Although the diff erent acculturation levels within and across generations may be a source of family tension, it may also serve an adaptive function for immigrant families. Given that sibling relationships may be one of the longest family relationships that humans have, more research must examine this important family relationship. Families in the Middle Asian and Pacifi c Islander cultures endorse the value of family interdependence and this value buy mbt shoes systematically impacts the AAPI family environment across the lifespan. Unlike their European American counterparts, AAs are socialized to consider intergenerational support and dependence—whether emotional, instrumental, or fi nancial—as lifelong obligations (Fuligni, Tseng, & Lam, 1999). In traditional Asian cultures, parents believe that they have the responsibility to off er their children protection and guidance throughout their lifetime.
The children, in turn, are expected to repay their parents by assisting their family and fulfi lling their fi lial duties as obedient sons or daughters (Ho, 1992). Although these mutual obligations reinforce collective values and help foster family solidarity and interdependence, family obligations may be a source of persistent intergenerational confl ict within AA families. Equipped withgreater facility of the English language and better understanding of U.S. cultural norms, children living in AA immigrant families oft en become the primary caretaker of the family. As children become older, they bear heavier burdens in handling interpersonal interactions on behalf of their parents in the English speaking world. As the family’s cultural broker, they spend a lot of time on family aff airs, and therefore have fewer opportunities to engage in autonomous activities such as socializing withpeers or participating in extracurricular events compared to their peers (Tseng, 2004). AA parents oft en rely on their children to be responsible for household duties, such as taking care of younger siblings and paying bills.
This situation may create role reversals within the family (Kibria, 1993). Role reversals may challenge traditional family roles or the balance of power within immigrant families (Zhou, 1997). Parents and older family members rely on the younger generation to help the family cope withthe logistics of daily living and everyday survival in the American society. AA parents who are lacking in acculturative resources, such as English skills or knowledge about American ways, and exclusively depend on younger family members fi nd that their parental authority is diminished and there is an erosion of elderly centered Confucian family values. In some cases, the power and status acquired by children may even lead to being disrespectful toward their parents and members of older generations who remain traditional, less fl uent in English, and less familiar withthe mainstream American way of life (Ho, Rasheed, & Rasheed, 2004). Asian American and Pacifi c Islander Families . 303 Aside from shift s in family roles, tension arises between older and younger generations when AA adolescents begin to seek autonomy and freedom from parental control. Traditionally, AA parents tend to exercise a great deal of control over their children. Close supervision not only allows parents to guard the safety of their children, it is also considered by AA parents as a way to communicate their care and aff ection to their children (Uba, 199 Cheap mbt shoes 4). Unfortunately, many AA children who grew up among mainstream American values do not understand this and instead see their parents as overly protective and controlling.
Asian American young adults are still expected, by older more traditional family members, to ob mbt shoes review ey parental authority and to prioritize family obligations over personal choice (Fuligni & Pedersen, 2002). During the college years, as AA young adult children are exposed to more Western values and ideals, the cultural schism between the generations may grow. While living away at college, it is more diffi cult for parents to monitor their children’s daily activities. However, many AA parents continue to provide strong parental guidance over their children’s academic and social aff airs, such as decisions over course selection or college major, dating, and potential marriage partners. AA college students not only face increased pressure to excel academically, but they may be compelled to major in culturally sanctioned fi elds—namely medicine, science, or business— because these careers are perceived to be most economically viable and socially rewarding by the family. In some cases, decisions to pursue careers that have been rejected by their AA parents would subject young adult children to loss of fi nancial and emotional support (Wong & Mock, 1997). Sadly, many AA young adult children may relinquish their personal career desires and life ambitions in order to comply withtheir parents’ wishes and authority.
Asian American and Pacifi c Islander Dating and Marriage Academic and career pursuits may create intergenerational tension, but they are by no means the only sources of confl ict for AA families withadult children. Another source of stress comes from dating and marital preferences of the younger generation. Cultural scripts and acculturation shape who may be considered an eligible marriage partner, marital role expectations, or whether marriage results from romance or other factors such as family or fi nancial status of the potential marital partner. An examination of marriage and divorce in AAPI families reveals extensive cultural variations in contemporary society. 304 . Asian American Psychology Romantic attachment is the primary reason behind the selection of a marital partner in contemporary Western society. This creates a dilemma for recent immigrants whose culture may consider fi nancial situation, family status, or continuity of family lineage to be a major reason underlying selection of a marriage partner.
For example, second-generation Muslim Pakistani American women may want to select a husband based upon romantic attraction, but feel ambivalent or confl icted because family traditions exert enormous pressure to marry a mate who had been selected by the family elders (Zaidi & Shuraydi, 2002). Interracial mate selection has been used as an indicator of racial discrimination and acculturation, but mate selection is the result of ethnic composition and availability of potential mates in the surrounding community (Fujino, 2000). Interethnic marriages were encouraged and fostered in the Native Hawaiian community to address the alarming decline in the Hawaiian population by Western-introduced diseases in the late 1800s and for political reasons (McCubbin & McCubbin, 2005). In contemporary society, acculturated AAPIs may be more willing to choose partners outside their own race (non- Asian) and among other AAPI ethnic groups than are their less-acculturated peers (Aguirre, Saenz, & Hwang, cheap mbt shoes 1995).
