Parenting Stress and Social Support among Cross-national and Traditional Families

Abstract

As a result of globalization, the number of cross-national couples in the United States is on the rise. However, a primary conclusion of the past research on such marriages has been subsumed under general intermarriages. The results of these studies focused on the challenges confronted by couples in potential conflicts caused by their disparate cultural backgrounds. Place of residence, language issues, societal stereotypes, extended families, and cultural complexity were identified in most qualitative studies as stressors most likely to contribute to a greater levels of parenting stress.

A relatively small proportion of the literature in this area has focused on childrearing which was recognized as a flashpoint for more conflicts in these marriages. Thus, this study sought to compare the level of parenting stress and social support between cross-national and traditional families. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit 159 parents from both cross-national (82) and traditional (77) families in Western New York area. This study adopted the Parental Stress Scale (PSS), Family Support Scale (FSS), and self-developed questionnaire. Basic statistics and multiple regression analysis were applied. The results suggested parents from cross-national families do not experience higher level parenting stress comparing to their counterparts in traditional families. However, the number of children and cultural influences were found significantly related to parenting stress in cross-national families. In other words, the more children in a family and more distinct cultural difference between couples strongly contribute to the level of parenting stress among cross-national families.