Experiences of Chinese Parents and the Triple-P Positive Parenting
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THE EXPERIENCES OF CHINESE PARENTS AND THE TRIPLE-P POSITIVE PARENTING PROGRAM by Monica Hoiky Lam Hon. BSc, University of Toronto, 2009 BSW, York University, 2017 An MRP presented to Ryerson University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work in the Program of Social Work Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2019 © Monica Hoiky Lam 2019 AUTHOR'S DECLARATION FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF A MRP I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this MRP. This is a true copy of the MRP, including any required final revisions. I authorize Ryerson University to lend this MRP to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research I further authorize Ryerson University to reproduce this MRP by photocopying or by other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I understand that my MRP may be made electronically available to the public. ii ABSTRACT Experiences of Chinese Parents and the Triple-P Positive Parenting Program Master of Social Work, 2019 Monica Hoiky Lam Program of Social Work, Ryerson University This qualitative research study explores the experiences of two Chinese mothers who have taken one or more sessions of the Triple-P Positive Parenting Program. Utilizing a narrative methodology to inquiry, semi-structured interviews were conducted to answer the central research question: What are the experiences of Chinese parents who have taken one or more Triple-P sessions, in relation to the socio- political, historical and cultural factors that influence their lives? Data analysis draws from Anti- Oppression and Critical Race Feminism theoretical frameworks. The findings in this study provides insight to the successes, and challenges/needs/concerns of parenting interventions and its practices for the Chinese community. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to acknowledge Wei and Han for sharing their experiences, time and energy with me, and contributing to an important understudied area of research. I would also like to acknowledge and thank Gordon Pon, my research supervisor, who guided and encouraged me throughout this research process. To my parents Angela and Michael, thank you for parenting the way you do, and being there for me through thick and thin. I would like to acknowledge my son, Mason Blas. Without you, my passion for social work would have not unfolded. Thank you for being my biggest cheerleader! I love you. Lastly, to everyone in my life who contributed to shaping who I am as a person today and my passion in critical social work: my social work colleagues, Jo-Anne Maharaj, Kenny Lo, Janice Russell, Jim Milankov, Chrisoula Milankov, Spiro Milankov, Vienna Chan-Yensen, Helen Simopoulos, Purnima George, Grandma Jean, and my colleagues and visitors/participants from the Krasman Centre, Blue Door, and LOFT-Crosslinks. Without you all in my life, I would not have found myself. Thank you iv DEDICATION I dedicate this research to all those who identify as parents. You are enough. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction Page 1 Chapter 2: Literature Review Page 5 Chapter 3: Theoretical Frameworks Page 14 Chapter 4: Methodology Page 20 Chapter 5: Findings Page 25 Chapter 6: Discussion and Analysis Page 38 Chapter 7: Conclusion Page 48 Appendices Page 54 Reference List Page 63 vi LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A – Recruitment Flyer Page 54 Appendix B – Email Recruitment Script Page 55 Appendix C – Consent Form Page 56 Appendix D – Interview Guide Page 61 vii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION This study utilizes a narrative approach to explore the experiences of Chinese parents who have taken one or more sessions of the Triple-P Positive Parenting Program (Triple-P). The purpose of this research is to hear Chinese parents’ stories of the successes and challenges/needs/concerns of the Triple-P program, while taking into consideration the external factors outside of Triple-P that shape their lives. Thereby, answering the central research question: What are the experiences of Chinese parents who have taken one or more Triple-P sessions, in relation to the socio-political, historical and cultural factors that influence their lives? Triple-P is “number one on the united nations’ ranking of parenting programs,” based on its extensive evidence base (Coyne, 2015, n.p.). Triple-P is an evidence-based (Grietens, 2013) universal parenting program (Sawrikar & Katz, 2014) developed by Matthew Sanders, a clinical psychologist from Australia (Sanders, 1999). It is a multi-level program that services parents with children from birth to the age of 12 (Leung, Sanders, Leung, Mak, & Lau, 2003a). According to Leung et al. (2003a), this