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DISCUSSION
The purpose of this study was to explore Cambodian perceptions of child rearing and disciplinary practices that are considered appropriate or as child abuse and acculturation. The findings provided answers to the following research questions:
- What are the types of child rearing and disciplinary practices among Cambodians and the characteristics of physical and psychological maltreatment associated with those practices?
- What is the association of Cambodian perceptions of child disciplinary practices and the degree of acculturation?
- Does time of entrance into the United States make a difference in acculturation and child rearing practices?
- What is the association of demographic and descriptive characteristics with questions 1, 2, and 3?
Summary of Demographic Characteristics of the Sample
A high percentage of participants (95.9%) arrived in the United States in late 1979 or after, while only a small 4.1% arrived in early 1979 or before. According to Lucas (1993) and Rumbaut (1989), there are three different groups of Khmer refugees. The first group entered the United States between 1975 and 1978. Those who entered the United States in early 1979 are the second group and those who entered after 1979 are the third group. Based on the literature mentioned, the respondents in this study were mostly from the rural areas of Cambodia and were much less educated than those of the first group (Lucas, 1993; Rumbaut, 1989).
Most of the respondents were single; the others were either married or divorced or widowed. More than half of the respondents reported that their household consisted of two parents. Further, this finding is consistent with Ha (1994) and Nou-Meas (1998) where Cambodian family structures were found to be traditional two-parent households.
According to literature presented earlier in Chapter 2, Cambodians in Los Angeles County have very low education with many 45.0% having less than a 5th grade education and approximately 22.0% having 5th to 12th grade education but did not graduate from high school (U.S. Census of Population, 1990, as cited in United Way of Greater Los Angeles, 1996). However, the sample used in this study was slightly different because the majority were college students, thus inferring a higher level of education than the general Cambodian population. For instance, 28.0% of respondents reported having graduated from the university, while approximately 32% had at least some university or high school education.
According to the United Way of Greater Los Angeles (1996), 34.2% Cambodians are in the labor force while 13.7% are unemployed. Literature also showed that 51.1% of Cambodians received public assistance, and that 42% lived below the poverty line. In this study, more than half of the respondents (58.3%) reported that they were employed full-time or part-time, while 29.0% reported public assistance as their source of income. Only 10.0% of the respondents reported a family income of $60,000 or higher; the majority had a gross family income between 0 and $19,999. Once more, the inconsistency between the literature and the respondent employment in this study may be due to the fact that the majority of the respondents were college students. However, this finding is consistent with Ima and Hohm's (1991) findings that Cambodians are often dependent on public welfare, thus receive closer scrutiny by the social service agencies.
Summary of Respondents' Attitudes Toward Discipline of Children
The results in this section indicated that the majority of the respondents possessed very traditional Cambodian attitudes toward disciplining children. For instance, the majority of the respondents agreed with the following: that it would be a disgrace if a child yelled at his/her parents and that parents need to be strict to keep their children in line. Furthermore, most of the respondents felt that physical punishment is needed to teach children right from wrong and that parents should have the right to use any method of discipline with their children. Forty-four percent of the respondents agreed that the belief that parents abuse their children is absurd, thus inferring that physical discipline is not considered abuse. In fact, 40.0% of the respondents agreed that parents should have the right to use corporal punishment.
As indicated in Chapter 2, physical punishment such as twisting ears, pinching the face, kicking and beating, and hitting the head are acceptable forms of child rearing practices in many Asian groups (Wu, 1981). Ima and Hohm (1991) reported that Asian/Pacific Islanders are more likely to be charged with physical abuse and less likely to be charged with sexual abuse, emotional abuse, or neglect. Ha (1994) also discovered the same result in her study of Cambodian and Chinese families. Consistently, Nou-Meas' (1998) study of child abuse and neglect in the Cambodian Community found that physical abuse (60%) was the most common type of child maltreatment as well. Similarly, this study's findings also support the notion that physical punishment is acceptable disciplinary practice in the Cambodian culture, thus falling into abusive categories in the American child welfare system. Therefore, Cambodians are prone to higher reporting of child maltreatment.
