ERIC Number: EJ1258822
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1935-3308
EISSN: N/A
A Changing Relationship: Visiting Chinese Grandparents and Their Adult Children in the United States
Chen, Hao-Min; Lewis, Denise C.
Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research, v11 n2 p87-98 Win 2016
This study, informed by social constructionism and narrative theories, explored the relationship stories told by visiting Chinese grandparents and their adult children in a southern region of the United States. The purpose of this research was to create space for family members' explanations of their familial interactions and the meanings they ascribed to family relationships. We also investigated the impact of philosophical traditions and cultural contexts and the role such traditions and contexts had on intergenerational relationships and cultural dissonance. Six families (i.e., 6 grandparents and 11 adult children) originally from Mainland China were interviewed. All grandparents were temporarily residing with or near their adult children in the United States when the study was conducted. Semi-structured interviews and observations were analyzed and data indicated a changing relationship between grandparents and their adult children, compared with their traditional counterparts. We organized and presented data to draw attention to regularities that implicated cultural processes and included implications of culturally sensitive strategies for researchers working with this population.
Descriptors: Grandparents, Adults, Parent Child Relationship, Family Relationship, Asian Culture, Chinese Americans, Confucianism, Religious Factors, Generational Differences, Cultural Influences, Family (Sociological Unit), Parenting Styles, Attitude Change, Social Change, Context Effect
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A