Intergenerational Support in Chinese Immigrant Families: The Influences of Grandparent Support, Cultural Values, and Orientations on Parenting Stress

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study explored the complex ways in which grandparent support, collectivism, and cultural orientations predict parenting stress in Chinese immigrant families in the United States. In particular, the focus was on understanding whether cultural values and orientations moderated the impact of grandparent support on parenting stress. The sample for this study included 256 Chinese immigrant mothers with children under age 5 living in the United States. The surveys were administered via online modalities. The results of the research indicated that both grandparent support and collectivism uniquely predicted decreased parenting stress. In addition, collectivism and Chinese cultural orientation moderated the association between grandparent support and mothers’ parenting stress, such that the association between grandparent support and parenting stress was stronger for those mothers with high collectivism and stronger Chinese cultural orientation. These results provide a unique perspective on understanding individual variations in kin support for this population of mothers and point to specific family contexts in which grandparental care may be particularly beneficial as an intergenerational support system.