The Experience of Bicultural Conflict by Vietnamese Adolescent Girls in Greater Vancouver
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE EXPERIENCE OF BICULTURAL CONFLICT BY VIETNAMESE ADOLESCENT GIRLS IN GREATER VANCOUVER Jean Monica Mogg Cert. Advanced Nursing Ed., University of Edinburgh, 1969 B.A. (Soc/Cmns.), Simon Fraser University, 1978 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS (WOMEN'S STUDIES) in the Department of Women's Studies @ Jean Monica Mogg 1991 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY October, 1991 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name : Jean Monica Mogg Degree: Master of Arts Title of Thesis: The Experience of Bicultural Conflict by Adolescent Vietnamese Girls in Greater Vancouver. Examining Committee: Chairperson: Mary Lynn Stewart, Ph.D. Senior Supervisor Arlene McLaren, Ph. D. Phyllis Johnson, Ph.D. External Examiner, School of Family and Nutritional Sciences, University of British Columbia Date Approved: 2 o$/ - ii - PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis, project or extended essay (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Author: (signature) (date) ./ ABSTRACT Studies on the acculturation of immigrants and refugees have been particularly concerned with the experiences of -<-- -<-- adults to the detriment of children and adolescents. Research which focus on the experiences of adolescent to a few studies. This thesis examines the $cculturatiqn experiences of a group of twenty-two -- "/. adolescent ~ietnamesegirls of Chinese ethnicity living in the Greater Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada. Semi-structured interviews of approximately forty-five minutes each elicited information regarding the girls' perceptions of their adjustment to life in Canada. The data have been analyzed qualitatively with respect to the subjects' relationships with their families, and with the school and their peers. The focus of this research is on - - . - . - bicultural conflict, and the extent to which this conflict 7 - -- .- .-- -- - is felt by the girls varies. While some girls appear to ---._I_" have rejected completely their traditional culture, the majority have in fact attained bicultural identity. Findings from the study indicate that there is no single cause of conflict for the subjects interviewed. While the conflicts experienced can be classified as: (a) iii intergenerational, (b) authority, and (c)\ bicultural, the sources of conflict are related to: (a) misunderstandings in parent/adolescent communication patterns, (b) gender: particularly with respect to role evaluations, (c) the girls* relationships and mobility outside the home, (d) disparity in values between the girls and their parents, and (e) differential rates of acculturation between parents and their daughters. The findings indicate a link between the division of household labour and acculturation with respect to the girls' responsibility for housework and child care. While parents advocate delegating sizable amounts of housework and J child care to girls, where there are male siblings, conflict based on unequal expectations from household duties exists. The girls1 perceptions of unequal treatment in the family between themselves and their male siblings reflect other interpersonal and child rearing issues beyond the division of household tasks, but gender relations complicate this burden. This thesis argues that while Canadian adolescent girls generally, are confronted with choices related to traditional versus non-traditional values, these Vietnamese girls seem to be faced with the dilemma of coping with parental expectations and the appeal of adolescent culture as they strive to balance the norms and values of their Vietnamese culture with those of Canadian society generally. The combination of these elements appear,to contribute to adjustment difficulties for some girls. While the majority of subjects expressed traditional views regarding the primacy of family life, these girls also have plans to combine their occupational and family roles, and they indicate their awareness of structural changes in gender relations in Canadian society, especially with respect to the growing impact in selective families on the traditional division of labour in the home. The Vietnamese girls who were youngest upon their arrival in Canada appear to experience a greater degree of bicultural conflict. