Family Supports of Southeast Asian Refugee Children upon Kindergarten Entry.
Author(s):
Mueller, Daniel P.
Format:
Conference presentation
Publisher:
1993.
Language:
English
Abstract:
Comparing Hmong families with other ethnic or cultural groups (whites, African-Americans, Hispanics, and other Asians), this study examined family-related supports and risks in a low-income, ethnically diverse sample of 242 children entering kindergarten in St. Paul, Minnesota. All kindergarten children from 23 kindergartens in 6 elementary schools who attended Head Start for at least 3 months were eligible for inclusion in the study, and 121 chose to participate. A subsample of 121 children who did not attend Head Start was drawn from the same kindergarten classrooms. Family risks and supports were assessed by interviewing a parent or primary caretaker of the child (usually the mother) in the family's home. Measurements included family type, parent education, family status and instability, parents' psychological distress or well-being, family income adequacy, family social support, parent expectations, and parents' gender role beliefs. Analysis indicated several advantages for Hmong children, which included a two-parent family structure with relatively low stress and instability, high parental expectations, and strong social support networks. Disadvantages included families' difficulties in providing for the basic needs of their members, low parental education, and nonegalitarian gender role beliefs. The sample used in this study will be followed longitudinally as part of the evaluation of the Head Start Public School Early Childhood Transition Demonstration Project. (MM)