Parenting is a universally accepted way of nurturing kids, practiced by parents all over the world. A study was done to examine the way Vietnamese parents raised their adolescent youth while in exile. It also looked into the experiences of the adolescents as a result of their parent’s nurturing styles.

The Study

The study was done in a small sample of refugee Vietnamese parents and involves conducting semi-structured interviews. It also involves several focus groups that consist of refugee parents and their adolescent kids. Four main themes were identified during the interviews. These include the role of siblings and extended family in raising the kids, cultural continuity, language acquisition, and religious and social support.

The Findings

Findings from the study suggest that the extended kin is directly involved in raising the adolescent kids. They help to provide additional ties and support. Parents have agreed that the acquisition of the Vietnamese language by their youth has greatly helped in cultural transmission and in facilitating the communication between extended kin.

A lot of parents have also stressed the importance of the religious community in socializing and coming up with a sense of belongingness among the youth. Vietnamese parents are longing to seek a balance between their extended family social network and their Vietnamese values. These parenting practices have led to the creation of resources that can help support the youth.

Effects of the Vietnam War

Knowing how long did the Vietnam War last can also aid in the findings of the study. One third of the parents involved in the study have suffered from a certain level of psychological distress in 1982. The war trauma was highly associated with mental health problems. Moreover, the poor mental health of the parents resulting from the war trauma has also been found to have direct effects on the mental health situation of their kids. Their traumatic experience has also resulted in consequences to their kids’ well-being. In this regard, researchers believe that there is a need for a better understanding of the cultural resources that can explain the resiliency of the Vietnamese youth.

Important Implications for Future Research

The findings from the study have significant implications for future research regarding resiliency as well as the role of these parental strategies as a protective factor in intervening with the mental health outcomes. These findings may also have effects on treatment, especially in terms of the type of resources to access for prevention strategies that can help to maximize the important cultural resources among the Vietnamese youth in refugee.

Studies have consistently shown that the parenting styles and practices are directly linked to the teens’ behavior and emotional development. Refugee parents have to deal with the stressors associated with the harsh experiences of trauma, torture, separation or death among family members during the Vietnam War. While in exile, the refugees have also experienced changes in their roles in the family, varying cultural expectations and language barriers. Parents in refugee also face similar challenges with the parents in the mainstream when it comes to raising their adolescent kids.