Immigrant Chinese Mothers' Socialization of Achievement in Children: A Strategic Adaptation to the Host Society

Beliefs about social mobility in young American children

Although actual experiences of upward social mobility are historically low, many adolescents and adults express a belief in social mobility (e.g., that social status can change). Although a belief in upward mobility (e.g., that status can improve) can be helpful for economically disadvantaged adolescents and adults, a belief in upward social mobility in adults is also associated with greater acceptance of societal inequality. While this belief might have similar benefits or consequences in children, no previous work has examined whether children are even capable of reasoning about social mobility. This is surprising, given that elementary-aged children exhibit sophisticated reasoning about both social status, as well as about the fixedness or malleability of properties and group membership. Across an economically advantaged group of 5- to 12-year-old American children (N = 151, Mage = 8.91, 63% racial majority, 25% racially marginalized; Mhousehold income = $133,064), we found evidence that children can reason about social mobility for their own families and for others. Similar to research in adults, children believe that others are more likely to experience upward than downward mobility. However, in contrast to adult's typical beliefs-but in line with economic realities-between 7- and 9-years-old, children become less likely to expect upward mobility for economically disadvantaged, versus advantaged, families. In sum, children are capable of reasoning about social mobility in nuanced ways; future work should explore the implications of these beliefs. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Despite harsh economic realities, a belief in upward social mobility and the American Dream is alive and well. Between 7 and 9 years of age, economically advantaged, American children begin to expect economically disadvantaged families to experience less upward mobility than economically advantaged families. Children's beliefs about social mobility better accord with reality than adults' do.

Parental Academic Socialization and Youth Adjustments: A Comparison of Korean Youth in South Korea, China, and the United States

Although parental academic socialization may be a product of culture, ethnic/racial minority status may play a significant role, above and beyond the impact of culture, in shaping parental academic socialization and its implications for youth adjustments. This study examined Korean youth living in South Korea (N = 524, Mage = 14.98, SD = 1.45, 50.1% female), China (N = 267, Mage = 15.24, SD = 1.66, 58.9% female), and the U.S. (N = 408, Mage = 14.76, SD = 1.91, 47.3% female) who share the same heritage culture but have different social positions (majority or minority). Korean youth as an ethnic/racial minority in the U.S. or China reported higher parental academic socialization than those in South Korea, supporting a significant role of social positions in how parents practice academic socialization. This study also found that the distinct practices of academic socialization function differently in youth adjustment. Parental commitment to education, parental involvement, and autonomy support were positively associated with youth's school engagement, but achievement-oriented psychological control was associated with more depressive symptoms and antisocial behaviors. These associations did not differ across the three samples. Some nuanced differences also emerged. Parental commitment to education was associated with higher grades in Korean Chinese (but not Korean American) youth, and achievement-oriented psychological control was associated with lower school engagement among Korean Chinese (but not South Korean) youth and higher grades among South Korean (but not Korean American) youth. These findings highlight the role of academic socialization as an adaptive strategy for ethnic/racial minorities to succeed in host societies and the generally universal role of parental academic socialization in youth adjustments.

What Motivates Chinese Mothers' Involvement in Adolescents' Learning? Longitudinal Investigation on the Role of Mothers' Expectations of Adolescents' Family Obligations and Adolescents' Academic Performance

(1) Background: Parental involvement in adolescents' learning generally benefits adolescents' development, thus highlighting the importance of investigating why parents involve. Specifically, Chinese parents are highly involved in adolescents' learning, which may be explained by their cultural beliefs. This longitudinal study provided a novel cultural understanding of the antecedents of Chinese mothers' involvement in adolescents' learning by examining the predicting effect of their expectations of adolescents' family obligations over time, with attention to how adolescents' academic performance moderated such effect. (2) Methods: Chinese mothers (N = 450; Mage = 39.52 years, SD = 3.96) of middle-school adolescents reported on their expectations of adolescents' family obligations at Wave 1 and their involvement in adolescents' learning twice over six months. Adolescents' academic performance (i.e., grade) was obtained from teachers. (3) Results: Chinese mothers who had greater expectations of adolescents' family obligations were involved more in adolescents' learning over time. Moreover, adolescents' academic performance moderated this longitudinal association, such that mothers' expectations only predicted their greater involvement among adolescents with high, but not low, academic performance. (4) Conclusions: These findings highlight the cultural understanding of parents' beliefs that motivate their involvement in adolescents' learning in a non-Western society, as well as the moderating role of adolescents' characteristics.

Longitudinal Links Between Parental Failure Mindsets, Helicopter Parenting, and Fixed Mindset of Intelligence in Adolescents

Evidence for the prospective associations among parental failure mindset, helicopter parenting, and children's intelligence mindset is lacking. This three-wave longitudinal study (12 months apart between waves) addressed this research gap by testing whether perceived maternal helicopter parenting mediated the link between perceived maternal failure mindset and intelligence mindset. Participants included 525 Chinese adolescents (47.2% girls, M_age = 15.41 years, SD = 0.22). Random-intercept cross-lagged analysis suggests that mothers with stronger failure-is-debilitating mindsets are more likely to engage in helicopter parenting, which may in turn contribute to stronger endorsements of a fixed mindset of intelligence in their adolescent children. The relation between maternal helicopter parenting and children's intelligence mindset appeared to be reciprocal, i.e., children's fixed mindset may elicit more helicopter parenting over time.