Mother-Adolescent Language Proficiency and Adolescent Academic and Emotional Adjustment Among Chinese American Families

This study examined the role of adolescents’ and mothers’ self-reports of English and heritage language proficiency in youth’s academic and emotional adjustment among 444 Chinese American families. Adolescents who were proficient in English tended to exhibit higher reading achievement scores, math achievement scores, and overall GPA. Mothers who were English proficient tended to have children with higher academic achievement and fewer depressive symptoms. Results also indicated that adolescents’ heritage language maintenance was associated with positive adjustment, particularly amongst foreign-born youth and for youth whose parents were highly proficient in the heritage language. Mother-adolescent match in heritage language proficiency was related to higher math achievement scores and overall GPA. Additionally, higher heritage language proficiency was associated with fewer depressive symptoms for foreign-born but not U.S.-born youth. Overall, the findings suggest that proficiency in both the English and heritage language may confer advantages to Chinese American youth.

Lisa L. LiuEmail:

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Lisa L. Liu   is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology Program at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she received her Masters in Clinical Psychology. Her research interests focus on the mental health of immigrant and minority families, including the role of parenting practices, parent–child relations, and socio-cultural factors on youth adjustment. Aprile D. Benner   is a postdoctoral fellow at the Population Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her Ph.D. in Education at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research interests center on adolescent development of low-income and minority youth, specifically investigating how adolescents navigate transition experiences in the early life course and how social contexts influence development. Anna S. Lau   is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles where she also received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. A major objective of her research is to enhance the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for ethnic minority families and children at risk of parenting and child behavior problems. She has authored over 30 articles in the fields of children’s mental health services, child maltreatment, and minority family adjustment. Su Yeong Kim   is an Assistant Professor in the School of Human Ecology, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of California, Davis. Her research interests include the role of cultural and family contexts that shape the development of adolescents in immigrant and minority families in the U.S.