The phrase tiger mother was first coined by Harvard law professor Amy Chua, in her book “Battle hymm of the tiger mother” where she recounts her experiences of raising her daughters within the United States. Tiger parenting itself is a phenomena characterised by a paradox within the parenting literature relating to parenting styles. Authoritarian parenting in most populations relate to poorer outcomes for the child including mental health indicators, academic achievement, and life satisfaction. Within Asian populations however, academic achievement is high and while mentl health and life satisfaction is mixed. The findings are explained by Confucian ideals embedded that have been passed down for centuries.
The psychology of the tiger mother
I sought to extend these findings in a Vietnamese parent sample. My work, which was part of my honours thesis for my undergraduate psychology degree reported similar findings, and was eventually published in the Journal of Family Studies. I’m currently looking to extend this work by examining the children of so-called Tiger mothers. If you think you might have had a Tiger mother growing up, please don’t hestitate to reach out!
