Date of Award
8-2004
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Communication
First Advisor
Dr. Maria K. Lapinski
Second Advisor
Dr. Leigh Ford
Third Advisor
Sue Ellen Christian
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Asian Indian immigrant women raising children in the U.S. as value contradictions between Asian Indian culture and U.S. culture. Relational dialectics in parent-child relationships among Asian Indian immigrant women and their children was also explored using the dialectcial perspective. Participants for the study were 20 Asian Indian women chosen randomly from the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek (MI) AI community who participated in one-one-interviews. Results of the study showed that participants experienced value contradictions in child-rearing. All four contradictions addressed in research on relational dialectics were also discovered in the context of the present study. Secondary tensions emerged for autonomy-connection, and judgment-acceptance dialectics. Finally, communication strategies used by the participants of the study were explored and it was determined that internal communication (within the mother-child relationship) was used more frequently by participants than external communication (with family, friends and others), and intrapersonal communication.
Recommended Citation
Akkoor, Chitra, "Dialectics in Mother-Child Relationships Among First-generation Asian Indian Women in the United States" (2004). Masters Theses. 4109.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/4109