multi- level program can range from “useful parenting information through a coordinated media campaign” to eight-to-ten sessions “for children with more serious behaviour problems” (p. 532). This professional-led program aims to increase parental strategies and knowledge, so parents “are empowered to be agents for child socialisation” (Chan, Leung, & Sanders, 2016, p. 39). In emphasizing the important role of parents in their children’s lives, Wade notes that, “Effective parenting promotes the socialisation of children who are more likely to be well adapted and less likely to experience school failure, anti-social behaviours, psychopathology and delinquency” (as cited in Chan et al., 2016, p. 38). Thus, in Triple-P, the emphasis is placed on altering “unrealistic or dysfunctional parental cognitions” (Leung et al., 2003a, p. 532), with the expectation that parents obtain “skills of self-monitoring, self-determination of goals, self-evaluation of performance and self-selections of change strategies in the Triple P programmes” (Chung, Leung, & Sanders, 2015, p. 340). 1 This professional-led program used to educate Chinese parents has made parenting an object of professional intervention and surveillance (Lam & Kwong, 2012). Proper parenting has been constructed in accordance to scientific ideologies and paradigms, which are typically products of Western and European masculine knowledge that dictate how parents should be parenting; rendering what is best for their children (Ambert, 1994). Professionals disseminate this positivist knowledge while working to educate parents on “proper” parenting skills through evidence-based programs, thereby this action legitimizes these professionals “to popularize the ideology that childrearing is not a self-sufficient and self-sustaining act but requires parents to act in ways that promote children’s well-being and functional behavioural development” (Lam & Kwong, 2012, p. 65). Regulating parenting individualizes and pathologizes parents by placing them outside of what is considered the norm; hence, this viewpoint implies that parents need to conform by attending groups run by professionals. As a result, evidence- based programs, such as Triple-P, privileges the expert’s knowledge and silences the parent’s lived experiences. In contradistinction to hegemonic Western notions of “proper” parenting, this study presents a different perspective on the lives and experiences of Chinese parents, and queries how the dominant discourse of parenting may be imposed on parents and service providers. Challenging discourses surrounding a universal approach to parenting will allow practitioners to work with parents in a less oppressive way. In turn, practitioners are less likely to adopt a lens whereby they inadvertently blame, individualize, pathologizes or impose social norms onto a parent. Instead, practitioners can recognize the context of a parent’s life and externalize their stories, which separates the parent from the problem. This study makes visible to social workers and professionals the multiple, fluid and complex nature of a Chinese parent’s lived experiences, and how parenting has been widely produced as a legitimate form of knowledge. As professionals, our status allows us to determine what parents need, what interventions look like, and how such interventions should be provided. Therefore, how we frame what “good” parenting means, can lead us to particular interventions or solutions, which ignores the 2 complexity of a parent’s life, and the structural and systemic oppression they face. We further harm, silence, and oppress parents if we chose to ignore these larger complex forces that shape their lives. There is a lack of research on the Chinese population and Triple-P. Empirical studies through quantitative and mixed-methods approaches dominate the extant literature on Chinese parents and Triple- P. Hence, this study aims to challenge essentialized notions of parenting perpetuated through Western- Eurocentric patriarchal parenting programs by utilizing a narrative approach to qualitative inquiry with Chinese parents, whose voices are underrepresented in the Triple-P literature. This study conducted two one-on-one qualitative semi-structured interviews with Chinese parents living in the Greater Toronto Area. To respond to the gaps and limitations of the extant literature on Chinese parents and Triple-P, this study adopts a critical epistemological paradigm utilizing Anti-Oppression and Critical Race Feminism theoretical frameworks to inform it. A thematic analysis is used as the analytic strategy for the narratives collected. The key themes that emerged in the study are the following: “better” parent/“good” mother; successes and challenges of Triple-P; the “right way”; the Triple-P program and cultural appropriateness; gender roles and patriarchy; resources;