Discussion of Internal States during Mother-child past and Future Talks in European-American and Chinese Immigrant Families: Relations to Children’s Self-development and Well-being

Research has suggested that during mother-child talk about personal experiences, discussion of internal states matters to children’s self-development and well-being. Yet different cultures hold different norms towards discussion of internal states. In the Western contexts, discussion of internal states is encouraged because such discussions are deemed to facilitate understanding of one’s preferences and desires and regulate one’s thoughts and emotions. Conversely, in the Eastern contexts, discussion of internal states is less valued because such discussions may be disruptive to interpersonal harmony. These differences suggest that culture may play a moderating role in the relations between mother-child discussion of internal states and children’s self-development and well-being. The present study sought to examine the relations between discussion of internal states during mother-child talk about past and future experiences and children’s self-development and well-being in European-American and Chinese immigrant families.

Participants were 54 European-American and 49 Chinese immigrant mother-child pairs. Children’s mean age was 8.1 years (45 boys). Each mother-child pair talked about two past events and two future events. Children described themselves in a self-description task. Mothers responded to the Behavioral Assessment System for Children.

Preliminary results showed that European-American mothers’ and children’s discussion of internal states predicted children’s personal self and well-being, both positively. Conversely, Chinese immigrant mothers’ and children’s discussion of internal states predicted children’s social self and well-being, both negatively.

The findings revealed culture-specific functions of mother-child discussion of internal states for self-development and well-being. Cultural boundaries of such discussions as positive meaning-making of personal experiences will be discussed.