Psychology
2010. Vol.1, No.5, 386-393
Copyright © 2010 SciRes. DOI:10.4236/psych.2010.15048
Structural Analysis of Factors Influencing the Adjustment
Behaviors of Korean Children in the U.S
Sunjin Oh1, Mack C. Shelley2
1Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Iowa State University, Ames, IA USA;
2Department of Political Science and Department of Statistics, Iowa State University, Ames, IA USA.
Received Sep tember 27th, 2010; revised Oct ober 2nd, 2010; accepted O ctober 9th, 2010
The purpose of this study was to identify factors influencing the adjustment of Korean children who live in the
U.S. Specifically, this study examined the following predictor variables: English proficiency, peer relationships,
family relationships, and school experiences. Forty seven Korean children who were attending the Korean Lan-
guage School and their parents participated in this study. Pearson product moment correlations indicated that
there was a statistically significant relationship between the adjustment of Korean children who live in the U.S.
and their English proficiency, peer relationships, and school experiences. There was no statistically significant
relationship between the adjustment of Korean children who live in the U.S. and their family relationships. Ad-
ditionally, structural equation modeling (SEM) was examined to explore how English proficiency, family rela-
tionships, peer relationships, and school experiences may serve as influential factors for adjustment of Korean
children who live in the U.S. The resulting model had a good fit, χ2 = 2.02, χ2/df = 1.01, comparative fit index
(CFI) = 1.00, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.02, which is small enough to indicate a
good fit, and indicated that Korean children’s school experiences had the strongest relationship with their overall
adjustment score (β = .73, p < .001). However, the effects of English proficiency and family relationships on
adjustment were mediated through school experiences, although it is important to note that English proficiency
did not have a positive relationship with school experience (β = -.38, p = .340), but Korean children’s school
experiences were positively associated with their English proficiency (β = .68, p < .05).
Keywords: Korean Children in the U.S., Cultural Adjust ment, School Experiences, English Pr oficiency,
Peer Relationships, Family Relationships
Introduction
Culture in a very powerful force in young children’s lives; it
shapes representations of childhood, values, customs, child-
rearing attitudes and practices, and family relationships and
interactions. It is a pervasive force. Children’s development can
be fully understood only when it is viewed in the larger cultural
context (Rodd, 1996). When individuals move from their native
culture to another culture, they invariably experience environ-
mental and psychological stresses. Children living in the U.S.
after living in another culture and society not only face the
initial stress and expected adjustment problems of all children,
but also face an entirely different cultural environment. These
problems, including language barriers and difficulties growing
out of differences related to social connections and networks
such as peer relationships and interactions, can discourage
children’s efforts to adapt to the new social environment and
culture.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2001), approximately
1.1 million Korean Americans live in the United States. Of this
number, about one-third are children and adolescents. These
children may suffer from adjustment stresses in school and
inadequate communication between school and parents, in ad-
dition to other losses they experienced in leaving their friends,
extended family, and all the familiar surroundings of their ho-
meland (Kim, Kim, & Rue, 1997). Stresses faced by Korean
children in an alien culture would be even greater because of
their lack of English proficiency and the cultural differences
between Korea and the United States (Ho, 1992a). However,
many minority children are able to cope with these problems,
achieve competence, and find satisfactory ways to adjust to a
new cultural environment. Therefore, the concern of this study
is to examine factors that are associated with the positive or
negative adjustment of Korean children who live in the U.S.
Because Chinese and Japanese have represented the largest
Asian populations in the U.S., most studies of Asians in the U.S.
are based on these two larger groups. There is a paucity of re-
search on Koreans in general, but even scarcer is research on
Korean children who live in the U.S. This study explores a
topic about which very little is known.
Literature Review
Children’s Adjustment in the U.S.
Taft (1973 as reported in Taft and Steinkalk’s 1985 study)
defined adjustment as a function of the degree to which the
environment fulfills a person’s needs and goals; it is reflected in
feelings of satisfaction with various areas of life. When a per-
son is generally satisfied with life one might expect a feeling of
well-being, reflected in emotional stability, competence in
dealing with the environment, and a positive self-concept.
Adolescents who successfully integrate and accept their past
culture with their current culture and who successfully own

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387
their cultural roots are considered adjusted in the host society
(Eshel, 2000; James, 1997). If children and adolescents can be
helped to accept both cultures, they can develop an integrated
sense of self (James, 1997).
Vergne (1982) studied the positive adjustment of 45 for-
e ign-born children ages 6 to 10 to a new school and culture. He
pointed out that the child’s attitude towards school, friends and
peers, and to the U.S.; maintenance of ethnic/national origin
identity; and length of stay in the U.S. were all related to cul-
tural adaptation. Particularly, the child’s attitudes towards
friends and peers were significantly correlated with self-esteem,
child’s attitude towards the U.S., and the length of stay in the
U.S. Moreover, length of stay in the U.S. was correlated with
the child’s school adjustment, self-esteem, attitude toward
school, and home adjustment.
English Proficiency
When studying adjustment, it is important to assess the de-
gree of English fluency because it may affect competence in
schoolwork or relationships with family and peers. Lack of
English proficiency exacerbates virtually every problem area of
Asian Americans (Ho, 1992a). Children who are not fluent in
the language of the host country may experience degrees of
culture shock in the school setting; they may become depressed,
confused, and hopeless about fitting into the American peer
groups. James (1997) noted that even when a child has learned
conversational aspects of the second language, it might take
more than five years to learn those aspects of language involv-
ing cognitive functioning and academic achievement.
