Taiwanese Mothers’ Perceptions of the Influences of Their Acculturation on the Identity Formation of their Children in Australia

Abstract

This study explores how Taiwanese immigrant mothers in Australia perceive the influence of their acculturation on the identity formation of their children. To date, little research has been undertaken on the effect of Taiwanese immigrant mothers’ acculturation on the identity formation of their children in Australia. Social constructionism, the method of constant comparisons and thematic analysis underpinned the qualitative methodology which was employed to understand the lived experience of Taiwanese immigrant mothers. Data collection was predominantly undertaken by using in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 41 participants from South-East Queensland. Of these participants, 20 were married to Taiwanese males while the others (21) were married to non-Taiwanese males. Six mothers have a full-time job or own a business with their husband, while the majority is full-time housewives. Individual interviews subject to forward and back translation were conducted in Mandarin. All interview data were transcribed and translated into English, and were managed with a qualitative data software (MAXQDA) to handle the coding tasks.