Hmong American parent -adolescent problem -solving interactions: An analytic induction analysis
Author(s):
Xiong, Zha Blong
Format:
Thesis
Degree granted:
Ph.D.
Publisher:
Ann Arbor : University of Minnesota, 2000.
Pages:
188
Language:
English
Abstract:
Our knowledge about Euro-American family problem-solving has continued to accumulate each decade, but the research on family problem-solving in ethnic minority families, such as the Hmong, is still in its conception stage. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine how Hmong American family members conceptualize, communicate, and approach or avoid solving a hypothetical problem. Data for the present study are based on a sample of eighteen two-parent Hmong American families with their adolescent children. A modified analytic induction analysis approach is employed in order to compare data with the working hypotheses to address the three objectives: (a) Explore how family members conceptualize a hypothetical parent-adolescent problem; (b) discover family communication styles; and (c) identify family problem-solving processes. The results indicate that in more than 75% of the families, parents and adolescents did not conceptualize the hypothetical problem in the same way, based on their distinct values and concerns. During the family problem-solving interactions, even though the adolescents engaged in more turns-at-talk than their parents, parents, particularly fathers, tended to engage in longer talks when measured by time in seconds. The analysis of communications shows that even though parents and adolescents engaged in various negative communications, positive communications tended to outweigh negative communications, when a constant comparison was made case-by-case. During the family problem-solving interactions, Hmong American family members were less likely to follow a linear, unitary model because members of the family were more likely to be emotionally driven into the situation by other members of the family. The analysis also reveals that the most common problem-solving strategies used by family members during family problem-solving interactions were the one-solution outcome, multi-solution possibilities, and avoidance. Some implications for using the family ecology theory to understand Hmong American families, research contributions to the family science field, and education and intervention strategies to work with Hmong American families are presented.