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Ray Hwang is a 2012 graduate of the PsyD Program in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University, Santa Barbara

Keywords

Asian Americans, Father Son Relationship, Father Presence, Father Absences, Attachment, Involvement, Acceptance, Chinese Immigrants, Quantitative Study, Psychological Outcomes, Well-Being, Multicultural

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2012

Abstract

The present study examined the influence that father's residency status and father-child relational qualities have on adolescent psychological adjustment, behavioral outcomes, scholastic achievement, self-identity acculturation, and the subjective well-being of Chinese male immigrants from intact, two-parent households. The relational qualities of interest under investigation consisted of father-son attachment, father involvement, and father acceptance-rejection, from the phenomenological perception of children. A total of 86 participants were included in the overall multivariate analyses - 53 in the father present and 33 in the father absent group, respectively. Results indicate that father attachment positively predicts adolescent psychological adjustment in the father present group, independent of mother-child attachment. However, the importance of peer attachment to psychological health and subjective well-being is also observed. The protective effect that father attachment has against psychological maladjustment or personality disposition development is neutralized after adjusting for peer attachment, but not vice versa. In addition, father acceptance also positively associates with adolescent psychological adjustment, whereas father rejection increases the risks of negative personality dispositions. These findings are preliminary due to the small sample size and an overrepresentation of participants with higher educational background.

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