In line with previous studies (Bishop & Leadbeater, 1997, Chan, 1994; Guadin,
Polansky, Kilpatrick, & Shilton, 1993; Jackson, 2009; Kotch et al., 1997; Kotch, et al.,
1999; Li, Godinet, & Arnsberger, 2011; Williamson, Borduin, & Howe, 1991), the
current study showed that there was a statistically significant negative association
between social support and risk of child maltreatment among Asian American immigrant
parents without accounting for parenting stress and other control variables. However,
with both parenting stress and other variables controlled, the negative relationship
between social support and risk of child maltreatment was found to be statistically
insignificant. Furthermore, contrary to the hypothesis, the moderation effect of social
support in relation to parenting stress and risk of child maltreatment was not statistically
significant. Hence, the current study was unable to support the buffering model of social
support on parenting stress in relation to risk of child maltreatment among Asian
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The findings from the current study can be understood in following ways.
Firstly, some Asian American immigrant parents may be reluctant to call on their
social support networks in time of parenting stress. In general, Asian cultures promote
collectivism and are believed to encourage interdependence in relationships with family
members and/or other social networks. However, a number of studies that examined the
cultural differences in use of social support proposed counterintuitive cultural patterns
indicating that Asians and Asian Americans may be less likely to rely on social support
and prefer different types of support compared to European Americans when they are
faced with stressful life problems.
For examples, Taylor et al. (2004) and Kim et al. (2006) found that contrary to the
general perception, Asian and Asian Americans were less likely to use social support for
coping with stress than European Americans. Kim and colleagues (2008) highlighted that
Asian Americans were less willing to openly seek support from close others than
European Americans and rather preferred to use a type of support that does not engage in
explicit disclosure of personal stressful events and distressful feelings. Taylor et al.
(2004) found that Asian cultural norms appear to discourage use of social support
networks for help in coping with stress or in solving personal problems since individual
goals are seen as means for promoting relationships in the Asian cultural context. In other
word, Asians and Asian Americans who view their help-seeking behaviors as
burdensome for their family members or other social networks, they may prefer not to
call on them for help in order to preserve the collectivistic value of promoting
harmonious relationships. Likewise, some Asian American immigrant parents may be
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members or other social networks. Therefore, they may be reluctant to rely on social
support. As Kim and colleagues (2008) found in their study, some Asian American
immigrant parents may not be willing to rely on social support since otherwise they may
lose face upon disclosing their personal stressful events or negative feelings to others. As
little attention has been shown in previous studies on the cultural differences in the
relationships between social support and risk of child maltreatment, the findings from the
current study suggest considering potential implications of cultural difference in
understanding the role of social support among Asian American immigrant parents.
Secondly, although previous studies mainly focused on the beneficial roles of
social support in dealing with stresses, Sangalang and Gee (2012) examined how the
social support and strains may be associated with depression and anxiety among Asian
Americans. In their study with the nationally representative sample of Asian Americans
(n=2,066), family support was associated with decreased odds of Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4TH ed., text rev.) criteria for both major
depressive disorder (MDD) and general anxiety disorder (GAD) both for men and women.
Interestingly, family strain was associated with increased odds of GAD both for men and
women whereas friend strain was associated with increased odds of GAD among women,
but not in men. This study indicates that the very relationships that provide social support
can also cause strains such as conflicts, feelings of obligations, and demands.
Furthermore, the study suggests that social support and strains are independent and
distinct concepts in that strain does not mean merely low social support. The findings
from Sangalang and Gee (2012) may explain weaker relationship between social support
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may be possible that the relationships providing social support for Asian American
immigrant parents also serves as strains that increases the level of parenting stress and
risk of child maltreatment.
Thirdly, in the current study, social support was measured by the
Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) which simply focuses on
caregiver’s perceived adequacy of social support from family, friends, and significant
other. Assessing the mere level of perceived social support may not grasp whether the
Asian American immigrant parents really use their social support resources and benefit
from them or not. Furthermore, the MSPSS may not be culturally sensitive in assessing
the perceived social support among Asian American immigrant parents. This suggest
future research to be conducted with more culturally sensitive measures which show
construct validity and reliability as well as capacity to consider Asians’ unique values,
attitudes, and cultures.
Lastly, the findings from the current study indicate that parenting stress has
shown a very strong relationship with risk of child maltreatment. Even after controlling
other variables, the significant relationship was substantiated. In order to moderate the
impact of parenting stress on risk of child maltreatment, the effects of social support
should be strong enough to exert buffering roles. However, as previously indicated, the
effect of social support in relation to risk of child maltreatment was attenuated and
became statistically insignificant after parenting stress and other control variables were
entered into the model. Therefore, it may be interpreted that the moderating effect of
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statistically strong enough to buffer the negative role of parenting stress which may exert
a strong impact on risk of child maltreatment among Asian American immigrant parents.
3) Parent’s Own Experiences of Abuse and Familiarity with Child Protective