THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENTING BEHAVIOR AND ETHNIC-IDENTITY IN CHINESE-AMERICAN AND CHINESE-AUSTRALIAN ADOLESCENTS

This study investigated the relationship between four types of parenting behaviour - warmth, control, monitoring, and autonomy-promoting - and two components of ethnic identity - ethnic behaviours/knowledge and ethnic pride - in first- and second-generation Chinese-American and Chinese-Australian high school students. As hypothesized, parenting behaviours did not predict levels of ethnic behaviour/knowledge, but ethnic pride was associated with family environments characterized as warm, controlling, and autonomy-promoting. Neither gender of respondent nor geographical location (United States or Australia) added significantly to the variance in ethnic identity. The study indicates that parenting practices contribute significantly to adolescents' sense of pride and positive evaluation of their ethnic heritage.