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''Tiger'' parenting, as described by Amy Chua [2011], has instigated scholarly discourse on this phenomenon and its possible effects on families. Our eight-year longitudinal study, published in the <i>Asian American Journal of Psychology</i> [Kim, Wang, Orozco-Lapray, Shen, &#38; Murtuza, 2013b], demonstrates that tiger parenting is not a common parenting profile in a sample of 444 Chinese American families. Tiger parenting also does not relate to superior academic performance in children. In fact, the best developmental outcomes were found among children of supportive parents. We examine the complexities around defining tiger parenting by reviewing classical literature on parenting styles and scholarship on Asian American parenting, along with Amy Chua's own description of her parenting method, to develop, define, and categorize variability in parenting in a sample of Chinese American families. We also provide evidence that supportive parenting is important for the optimal development of Chinese American adolescents.

AbstractUsing 3 waves of longitudinal data from 444 Chinese American adolescents (Mage = 13.04 at Wave 1, 54% identified as women), the current study explored if there was variation in discrimination trajectories from early to late adolescence and whether contextual and individual factors predicted trajectories as well as if trajectories were associated with academic achievement and mental health. Three distinct discrimination trajectories were identified: low‐increasing, moderate‐stable, and high‐decreasing. The results also revealed that neighborhood Chinese concentration and adolescents' acculturation predicted discrimination trajectories. Different trajectories were also associated with depressive symptoms; adolescents in the high‐decreasing trajectory reported higher levels of depressive symptoms in late adolescence than in the other two trajectories. The findings highlight the heterogeneity in Chinese American adolescents' discrimination experience.

Despite being portrayed as model minorities, Chinese American adolescents still face challenges of discrimination. Using data from 444 Chinese American adolescents (Mage = 13.04, 54% female), this study examined the independent and joint influence of individual cultural characteristics (adolescents' acculturation and enculturation) and contextual factors (parental discrimination experiences, neighborhood disadvantage, and ethnic concentration) on Chinese American adolescents' perception of discrimination experiences. Results showed that acculturation was associated with fewer discrimination experiences; yet, higher levels of neighborhood disadvantage were related to more youth discrimination. Mothers' discrimination experiences were associated with adolescents' discrimination experiences when adolescents retained more of their Chinese culture. The findings of the study highlight the importance of considering the interplay between contextual and individual factors in influencing adolescents' development.

This study examined whether Chinese American parents' acculturation and enculturation were related to parenting practices (punitive parenting, democratic child participation, and inductive reasoning) indirectly through the mediation of parents' bicultural management difficulty and parental depressed mood. Data came from a two-wave study of Chinese American families in Northern California. Mothers and fathers were assessed when their children were in early adolescence and then again in middle adolescence (407 mothers and 381 fathers at Wave 1; 308 mothers and 281 fathers at Wave 2). For both waves, we examined cross-sectional models encompassing both direct and indirect links from parental cultural orientations to parenting practices. We also used individual fixed-effects techniques to account for selection bias in testing model relationships at Wave 2. At Wave 1, via bicultural management difficulty and depressive symptoms, American orientation was related to less punitive parenting and more inductive reasoning for both parents, and Chinese orientation was related to more punitive parenting and less inductive reasoning for fathers. The findings indicate that bicultural management difficulty and parental depressed mood are important mechanisms to be considered when studying the relation between Chinese American parents' acculturation/enculturation and parenting.

AbstractObjectiveThe current study investigated the relation of various cultural stressors, parent–child alienation, and Mexican‐origin adolescents' internalizing symptoms at both between‐ and within‐person levels across the course of adolescence.BackgroundPositive parent–child relationships can be a critical buffer against cultural stressors for Mexican‐origin adolescents. However, it is unclear whether low levels of parent–child alienation (a) buffer the negative effects of different types of cultural stressors on internalizing symptoms and (b) function at the individual level more generally or during specific periods when adolescents experience high cultural stressors.MethodThe current study used a three‐wave longitudinal dataset of 604 Mexican‐origin adolescents (Wave 1: Mage = 12.41, SD = 0.97, 54% female, 75% born in the United States) and conducted multilevel regression analysis.ResultsAt the between‐person level, overall low parent–child alienation buffered the adverse effects of ethnic discrimination on anxiety and cultural misfit on depressive symptoms. There were no significant within‐person‐level interactions of parent–child alienation and cultural stressors on adolescent internalizing symptoms.ImplicationThe findings suggest that interventions should aim to reduce parent–child alienation throughout the course of adolescence to alleviate the impact of cultural stressors on internalizing symptoms among Mexican‐origin adolescents.