Parenting Styles May Affect Asian American Kids’ Well-Being

TOPLINE:

Asian American children are less likely to flourish, maintain regular bedtimes, and have moderate screen time than their White peers, with engagement in positive parenting practices like reading and storytelling being less frequent by their parents.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a secondary data analysis using the National Survey of Children’s Health data from 2018 to 2022, comparing second-generation and third- or later-generation Asian American children with third- or later-generation non-Hispanic White children (age, 0-5 years).
• A total of 42,846 participants (46.6% girls) were included, with 6.7% being second-generation Asian American, 1.3% being third- or later-generation Asian American, and 92% being White individuals.
• Participants’ parents completed the questionnaires regarding positive parenting practices and the child’s psychological well-being and health behaviors.
• Generational status was established on the basis of the birthplaces of the child and parents, categorizing the child as second generation if born in the United States to at least one foreign-born parent and as third or later generation if both the child and parents were born in the United States.
• Positive parenting practices included reading, storytelling or singing, and having family meals; psychological well-being included aspects such as flourishing, social-emotional development, and self-regulation; and the health behaviors of interest involved maintaining a regular bedtime and moderate screen time.

TAKEAWAY:

• Asian American children had lower engagement in regular reading, storytelling or singing, and having family meals with their parents than their White peers (P
• Second-generation Asian American children were less likely to flourish than White children (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.57; 95% CI, 0.52-0.63), with reduced mean scores observed for social-emotional development and self-regulation among children aged 3-5 years (P 
• The likelihood of having regular bedtimes was lower in second-generation (aOR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.69-0.92) and third- or later-generation Asian American children (aOR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.49-0.88) than in White children.
• The third- or later-generation were also less likely to have moderate screen time (aOR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.69-0.97).

IN PRACTICE:

“Although generational status is not amenable to interventions, programs to educate Asian immigrant parents about positive parenting practices could help reduce the gap in these practices across Asian American generations and racial and ethnic groups,” the authors wrote. “Promotion of [reading, storytelling, or singing parenting] practices among Asian immigrant parents may help improve the psychological well-being and health behaviors of their young Asian American children,” they added. An invited commentary noted, “Experiences with racial prejudice and socioeconomic disparities as a result of racism may increase stress levels among immigrant parents, which can then lead to negative parenting practices.”

SOURCE:

The study was led by Soyang Kwon, PhD, of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago. It was published online on January 13, 2025, in JAMA Network Open, along with an invited commentary by Hyeouk Chris Hahm, PhD, of the Boston University in Boston, and Brian TaeHyuk Keum, PhD, of the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College in Boston.

LIMITATIONS:

The lack of information on subgroups in the datasets limited the ability to disaggregate data on the basis of Asian ethnic subgroups. The cross-sectional design limited the ability to establish temporal relationships between parenting practices and child outcomes. The annual response rate was low, and potential unmeasured confounding factors could have influenced the study findings.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. No relevant conflicts of interest were disclosed by the authors.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.