A phenomenological study of Korean American parents of 1.5-generation immigrant child
Despite a bulk of studies that have explored acculturation and psychological adjustment of immigrant children, research on Korean American (KA) parents’ parenting involvement and practices is scarce. We aimed to explore the phenomenon of childrearing practices and beliefs of KA parents in the U.S. are adjusted as a result of cultural changes. Participants were recruited from the Korean Christian Church using purposive sampling and snowball sampling. The data were analyzed using a phenomenological approach with both first and second cycle coding to examine the participant’s experiences, context, setting, and summary of the study’s major themes. Analysis of interviews identified three main themes in regards to parents’ perceptions of parenting practices: (1) Comparison of parenting in two cultures, (2) American parenting learned through child’s observation, and (3) self-reflection and reconstruction of parenting. This qualitative study provides unique insight into the KA parents’ parenting that is not only constructed but also reconstructed as they go through changes in social and cultural contexts.