Marital satisfaction is largely a function of spousal agreement on gender roles and marital expectations, bothof which are highly infl uenced b discount mbt trainers y culture (Lebra, 1976). Marital confl icts and tensions may arise as a result of diff erences in culture, gender, and marital role expectations; disapproval of the marriage from the family of origin; or intrusiveness of in-laws in the family unit (Inman, Altman, & Kaduvettoor, 2004). Information on marital violence in AAPI families is bothscant and contradictory (Malley- Morrison & Hines, 2004). National and statewide studies of victimization and domestic violence rarely report statistics for AAPI. National self-reported rates in domestic violence were lowest for bothAAPI women (15%) and AAPI men (3%). By contrast, the Asian and Pacifi c Islander Institute on Domestic Violence (Kim, 2005) fi nds that studies withsmaller AAPI subgroup community samples show rates as high as 80% and suggest that Japanese, Vietnamese, and SouthAsian women are most at risk for domestic violence. Many AAPI groups defi ne abuse in a way that excludes emotional maltreatment. Cultural values such as patriarchy, or encouraging forbearance and saving face, as well as demographic characteristics such as linguistic isolation and refugee status, may be responsible for the widely disparate reported rates or poor detection of domestic violence in AAPI families.
To date, no studies have examined whether family interdependence tends to reduce the risk of violence in AAPI families (e.g., closely connected family members may intervene when abuse is threatened) or increase the risk (e.g., family members avoid seeking help from outsiders). AAPI families can be an important source of protection or a source of risk, such as hidden domestic violence. Older Families As discussed throughout this chapter, there is much diversity across Asian American and Pacifi c Islander families. Yee, DeBaryshe, Yuen, Kim, and McCubbin (2006) discuss four cultural themes that are refl ected in the adaptation and coping mechanisms of AAPI families: collectivism, relational orientation, familism, and family obligation. This section will discuss how these cultural themes are woven into several AAPI family caregiving scenarios. Collectivism is practiced by older women in AAPI families by doing unpaid household work to enhance their family well-being. Many Chinese American and Korean American elderly women move to the United States to take care of their grandchildren so their daughters or daughters-in-law can work in family businesses (Yoon, 2005).
Older AAPI individuals are family resources because they contribute valued household or babysitting services, but they also can drain the resources of the family during illness or disability. Asian American and Pacifi c Islander Families . 305 Relational orientation concerns the perception and treatment of vulnerable family members. In Native Hawaiian families, the healthof the family depends upon the healthof each of its members. Caring for a frail, elderly family member is an expression of family interdependence and a natural part of the life cycle (McCubbin, McCubbin, thompson, & thompson, 1998). Therefore decisions to place a family member in a long-term care facility or use governme mbt stockists nt assistance do not make sense and are rarely made except as a last resort. Familism is expressed by the relatively high rates of intergenerational households among AAPI, as compared to White families (Simmons & O’Neill, 2001). From 20% to 40% of Asian Americans aged 55 or older lived in the same household as their children, compared to 4.5% of non-Hispanic Whites (Kamo, 1998). Immigrants who do not speak English fl uently and are at least 60 years old when they move to the United States are more likely to live withfamily members (Wilmoth, 2001).
Japanese immigrants are less likely than immigrants from China, Taiwan, or India to live withfamily members. A family obligation value puts family concerns before one’s own needs. This value is oft en expressed as fi lial piety and has similar terms across Asian languages: xiao in Mandarin Chinese, haau in Cantonese, oya koko in Japanese, and hieu thao in Vietnamese. In traditional Asian societies, adult children were expected to provide care for their aging parents when they became too frail to take care of themselves. In this country, behavioral expressions of family obligation and fi lial piety are infl uenced by acculturation and may be a source of intergenerational confl ict (Asai & Kameoka, 2005; Wang & Gallagher-thompson, 2005). The responsibility to provide care for aging parents is not held as strongly by mainstream American culture; nearly three-fourths (73%) of AAPI adults believe that it is their children’s responsibility to care for aging parents, while less than half of all Americans (49%) endorse the same belief (AARP, 2003). 306 .
Asian American Psychology Grandparenting the relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren is an important, but understudied family relationship. Slightly over one-third of all Asian American respondents over age 65 reported that they looked aft er their grandchildren (Asian American Federation of New York, as cited in Yoon, 2005). Asian American grandparents have a high degree of involvement in the lives of their grandchildren. Anecdotal evidence from AAPI students at the University of Hawaii suggests that Asian American grandparents stay very involved in the upbringing of their grandchildren by doing such things as cooking their meals or taking them to and from school. There are diff erent patterns of co-residence within AAPI families. Upward co-residence occurs where the grandparents move into the household
