Parental expressions of love in Chinese American immigrant families: Implications for children's attachment security

Abstract

Harlow's seminal work on the nature of attachment focused on the importance of warm, responsive, and loving relationships in children's healthy development. While the need for love and care is arguably universal, the ways in which these emotions are expressed can vary across cultural contexts. We examined how Chinese American parents’ expressions of love were associated with children's attachment security. A total of 110 Chinese American immigrant parent–child dyads (children 7–11 years old, 49% girls) participated in 3-min conversations in which parents were instructed to communicate love and care. Proposition-level analyses in speech (total 8825 propositions) identified three types of affection: training (guan and chiao shun); relational affection (qin); and validation (acceptance and encouragement of child's own expression of emotion, thoughts, and behaviors). Higher training was observed in parents with lower American orientation and lower income. Higher relational affection was observed in parents with lower income. Higher validation was observed in parents with higher income. Using path analyses, training and validation were found to be positively associated with children's attachment security beyond parenting styles. Effects of parents’ relational affection were moderated by children's American orientation. Results demonstrate how immigrant parents draw on multiple cultural scripts to express love and care. These findings expand traditional concepts of parental love in immigrant families and illustrate how bicultural expressions of love can shape attachment security in middle childhood. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://youtu.be/HqUfIDxkFsE

Research Highlights

• Analyses of parent-child discussions identified three parental affection styles (i.e., training, relational affection, and validation) as expressions of love and care in Chinese American immigrant families.
• Training and validation were positively associated with children's attachment security.
• Relational affection was associated with lower attachment security for children with higher American cultural orientation, suggesting the effects of parent–child expressions of love are shaped by acculturation.