Parenting of Asian Adolescents: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade

Abstract

Parenting is often conceptualized as a mutual experience between parent and child, embedded within cultural contexts. Yet, existing literature is predominantly dominated by Western perspectives, leaving it unclear whether Western frameworks apply to Asian families and whether there are unique manifestations of parenting in Asian context. Given the consistent evidence of informant discordance in parenting, the articles included in this review required methodological and conceptual rigor by incorporating both adolescents’ and parents’ perspectives on parenting. This systematic review applies the Parenting in Cultural Context framework on 60 articles published in the past decade on parenting among Asian adolescents. Findings largely support hypothesized paths within the framework, supporting the applicability of the framework to Asian cultures. This review summarizes key Asian-culturally specific constructs (e.g., filial piety and training beliefs, strict-affectionate parenting styles) and highlights the role of acculturation-related factors in Asian American parenting. Moreover, informant discordance was found between adolescents’ and parents’ reports, as well as between mothers’ and fathers’ reports of parenting, which affected the influence of parenting constructs based on the informant. Results reinforce the cultural underpinnings of parenting in the Asian context and highlight the use of multiple family perspectives in capturing the full complexity of adolescent parenting experience.