about whether parental acculturation discrepancies function as a risk for fathers’ perceptions of the coparenting relationship. A second limitation is the nature of the coparenting measure used. This measure was originally developed with a nonimmigrant, generally European American population, which may have been reflected in the lower reliability on certain subscales. Although parents’ general ability to present as a united, cohesive parenting unit likely represents a universally important feature of parenting (McHale et al., 2000), a coparenting measure developed based on interviews with Chinese couples would capture culturally specific means by which parents display such unity. Our coparenting measure is also limited by the subjective nature of parents’ perceptions of their spouses’ coparenting behavior; without objective, observational measures of coparenting interactions to corroborate parents’ self-report, we cannot determine the extent to which ratings are influenced by cognitive style. We are not aware of an observational measure of coparenting targeted at parents of adolescents, although coding of coparenting behaviors from naturalistic observation has been used quite extensively with parents of infants and preschoolers (e.g., Gable et al., 1994), and the adaptation of such assessment strategies for use within families with adolescents would represent an important contribution to the literature. Additionally, future studies should investigate the role of general coparenting disagreement concurrently with disagreement about expectations for assistance specifically, in order to parse out the effects of each. Finally, although the current study extends the coparenting literature beyond the confines of nonimmigrant White families of European ancestry, it is still limited to cohabiting, heterosexual, husband–wife parental dyads. Further research is needed to explore how coparenting unfolds in diverse family structures within immigrant families (e.g., multigenerational family households, families led by single parents, families who have undergone temporary separation as part of the immigration process). The results of the current study have important implications for prevention and intervention at the family level. Coparenting has previously been identified as a relevant target for family therapy. It may be more acceptable for parents to work together to increase the quality of their coparenting relationship rather than target marital problems alone (Floyd et al., 1998). The identification of parental discrepancies in expectations for adolescent assistance as a mediator between discrepancies in behavioral acculturation and coparenting quality also allows for further specification of therapeutic targets. Clinicians who work with immigrant families may find it helpful to assess each parent’s behavioral involvement in heritage and new cultures, as well as each parent’s expectations for adolescent assistance. The exploration of discrepant behavioral acculturation experiences provides contextual information about the family to help guide case conceptualization. In addition, understanding any differential expectations for family assistance, as well as how to effectively manage such differences, could identify important therapeutic targets for improving family relationships.



Although the measures used to assess behavioral acculturation, and expectations for adolescent assistance are not standardized clinical assessment measures, a review of item content could help guide the clinician’s treatment goals. Furthermore, discussions of the implications of parental acculturation discrepancies in settlement programs for immigrant families may be a useful prevention tool. The use of psychoeducation and communication-skills training to target conflicts related to acculturation gaps has been suggested as an important component of parent training programs for immigrant families (Lau, Fung, & Yung, 2010). These skills would likely also be valuable if introduced as a preventative measure, targeting acculturation differences between mothers and fathers, in the hopes of reducing the impact of such differences on perceptions of coparenting. Findings in the current study suggest that fathers are particularly vulnerable. Father-centered support groups might be a method of providing fathers with a supportive, confidential environment to explore the specific difficulties they face. Normalization of help seeking, both directly via psychoeducation and indirectly via the presence of other immigrant fathers in the group, may reduce concerns about shame and facilitate the discussion of coparenting issues. The current study is notable in that it assessed domains in which more research has been called for: mother–father acculturation gaps (Costigan, 2011) and coparenting with diverse populations (McHale et al., 2002). For all families, immigrant and nonimmigrant alike, coparenting requires parents to integrate their personal child-rearing beliefs, provide support for each other’s parenting efforts, and effectively resolve any differences in opinion that arise. The potential for differential acculturation between parents in immigrant families presents an additional challenge to overcome, but certainly not an insurmountable barrier.

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Received June 1, 2012 Revision received August 28, 2013 Accepted September 6, 2013 䡲