Acculturation in Filial Practices Among U.S. Chinese Caregivers

In this article, we explore the phenomenon of acculturation in filial practices among 21 Chinese immigrants in a suburban city in the Midwestern United States using focus groups and individual interviews. All participants were situational reciprocal-filial caregivers who had acculturated into mainstream filial practices while preserving their heritage to deal with the challenges of parental care. Factors that influenced participants’ acceptance of new filial practices included comfort in accepting new practices, financial status, and past relationship with the care receiver. Their motivations to acculturate included being overwhelmed, a multitude of situational constraints from being an immigrant, access to and utilization of resources, and the need for a coordinated approach to filial responsibilities. Their filial motivations included love, honoring traditions, meeting personal values, and meeting social expectations. These findings provide insight for designing culturally competent training and immigrant caregiver education. Keywords: caregiving; caregiving, community-based (home care); caregiving, immigrants; caregiving, informal; Chinese culture; cultural competence; families