Protective Factors Against Intergenerational Conflict in Chinese Immigrant Families: A Pilot Study

This pilot study examined some potential protective factors which may mitigate the effects of the acculturation gap on intergenerational conflict in 23 Chinese immigrant families. Adolescents and one of their immigrant parents completed questionnaires assessing their acculturation. Adolescents also completed family conflict and parent attachment measures. Parents provided information on the use of social support and the communication on the cultural differences between American culture and Chinese culture in the family by completing related measures. It was expected that acculturation gap would predict parent-child conflicts in immigrant families, and the relationships between acculturation gap and parent-child conflict would be moderated by parent attachment, family\u27s use of social support networks, and open communication on the cultural differences in the family. The results showed that acculturation gap is associated with high level of parent-child conflict. Unexpectedly, findings indicated that only open communication on the cultural differences in the family moderated the relationship between acculturation gap and intergenerational conflict. Limitation of the study and clinical implication are discussed