Intergenerational Conflict, Ethnic Identity, and Their Influences on Problem Behaviors among Korean American Adolescents

[摘要] This dissertation study examined the relationships between intergenerational conflict and ethnic identity, and the negative outcomes of depression and behavioral problems among Korean American adolescents. The study addressed two distinct aspects of the intergenerational conflict - the indigenous aspect and the acculturation aspect. The indigenous aspect referred to the typical intergenerational conflict experienced by American adolescents due to their phase of development. The acculturation aspect examined unique manifestations of conflict related to the acculturation process of immigrant families. This dissertation study attempted to provide a better understanding of how these two specific aspects of intergenerational conflict contribute to depression and behavioral problems among Korean American adolescents. No scale that measured the acculuturation aspect of intergenerational conflict exsited. Thus, a new scale was developed to investigate this unique aspect. The study also investigated the effects of ethnic identity on these problems as a predictor and moderator. The study aimed to assess: (a) the relationship between intergenerational conflict (as affected by the adolescent developmental process and the acculturation process combined, and by each of these processes separately) and depression and behavioral problems; (b) the relationship between intergenerational conflict and ethnic identity; (c) the relationship between ethnic identity and depression and behavioral problems; and (d) the relationship between intergenerational conflict and depression and behavioral problems as moderated by ethnic identity. The study design was cross-sectional, and employed a convenience sampling method. The study participants were Korean American adolescents of junior and senior high school age, 14 to18 years old. The study included a pilot study, administered at two Korean churches in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to clarify any ambiguities or misunderstanding from the questionnaire and to psychometrically evaluate a new scale developed to measure acculturative conflict. The primary study was conducted at eleven Korean churches and one hakwon (private out-of-school studies institute) in Fairfax County, Virginia. The results indicated that two distinct aspects of intergenerational conflict and ethnic identity are important in understanding depression and behavioral problems among Korean American adolescents. This study contributed to our understanding of Korean youth as follow. First, it presented a new scale which measures a unique cultural aspect of intergenerational conflict among Korean American families. Second, the study demonstrated that acculturative conflict had a greater impact on depression and behavioral problems, compared to developmental conflict. Finally, the study provided evidence that ethnic identity moderated the effect of intergenerational conflict on depression. In addition, the results of this study suggest the need for further research in the area of ethnic identity and its unique relationship to psychosocial factors.

[发布机构] the University of Pittsburgh

[效力级别] behavioral problems