Rohner, R.P. & Pettengill, S.M. (1985, April). Perceived parental acceptance-rejection and parental control among Korean adolescents. (Special issue: Family development and the child). Child Development, 56(2), 524-28.

OVERVIEW

Previous research reveals that parental warmth (acceptance and rejection) and parental control are "two major dimensions of parenting in all human societies." Though the two dimensions may be independent, further research indicates a significant relationship. Studies of American children show that perceived parental warmth inversely relates to parental control. The more parental control, the less the child feels parental acceptance (and more parental rejection).

However, some culturally diverse studies have found that this is not always so. In a culture that emphasizes the family, obedience to authority, and deference to elders, parental control directly relates to parental warmth (acceptance). Such is the case in Korea:

All members of the Korean family are responsible for the protection and promotion of the family’s welfare. Parents fulfill this obligation by firmly guiding the behavior of their offspring and by being intimate participants in any decision that affects either the individual or the family...Consequently, decisions that are usually considered to be ‘individual matters’ in the United States are often subject to family scrutiny and approval in Korea. For instance, choosing one’s academic major, career, and spouse entails family—particularly parental—involvement.

It is also understood that Korean parenting follows the maxim, "strict father, benevolent mother." The father’s role is task-oriented and emphasizes guidance, discipline, and instruction. The mother is more intimate with the child, a result of her function as emotional monitor and healer.

DESIGN

Self-report questionnaires (Parent Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire and Children’s Report of Parental Behavior Inventory) were carefully translated to Korean and administered in two high schools in Seoul, Korea to one hundred twenty-five students. Age range was 15 to 18, with mean age of 16.5. Gender differences were minimal, so resulting scores were combined (62 male and 63 female).

Analysis of validity coefficients support the questionnaires’ reliability and validity. Students responded to questions with four-point, Likert scale ranging from "almost always true" to "almost never true."

FINDINGS

As parental control increases so does students’ perception of parental warmth for both parents. Korean students view parents who are in control to be more warm and accepting than lenient parents.

One seemingly contradictory result shows that paternal control correlates with acceptance, while "strict" maternal control is a sign of maternal rejection. This finding may be explained by the "strict father, benevolent mother" ideology. It should be understood that Korean culture underwrites paternal control and maternal warmth. When mothers offer greater control than culturally acceptable (and are less warm) children perceive that behavior as parental hostility and rejection.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, parental control solicits decision-making authority of the parents (especially the father) in all areas of family, including the child’s. The "distant" love of the father is expressed through the proximity of decision-making.

This type of family and control seems antithetical to American ideas of freedom and individualism. Such ideas prevail in American institutions such as education and media. Notes the study: "The picture is very different, however, in Korean and in other socio-cultural systems where the legitimate right and responsibility of parents to exert authority over their children is unquestioned by children and adults alike."

IMPLICATIONS

1. Cultural differences between American and Korean views may hinder adjustment for Koreans immigrating to America.
2. Contradictory ideologies often cause conflict in Korean-American children of Korean immigrants. Schools, peers, and the media provide an American view of parenting and family that opposes the traditional Korean (Confucius) parenting style.
3. Such conflict may instill confusion in the adolescent who is dealing with self-definition and identity formation. Caught between two worlds, the young person is forced accept one and reject the other or forge an integrated Korean-American cultural identity.