Acculturation-based and everyday parent–adolescent conflict among Chinese American adolescents: Longitudinal trajectories and implications for mental health.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine 2 types of conflict for Chinese American families that have not been integrated in previous literature: everyday conflict and acculturation-based conflict. We explored the relation between the 2 types of conflict over time and their associations with adolescent adjustment (i.e., anxiety/somatization, loneliness, depressive symptoms, and self-esteem). The sample consisted of 316 Chinese American adolescents (M = 14.8 years, SD = .73 at Wave 1) who participated in a 3-wave longitudinal study. The results showed that everyday and acculturation-based conflict are related and change in parallel over time. However, the 2 types of conflict are unique predictors of the 4 different indicators of psychological functioning. Results also suggested that psychological functioning is a better predictor of trajectories of conflict than vice versa. Taken together, the results highlight the importance of considering how the acculturation process contributes to parent-adolescent conflict regarding everyday issues and deeper cultural values.