Parental Academic Socialization and Youth Adjustments: A Comparison of Korean Youth in South Korea, China, and the United States.

Although parental academic socialization may be a product of culture, ethnic/racial minority status may play a significant role, above and beyond the impact of culture, in shaping parental academic socialization and its implications for youth adjustments. This study examined Korean youth living in South Korea (N = 524, M = 14.98, SD = 1.45, 50.1% female), China (N = 267, M = 15.24, SD = 1.66, 58.9% female), and the U.S. (N = 408, M = 14.76, SD = 1.91, 47.3% female) who share the same heritage culture but have different social positions (majority or minority). Korean youth as an ethnic/racial minority in the U.S. or China reported higher parental academic socialization than those in South Korea, supporting a significant role of social positions in how parents practice academic socialization. This study also found that the distinct practices of academic socialization function differently in youth adjustment. Parental commitment to education, parental involvement, and autonomy support were positively associated with youth's school engagement, but achievement-oriented psychological control was associated with more depressive symptoms and antisocial behaviors. These associations did not differ across the three samples. Some nuanced differences also emerged. Parental commitment to education was associated with higher grades in Korean Chinese (but not Korean American) youth, and achievement-oriented psychological control was associated with lower school engagement among Korean Chinese (but not South Korean) youth and higher grades among South Korean (but not Korean American) youth. These findings highlight the role of academic socialization as an adaptive strategy for ethnic/racial minorities to succeed in host societies and the generally universal role of parental academic socialization in youth adjustments.