As mentioned in Chapter 2, children are entitled to protection, education, and support from their parents who see that they make good marriages and provide for their futures through inheritance. Parents are given the right to exact obedience and respect from their children through any means, including punishment when necessary. Parents even have the right to approve or veto a child's marriage (Ebihara, 1974). Although the majority of the respondents in this study were fairly educated, most entered the United States at the age of 18 or older, thus indicating some level of exposure to traditional Cambodian values prior to their entrance. For instance, 60.0% agreed that parents have the right to decide what is best for their children, 32.0% of the respondents feel that time out and reasoning does not work with children, and that it is not acceptable for children to voice their opinion if they disagree with their parents. In addition, 16.0% felt that it is inappropriate for parents to accept faults.
Summary of Respondents' Methods of Discipline
The majority of the respondents reported that they would use reasoning; however, approximately 18% to 26% would use physical means if a child does the following: fails in school, refuses to share toys, refuses to clean his/her room, receives bad grades, and acts too young for his/her age, refuses to wash dishes, makes fun of others, cries a lot, tells parents a lie, draws on the wall, cheats on a test, does not do his/her homework, complains or is whiney, jumps on the sofa, runs away from home, disrespects adults or authorities, uses profanity, acts cruel to others, is truant from school, becomes suspended from school, refuses to go to school, smokes cigarettes, argues often with parents or other adults, or bites friends.
The findings in this section are consistent with the literature presented earlier in Chapter 2. For instance, once a Khmer child reaches middle childhood or older, both mother and father will turn to physical punishment when verbal admonitions fail to correct inappropriate behaviors. The lack of indulgence of children as they grow is in large part due to fears of creating a child who will not listen to his/her parents and be defiant against rules and regulations. In addition, poorly behaved children are not seen as poor socialization, but rather as lack of merit of the parents (Smith-Hefner, 1999). Matters involving morality and family reputation would cause severe disciplinary measures. For example, extreme inappropriate behaviors such as lying, stealing, drinking, being sexually immoral, and killing are in contrast to the five Buddhist precepts; therefore, a child would deserve harsh discipline in punishment (Hanks, 1963). When other measures fail to elicit desired behaviors, parents will resort to corporal punishment. According to Smith-Hefner (1999), Khmer parents exert almost full authority over their children, especially when training in moral behavior and to prevent loss of face in the community.
In this study, approximately 26.0% to 38.0% of respondents reported using physical means if a child does the following: goes out without permission, does not listen to his/her parents, talks back to his/her parents, steals from stores, or uses marijuana. The number of respondents reported using physical means increased to 44.9% if a child curses at parents. These findings indicate a higher level of discipline practices involving physical punishment that is, in contrast with Western views, and thus considered child maltreatment by the American child welfare system.
Summary of Respondents' Level of Acculturation
Literature showed that the length of time living in the United States and generational level affect Asian's abilities to assimilate and acculturate. According to Wright (1998), Cambodian American adolescents who were born in Cambodia or in the refugee camps, but were raised in the United States, are experiencing tremendous hardship acculturating into the new culture. They are caught somewhere between their parents' generation and the children who are born here. In this study, the respondents' acculturation indicated a bicultural orientation.
Summary of Relationships Among Acculturation, Attitudes
Toward Discipline, and Methods of Discipline
The results showed that the stronger the respondents' attitudes toward discipline according to a traditional Cambodian approach, the more likely they were to use physical means or emotional maltreatment as methods of discipline. Similarly, the respondents' low level of acculturation correlated with the use of physical means or emotional maltreatment as methods of discipline. The findings in this section suggested that respondents with highly traditional Cambodian disciplinary values and lacking acculturation would be prone to use physical punishment as a disciplinary method, and might be involved in maltreatment as defined by the American child welfare system.
