Behaviour regulation in Chinese preschool children: Gender and cultural comparisons and relationships with parenting practices

Abstract

This thesis investigated gender differences in behavioural regulation in 4-year-old Chinese immigrant children (N = 53) and New Zealand European children (N= 50) living in Auckland. This study also examined relationships between maternal and paternal parenting practices and child behavioural regulation and behaviour problems in the Chinese immigrant sample. Children's individual behavioural regulation was measured with two executive function assessments: the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task (HTKS), which is a composite measure of executive function, and the Dimensional Change Card Sort task (DCCS),which measures cognitive flexibility and attention. Teacher reported classroom behavioural regulation data was collected with the Child Behaviour Rating Scale (CBRS). Both fathers and mothers in the Chinese immigrant sample completed questionnaires on parenting styles and practices using the 26-item version of the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) and parenting practices scales (Wu et al., 2002). Each parent also provided ratings of their child's behaviours on the Child Adjustment and Parent Efficacy Scale (CAPES; Morawska et al., 2014). In the Chinese immigrant sample, girls out performed boys on classroom behavioural regulation, while there were no gender differences in individual behavioural regulation. In the New Zealand European sample, girls scored higher than boys on individual behavioural regulation when measured with the DCCS, but no gender differences were found in classroom behavioural regulation or individual behavioural regulation when measured with the HTKS. Chinese immigrant children obtained significantly higher scores on the HTKS than New Zealand European children. Results of correlational analyses in the Chinese immigrant sample showed that maternal and paternal authoritarian parenting were associated with child behaviour problems. There were no significant relationships between parenting styles and practices and child behavioural regulation. Overall, the results provide new information about the gender patterns in classroom and individual behavioural regulation for 4-year-old Chinese immigrant and New Zealand European children. The study identified future research directions for investigating relationships between parenting variables and child behavioural regulation and behaviour problems in Chinese immigrant preschool children.