Family affection as a protective factor against the negative effects of perceived Asian values gap on the parent-child relationship for Asian American male and female college students.

The study examined whether family affection (i.e., affective responsiveness, affectionate communication, and affective orientation) protected against the negative effects of perceived parent-child Asian values gap on the quality of their parent relationships for 259 female and 77 male Asian American college students. Asian values gap was higher for women than men, and inversely related to a perceived healthy parent-child relationship for both genders. Participants rated the relationship with their mothers as more positive and affectionate than with their fathers. Both parents were reported to communicate more supportive affection than verbal and nonverbal affection. Affective responsiveness was identified as a protective factor in the father-son relationship whereas verbal affection protected the mother-daughter relationship. The study also revealed that daughters' affective orientation had beneficial effects on the father-daughter relationship at lower levels of Asian values gap. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.