Summary of Effects of Demographics on Acculturation, Attitudes
Toward Discipline, and Methods of Discipline
The findings in this section were consistent with earlier literature that suggested possible relationships between child maltreatment and demographic characteristics such as age, employment status, and income level (Beaupre, 1994; Ha, 1994). For instance, respondents who are 29 years of age or older, unemployed, having lower income status are more likely to use disciplinary methods that might involves maltreatment than respondents who are younger than 29 years old, employed and those who have higher income level.
Limitations of the Study
There are many limitations to this study. First, the sample for this research was limited in both its size and its representative quality. The sample size for this study was 50 adult Cambodians. A larger sample would have been more representative of this population. Since the sample size was so small, the results of this study should not be generalized to the whole Cambodian population.
Secondly, the study might have provided different results if the subjects were chosen randomly instead of through snowball sampling. The study attempted to compare two groups of adult Cambodians. One group included subjects who entered the United States at the age of 18 or younger; the other group contained subjects who entered the United States at the age of 19 or older. However, due to time constraints, only 50 subjects were gained. In addition, the majority of the participants were college students, thus resulting in a larger number of participants for the younger group.
Another limitation in this study is the instrument. The instrument used to measure respondents' attitudes toward discipline of children, attitudes towards methods of discipline, and demographic characteristics were developed by this researcher. Therefore, reliability and validity were unknown.
Furthermore, data were collected from face-to-face interviews and a group survey questionnaire. The outcome of this study might be different if this researcher used the same method of collecting data for all. For instance, in the face-to-face interviews, the respondents were given an opportunity to elaborate on their responses and also asked questions freely. The participants in the group survey may not have felt comfortable enough to ask questions and did not have the opportunity to elaborate on their responses. More importantly, most of the respondents who participated in the face-to-face interviews were aware that this researcher's professional involvement is in child protection for Los Angeles County. This may have influenced the study results, particularly the high reporting of reasoning instead of other methods of discipline that may be considered as maltreatment. Utilizing two different methods of collecting data may have triggered different levels of comfort, thus influencing and limiting reliable responses from the subjects.
Relevance to Social Work
This research provided information concerning understanding of child rearing, discipline practices, effects of acculturation and its association with child maltreatment among Cambodians. The social work profession must be aware that such associations exist, but at the same time, be cautious not to generalize or assume that such differences always exist. As maltreatment reports continue to rise, the number of Cambodian families under the supervision of child protective services also increases. In the Cambodian culture, parents have absolute authority over their children and the use of physical punishment is considered appropriate; however, this practice is considered as abusive by the mainstream society. This study is consistent with the notion that child abuse and neglect vary in definition from culture to culture. The question of how to distinguish between harmful child rearing practices and those that are merely culturally common still remains.
Some improvements have been made in Los Angeles County to more adequately meet the needs of the Cambodian community by providing bi-lingual workers. There is still a need for more information on the nature of Cambodian family dynamics and the extent of the problems relating to disciplinary practices. Language and cultural barriers must be eliminated. Otherwise, these families will remain excluded from education, social services, and work industries, which in turn prevents them from improving their living conditions.
It is essential for social workers to recognize the clients' problem-solving abilities and to be able to value them as individuals. In order to become more effective with Cambodian clients, it is crucial for service providers to recruit more workers who are sensitive to the populations' need. It is valuable to provide adequate training to all staff who are currently working with the Cambodian clients, whether they are Cambodian or non-Cambodian.
Recommendations for Future Research
As previously indicated, this study was limited by its sample size and quality. Future research should concentrate on a larger sample size and random sampling.
This would increase the possibility of generalizing to the larger Cambodian population. In collecting data for this study, the researcher realized that the questionnaire was very limited and that respondents' choices of discipline depended on the context of the problems as well as the age of the child. Therefore, qualitative research might serve better. In addition, an in depth account into the Cambodian family dynamic and complexity of the problems could also be attained through qualitative studies.
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