Eye of the tiger: Study finds Asian-American mums really are fearsome
Healthwise
'Tiger mum' Amy Chua, who caused a ruckus with her parenting memoirBattle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, may just have been vindicated by a Stanford University study.
Asian-American “tiger mothers” may be better at motivating their children to complete difficult tasks, but children raised by European-American mothers could be described as more independent.
Those are some of the findings of a new study that builds on the conversation started in 2011 when self-proclaimed tiger mum Amy Chua penned a controversial parenting memoir, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, which was criticised for typecasting Asian mothers as unforgivingly strict and demanding.
For their study, published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, researchers from Stanford University asked high school students to describe their relationships with their mothers, and challenged them to a series of tasks that were designed to make the students fail. The objective was to test the kids’ levels of motivation and perseverance.
When instructed to think about their mothers, students of Asian-American mums were observed to be more motivated to complete a task despite experiencing failure, compared to students born to Western or European-American mums. In fact, these students performed better when prompted to think about themselves during the exercises.
The fundamental difference: Children of Asian-American mums draw on their connectedness to their mothers to overcome difficulties, while children of Western mums view themselves as independent. “In European-American contexts, overcoming failure is a personal project, not a group project,” researchers said.
Another notable finding: While children of Western mums considered the pressure they get from their mothers as negative, students of Asian-American mums said they still feel supported by their mothers regardless of the pressure they experienced.
Researchers also say their findings extend beyond the home, as kids from Asian-American mothers are more likely to observe hierarchy and respect the authority of a teacher than European-American students.
It’s the latest study to come from the “tiger mum” controversy. Findings out of Michigan State University found that high-achieving Chinese students were more depressed and anxious than their Caucasian peers. The 2012 study emphasised the importance of rearing happy children more than academic scholars. – AFP Relaxnews
http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Family/NewsAndEvents/2014/05/25/Eye-of-the-tiger/
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