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to offer my appreciation to Dr. Mary Lynn Stewart and Dr. Arlene McLaren for being very supportive throughout the process of writing this thesis. In particular, my warmest thanks are due to Dr. Stewart whose persisting encouragement and guidance were indispensable to the completion of this work. Also, her seminar on Women in Cross Cultural Perspective was most enlightening. I am greatly indebted to Dr. Morton Beiser for providing access to his sample of Indochinese families from which the subjects interviewed for this thesis were drawn. Dr. Beiser always made time for reviewing my early drafts, and his opinions in our discussions were invaluable to my understanding of many issues related to the topic. Likewise, my gratitude to both Dr. McLaren and Dr. Beiser for their helpful and valuable advice and guidelines during the months Dr. Stewart was out of the country. Dr. McLarenls critiques regarding gender socialization were timely and helpful, and her patience is greatly appreciated. Thanks are also due to Dr. Meredith Kimball for her \ advice on questionnaire development, to Dr. Susan Wendell for her course on Feminist Research Methodology, and to Dr. Yuwa Wong for facilitating my participation in his seminar Ethnic Minorities in Canada. The cooperation of several other person was essential to this project. very grateful to my participants, all of whom so generously gave of their time and interest. I owe special thanks to Ms. Stella Nhung Le Thi Davis, of Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia, for introducing me to the Vietnamese Women's Support Group, and for providing Vietnamese pseudonyms for the girls interviewed for this thesis. My warmest thanks to Ms. Eve Szabo, Senior Librarian, W.A.C. Bennett Library, S.F.U., for her kind assistance in the initial computer searches relevant to the thesis topic. I am also grateful to Dr. Peter Lomas for his suggested reading list on Vietnamese culture, and to Dr. Stanley Knight for providing useful information on the initial adjustment difficulties of a group of Vietnamese families in Vancouver. Ms. Jane Culper, Librarian, New Westminster Public Library, also merits my warmest thanks for help in locating material specific to Vietnamese culture. Finally, my appreciation to Ms. Sandy Shreve and Ms. Gail Stephens of the Women's Studies administrative office vii for always making time for my requests and keeping me informed of relevant issues at S.F.U. viii DEDICATION To the memories of my mother Florence Mae Gordon-Mogg, and my grandmother Martha Lawrence-Gordon who modeled love, compassion, initiative, and independence. TABLE OF CONTENTS APPROVAL . ii ABSTRACT ....................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . , . vi DEDICATION ...................... ix TABLE OF CONTENTS . X LISTOFTABLES .................... xii PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE . xiii CHAPTER 1 . INTRODUCTION . 1 Context of the Research Problem . 2 Scope and Focus of the Study . 4 Review of the Literature . 7 Cultural Values of the Vietnamese . 8 Adolescent socialization . 12 Acculturation Processes and Ethnic Identity . 17- Feminist Analyses of Gender Socialization . , . 24 Research Design and Methodology . 33 Conclusion. ................... 40 Guiding Hypotheses . , . 41 CHAPTER 2 . , . , . 43 THE GIRLS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE RELATIONSHIPS IN THE FAMILY. 43 Relationships with Mothers and Fathers: Responses to Parental Authority and Expectations . 44 Domestic Role and the Division of Labour in the Family . 56 Relationships with Siblings . 59 Balancing Leisure Activities and Friendships with Domestic Demands . , . 68 Conclusion . , . , . , . , , . 75 CHAPTER 3. , . 78 RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SCHOOL AND PEERS ., . 78 Attitudes to Education and Achievement orientation ................. 80 Aspirations and Plans .............. 94 Expectations Regarding Occupational Role and Family Life ................. 104 Conclusion .................... 111 CHAPTER 4 ....................... 114 ACCULTURATION ATTITUDES AND ETHNIC IDENTITY . 114 Adjustment to Personal Issues and Concerns .... 115 Ethnic Identity and the Vietnamese Adolescent Girl .................... 123 Adjustment to Canadian Society .......... 130 CONCLUSION AND FINDINGS ................ 137 APPENDIX LIST OF REFERENCES .................. 154 LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1. Household Composition of Parents and Adolescent daughters . 34 xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Researchers have not yet adequately explored the acculturation experiences of the Vietnamese families who began arriving in Canada during the mass departure following the Vietnam War. This Nexodusllpeaked during the mid 1970's and early 1980's. Since few studies