Parental Expectations for Asian American Men Who Entered College Early: Influences on their Academic, Career, and Interpersonal Decision-Making

Abstract

Asian immigrant parents often hold high expectations for their children to excel academically and professionally. Filial piety and the desire to make their parent(s) proud can motivate these children to achieve but can also place undue pressure upon them. This mixed methods dissertation study investigated the perceived influence of parental expectations on academic, career, and interpersonal decision making for Asian American men who graduated from early college entrance programs. Six Asian American men filled out 81-item mixed methods surveys and participated in in-depth follow-up interviews about their experiences. Furthermore, gender differences were critically examined by comparing results with a pilot study of seven Asian American women. Findings indicated that the majority of participants experienced high parental expectations which were influential in academic and career decision making. However, more women expressed specific and rigid career expectations as compared to the men. Parental expectations were often internalized. Several participants also reported parental pressures, conflict with parents regarding expectations, experiences of failures, and depression during their college years. Implications for well-being are discussed.