The Effects of Acculturative Stress on School Adjustment of Adolescents in Multicultural Families: Focusing on the Moderating Effect of Parental Efficacy

This study aims to examine the moderating effect of parental efficacy in the relationship between acculturative stress among mothers in multicultural families and adolescents' school adjustment. The analysis utilized the third wave (2021) data of the second panel of the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (MAPS) provided by the National Youth Policy Institute in Korea. PROCESS Macro Model 1 was used to verify the moderating effect. The results of the analysis are as follows: First, the acculturative stress of mothers in multicultural families had a significant negative effect on adolescents' school adjustment. Second, the moderating effect of parental efficacy in the relationship between mothers' acculturative stress and adolescents' school adjustment was statistically significant. Specifically, adolescents’ school adjustment was relatively higher in groups with high parental efficacy compared to those with low parental efficacy, even when mothers’ acculturative stress was high. Based on these findings, the study discusses strategies for alleviating acculturative stress among mothers in multicultural families and enhancing enhancing overall parenting efficacy.