Tatiana Obispo, & Dr. Argero Zerr
This research project investigates the relationship between acculturation, self-construal, and the values parents want in their children. A previous study among Latino parents found that more U.S.-oriented parents seem to value more independent behaviors at a younger age and have more individualistic beliefs in comparison to less acculturated parents (Roche et al., 2013). The purpose of the present study is to investigate if acculturation relates to independent or interdependent child-rearing values. We hypothesized that more acculturated parents will value independent values for their children, while less acculturated parents will value interdependent values for their children. We will also investigate if parental self-construal relates to independent or interdependent childrearing values. Our hypothesis was that more individualistic parents will value independent values for their children, while more collectivistic parents will value interdependent values for their children. Data for the present study was collected online through Qualtrics, and participants were recruited through social media and the local community. Participants included 171 California parents (of children ages 2-17), ranging from ages 21 to 56 years old. This study consisted of 16% males and 84% females. Participants were White (48%), Hispanic/ Latinx (30%), Asian (8%), multi-ethnic (8%), Black/ African American (4%), other (2%), and Pacific Islander (1%). Participants completed the PAN Acculturation scale (Soriano & Hough, 2000), the Self-Construal Scale (Singelis, 1994), and a child-rearing values scale (McCabe et al., 2016). Pearson correlation analyses found that there was no significant relation between parent acculturation and independent (r = .03, p = .70) or interdependent child-rearing (r = .03, p = .76). Another set of Pearson correlation analyses found that there was no significant correlation between parental collectivistic self-construal and independent values (r = -.02, p = .75), however, there was a positive correlation between parental collectivistic self-construal and interdependent values for their children (r = .18, p = .03). This study highlights the importance of understanding the values that parents want to pass on to their children to understand family dynamics, expectations, and possible outcomes.