Perceived child behaviour problems, parenting stress, and marital satisfaction: comparison of new arrival and local parents of preschool children in Hong Kong

Shirley SL Leung, Cynthia Leung, Ruth Chan
Family Health Service, Department of Health, 18/F, Wu Chung House, 213 Queen's Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong

OBJECTIVE. To compare parental perception of child behaviour problems, parenting stress, and marital satisfaction in new arrival and local parents.

DESIGN. Cross-sectional survey; semi-structured interview.

SETTING. Maternal and Child Health Centres, social service centres, preschools.

PARTICIPANTS. Parents of preschool children, including new arrival parents and local parents.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES. Child behaviour problems, parenting stress, and marital satisfaction.

RESULTS. After controlling for socio-economic factors, new arrival parents were more troubled by their children's behaviour problems and their parent-child interactions were more dysfunctional than those of local parents. There were no differences in parent-reported severity of child behaviour problems, parental distress, and marital satisfaction. New arrival parents reported difficulties in adapting to the new living environment and lack of social support.

CONCLUSIONS. New arrival parents were more troubled by their children's behaviour, and their parent-child interactions were more dysfunctional than those of local parents. These might in part be related to their settlement difficulties. Parenting programmes should address their specific settlement needs.

Hong Kong Med J 2007;13:364-71

Key words: Child behavior disorders; Emigration and immigration; Marriage; Parenting; Stress, psychological