Working with Chinese families that practice corporal punishment: Moderating factors and cultural implications.

摘要

Corporal punishment (CP) has been an integral tool used by Chinese parents in raising their children. The primary focus of its utilization is to ensure that their children adhere to their role expectations as defined by their culture/society, and to maintain respect and honor within the family. However, with an increase in U.S. laws aimed at protecting children, Chinese immigrant families are struggling to balance their use of CP without encountering any legal consequences. Hence, there is much disparity in thinking in regards to "appropriate" disciplinary techniques between Chinese families and the mental health, social services, school, and legal professionals who work with them. Professionals may lack familiarity with the Chinese culture and the values behind the use of CP which can lead to the reporting of Chinese parents to authorities without fully understanding the context of the situation. Through the critique of the literature as well as qualitative interview data obtained from clinical experts, this dissertation examines the Chinese culture and values that encourage CP, cultural reasons for its use, the current U.S. laws pertaining to CP, the different arguments and perspectives on the pro's and con's of CP, and possible culturally-responsive treatment modalities. Both the overview of the literature and interviews have shown that CP can affect children in either a positive or negative way, and that there are many other contextual factors (i.e., reasons and purpose behind its use, and how it differs from "abuse") that must be considered to effectively work with Chinese families that practice CP. The implications of this dissertation is that there should be further culturally-informed training for professionals and outreach programs that serve Chinese families as well as other ethnic groups that utilize CP as a culturally-sanctioned practice. By bridging the cultural gap between Chinese families and professionals, there will be significantly increased efforts to define an alternative culturally congruent disciplinary method that balances the values of both the U.S. mainstream and Chinese societies. This will also aid in helping professionals be culturally-informed and competent service providers to an often misunderstood growing ethnic minority population.