Does Maternal Acculturation Matter? School Readiness among Young Children of Asian and Hispanic Immigrant Mothers

RaeHyuck Lee, Columbia University

Healthy development in the early years of life is important in helping children get ready for school, but little is known about school readiness of children in immigrant families. Given that parents play a critical role in the development of young children, maternal acculturation is an important factor closely related to school readiness outcomes. Therefore, using a sample of children of foreign-born Asian and Hispanic mothers from the ECLS-B, I examine the association between maternal acculturation and school readiness at kindergarten entry. I find that maternal acculturation is associated with improved cognitive development, social skills, and physical development, but also increased behavior problems among children of Asian immigrant mothers. I also find that maternal acculturation is associated with improved cognitive and physical development among children of Hispanic immigrant mothers. Additionally, I find some beneficial findings in socio-emotional outcomes within children of bicultural mothers when mothers’ years of US residency increase.