Transition from East to West: Vietnamese Adolescents and Their Parents

A 28-item questionnaire assessing family values was completed by 191 Vietnamese and 639 Caucasian adolescents in Oklahoma City Public Schools and by about half their parents. Vietnamese refugee parents, regardless of time in the United States, strongly endorsed traditional family values. Vietnamese adolescents tended to reject traditional values. This generation gap increased with time in the United States and was greater girls than for boys. Despite wholehearted endorsement of traditional family values, Vietnamese parents tended approve certain adolescent privileges. The results suggest that Vietnamese adolescents may receive conflicting messages from their parents. On the one hand, parents endorsed such traditional values as absolute obedience parental authority but on the other, they registered relative approval of adolescent freedom of choice regarding dating, marriage, and career. Such ambivalence suggests that Vietnamese refugee families may experience considerable strain while adjusting to American values.