Tiger moms have it wrong: Study
Demanding parents may believe that strict parenting can make their kids succeed, but a new study has claimed that ''tiger moms'' are actually contributing to the children's low self-esteem and high levels of depression.
In her book 'Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother', Chinese author Amy Chua had suggested that high-pressure parenting of Asians helps kids succeed both academically and in pastimes.
But, the new research by Dr Desiree Qin of Michigan State University found that the high achievers are actually frustrated with parents' demands and are more anxious and depressed than other students.
Prof Qin, who studied Chinese-American students at elite High School in New York, said that success and happiness do not have to be mutually exclusive.
"Amy (Chua) said Western children are not happier than Chinese ones. But at the same time, research from our study does show that when parents place a lot of pressure on their kids, the children are less happy," Qin was quoted as saying by the Daily News.
Qin said that since the teens had gotten into one of the most selective schools in the country, she expected less conflict with parents over education. But the Chinese-American students reported more friction at home, she said.
Students said their parents thought academic failure shamed the family and compared them with relatives and pals who were doing better.
"If I get one bad grade, they think, 'Oh no, you're going to fail school, you're going to become one of those bad girls who do drugs and things like that," one girl groused.
By conducting hundreds of interviews between 2007 and 2008, Prof Qin found there to be more sensed conflict in the homes of Chinese-American students than in those of European descent, the newspaper said.
While the daughters of Chua, a Yale law professor, score consistent A grades and can play the violin, they may not be as contented as if they had been awarded the odd B, the study suggested.
Chua declined to comment through a publicist.
