Browsing by Subject "Parent-child communication"
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Item Cultural differences in children's development of social competence between European American and Chinese immigrant families(2009-12) Chen, Kuan-yi; Suizzo, Marie-Anne; Whittaker, TiffanyThe purpose of this study was to investigate the developmental outcomes of Chinese American children's social competence in their transition to elementary school. In this study, I used a mixed-methods research design. The first part of the study was a secondary analysis of data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort. I examined cultural differences in the effects of parental warmth, parental SES, parent-child communication, and children's participation in peer-oriented structured extracurricular activities on the social development of European American and Chinese American children. For the second part of the study, I developed questions based on the findings of the quantitative analysis and conducted interviews to further explore how Chinese immigrant mothers' parenting beliefs and practices contributed to their children's development of social competence. The results showed that in Chinese immigrant families, parental SES influenced parent-child communication, which in turn promoted children's social competence. Parental SES, but not parental warmth, predicted their children's participation in peer-oriented structured extracurricular activities. Years of stay in the U.S. positively predicted children's participation in peer-oriented structured extracurricular activities, while it negatively predicted parent-child communication in Chinese immigrant families. The qualitative data suggested that Chinese immigrant mothers facilitated their children's social development by giving them verbal guidance for peer problems, encouraging conversations at home, and serving as role models for their children. Children's activity participation was restricted by the affordability of activities and parents' ability to provide transportation for their children. The Chinese immigrant mothers perceived taking on daily responsibilities and spending quality time together with their children as ways to express love toward them. These mothers' childrearing practices were influenced by the generational gap and acculturation. This study broadens our understanding of Chinese American children's development of social competence in their transition to formal schooling. It contributes new knowledge about 1) cultural differences in the effects of parental warmth and SES on parent-child communication; 2) the influences of parental SES on parent-child communication and Chinese American children's participation in peer-oriented structured extracurricular activities; and 3) the effect of years of stay in the U.S. on parent-child communication in Chinese immigrant families.Item There’s something about health : understanding everyday talk about health within families(2016-12) Scheinfeld, Emily Nicole; Donovan-Kicken, Erin E.; Mackert, Mike; Whittaker, Tiffany; Dailey, Rene; Vangelisti, AnitaIt is imperative to explore how family members disclose information, as it is necessary in order to receive support, which allows people to more effectively cope with the health situation at hand. But to understand why and how people decide to disclose personal health information to loved ones, there is a need to explore the role the parent-child relationship and family environment have in these communicative processes. Relational quality and family communication patterns have been useful in past research to explain or predict conflict, invasion perception, problem solving, and emotional climate, to name a few. Past research has yet to fully untangle the motivation for a person to disclose health information to a family member. This project aimed to explicate the differences between everyday family health communication and the relationship it has with more targeted and challenging health communication (e.g., that about alcohol, cigarettes, and sex). A qualitative pilot study explored the narrative of how emerging adults (EAs) talk about health with families. This pilot study was used as the foundation to develop an instrument of everyday family health communication. Self-report surveys provided evidence for valid scale development. Results also argued the frequency of everyday family health communication and breadth of topics was positively and significantly associated with more targeted communication about alcohol, cigarettes, and sex. These results, and their implications, are discussed further.