Browsing by Author "Yin, Yi"

The parent-child relationship is arguably one of the most vital relationships within a family. Relevant studies have focused on the dynamics between parents and children in the family communication field, especially on underage children. At the same time, the family is not an isolated island but a unit in a society. Hence, social-cultural contexts have significant impacts on parent-child communication. Migration, as an indicator for changes in the surroundings, influences the communicative practices within a family as well. This research dwells on Chinese immigrant families in Finland, explores the relationship between parents and their adult children. Adopting a relational dialectics perspective, the study aims at identifying competing discourses and their interplay. Through interviews with four dyads of parents and adult children, this research conducted a contrapuntal analysis to examine their relationship. Three pairs of competing discourses are identified: closeness versus distance, authority versus independence, and responsibility versus wuwei (no action). In short, the discourses of closeness, independence and responsibility have been more favored in various manners. Findings from this study revealed the significant influences of migration, manifested as the distal social-cultural factors in the interviewees’ utterances. Results of the analysis also indicate an emphasis on communication and dialogue in the parent-child relationships, which flows with the Chinese traditional thinking of pursuing harmony.