Acculturation-related Intergenerational Conflicts (A-IC) in Chinese Immigrant Family: A Post-Intentional Phenomenological Research Inquiry
Open Access DepositedThe Asian population is the fastest-growing race and ethnicity in the United States, with a growth rate of 212.9% over 50 years, the highest of any single population group in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020). Asians comprised 6% of the total U.S. population in 2020 and will reach 8% in 2050 (U.S. Census Bureau 2020). The largest Asian subgroups include Chinese Americans, with a reported population of 2.4 million (U.S. Census Bureau 2020). With the significant increases in international migration and the growth in the population of Chinese immigrant families in the United States, understanding acculturation processes and their associations with family functioning and youth distress is vital. Due to the lack of research on the phenomenon of Chinese immigrant families, acculturation, intergenerational conflict, and psychological functioning, the current study investigated the experience of A-IC among second-generation Chinese immigrant adult children through a qualitative approach.A purposeful and snowball sampling method was used to screen individuals who identified as second-generation Chinese immigrants (n=5). Five individuals were interviewed to examine the phenomenon of living in the United States and one’s position as a second-generation Chinese immigrant. The interviews consisted of two phenomenological interviews and one hermeneutic interview. A total of 15 transcripts were generated. The data analysis was conducted throughout the data collection in alignment with the post-intentional phenomenological approach. The whole-part-whole analysis approach that Vagle (2018) adapted from Van Manen’s (2014) processes for phenomenological analysis was adopted. The analysis from the current research resulted in domains and themes, including intergenerational interactions, balancing expectations and roles, and psychological well-being and coping. Intergenerational interactions consisted of daily life tasks, education and career, parental relationships, emotional expression, and power differentials. Balancing expectations and roles consisted of gender roles, intermediators, Chinese and American, and children of the family and individuals. Psychological well-being and coping consisted of family dysfunction, shame and pride, maturity, and external resources. These themes provided contextualized and various ways in which second-generation Chinese immigrant adult children made meaning of their experiences of A-IC. The result contributed to a comprehensive understanding of A-IC, revealing that interactions with parents contributed to A-IC. For Chinese immigrants, navigating acculturation and the acculturation gap was the experience of balancing different expectations and roles and supporting their mental health in a multi-generational immigrant family. It also offered a more holistic understanding of the mechanisms that enabled Chinese immigrant families to navigate and overcome the challenges created by A-IC. The findings reinforced the understanding of some challenges during the acculturation and development of Chinese immigrants as fluid and highlighted the continual negotiation and self-reflection in these individuals.
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