According to Canino and Spurlock (2000), lack of English
proficiency is rarely considered as a cause for achievement
difficulties in school, and frequently a child learning English as
a second language is diagnosed incorrectly as a learning-dis-
abled child; children become alienated from school when the
classroom teacher points out that their linguistic style is inferior
to Standard English. Cheng and Kuo (2000) said “families
which cherish cultural heritage and ethnic cultural values seem
more likely to require that their children preserve ethnicity by
learning the family language and thus put greater pressure on
minority children” (p. 465). They noted, citing Portes’s 1994b
study, that first generation immigrants are usually quite loyal to
their ancestral languages. However, second generation immi-
grant children are often asked to speak their mother tongue at
home and communicate in English outside of the family.
Second generation children seem to experience more problems
in family relationships and in social connections and networks.
Yu and Kim (1983) suggested that social reinforcement and
parental encouragement are necessary for bilingual and bicul-
tural children to develop both languages in verbal and written
form without apparent loss of proficiency in either language.
Bi lingual children have the advantage of being able to establish
a more positive ethnic self-identity and self-acceptance as well
as being able to appreciate bicultural enrichment in later years.
Peer Relationships
Some Korean children may perceive their physical appear-
ance as short and small, with black hair and black eyes, and
may recognize their skin color as ugly, inferior, or shameful.
This negative perception may be reinforced by peers who tease
them and may have an effect on their personality and adjust-
ment in an unfamiliar environment (Yu & Kim, 1983). Peer
association is a common experience of children and adolescents
across cultures. Social networks that children establish and
maintain with peers may play a significant role in social support
for children to cope with emotional stress and adjustment diffi-
culties. According to Chen, Chen, and Kaspar (2001), peer
sociability makes positive contributions to children’s social and
emotional development and school adjustment. In contrast, peer
aggression contributes to children’s learning problems and is
negatively related to children’s school competence. The con-
tributions of peer social functioning to children’s adjustment
might be due to the direct contact and mutual influence among
group members. Constant peer evaluations and reactions, based
on culturally prescribed group norms and values, may serve to
regulate and direct children’s behaviors, and thus affect normal
developmental processes.
Children who lack meaningful interactions with peers will
not have the information necessary to make accurate judgments
about themselves. Therefore, to acquire and refine adaptive
behavior, especially in the school setting, children’s interac-
tions with others are necessary (Cillessen & Bellmore, 1999).
They found that children with poor peer relations (rejected and
controversial children) had low self-other agreement scores.
Namely, self-understanding may depend on the quality of inte-
ractions and relationships with significant others.
Family Relationships
Korean parents tend to get involved positively in many activ-
ities with their children, especially in academic areas, and will
sacrifice everything to provide a good educational environment
for their children. Many Korean children in the U.S. live with
both biological parents, and this stable family life positively
influences the children in developing growth-promoting values
and emotional stability (Yu & Kim, 1983). Parental warmth and
control are positively related to children’s self-image, social
competence, self-regulatory abilities, and the family’s level of
acculturation (Fagen, Cowen, Wyman, & Work, 1996; Gon-
zales, Hiraga, & Cauce, 1995). Children who perceived their
parents as warm have better social skills and more meaningful
interpersonal relationships (Fagen et al., 1996).
Sun (1992a), studying 83 Korean American adolescents,
measured adolescents’ perceived parental control, conflict with
their parents, level of adolescent’s acculturation, and many
other variables. She found that the Korean adolescent’s accul-
turational variables had a significant relationship with maternal
control and conflict. The author assumed that the Korean-
American mothers who were less acculturated than their child-
ren could pressure their children to maintain aspects of the Ko-
rean culture, even though Korean American fathers may em-
phasize bicultural ability because most fathers were employed
in American society.
Kim (2002) reported that parental expectation, parents’ Eng-
lish proficiency, frequency of child-parent communication, and
level of home supervision was positively associated with Ko-
rean children’s educational achievement and success. Interes-
tingly, Korean American children who had been raised with
strict home supervision, the authoritarian Korean parenting
style, had higher levels of educational performance at school.
Jung (2000) found that Korean American children scored

S. OH ET AL.
388
themselves higher on anxiety than Korean children and Cauca-
sian American children due to a cultural “double bind” caused
by the Korean cultural heritage and Americanization. This wi-
dened gap and intergenerational culture clash in the values of
parents and children are a psychologically painful wound among
the members in immigrant families (Kibria, 2002; Sandhu et al.,
1999).
Immigrant Korean families are more likely to be charged
wit h physical abuse in comparison with all other groups by
examining child maltreatment cases reported to CPS (the child
protective services) in Los Angeles County because for-
e ign-born immigrant Korean parents and their American-born
children may experience conflicts and misunderstandings in
values and behavioral norms that can contribute to the potential
risk for child maltreatment (Chang, Rhee, & Weaver, 2006).
Thus, Cho and Bae (2005) suggest that it would be necessary
to help Korean American parents to increase effective discip-
line and monitoring practices in view of the changes in cultural
values and attitudes that occur as their children acculturate
into the dominant culture both expressing warmth and setting
limits.
School Experiences
Children’s beliefs and behaviors are also influenced by
school experiences. The importance of school as an institution
for the socialization of children is considered by some to be
second only to the family. School is “an arena where minority
children first experience cultural conflict and behavioral ad-
justment problems” (Ho, 1992b). The U.S. school system and
teachers influence the academic achievement and behavioral
adjustment of an Asian child in the new classroom environment
(Ho, 1992a; James, 1997; Ryu, 2004). The impact of social
change as part of the acculturation process is most likely to be
experienced by foreign-born children in the school setting.
Lack of acceptance by peers and teachers may foster a sense of
being different (James, 1997).
The teaching format designed to provide a better education
for White U.S. American children was based on the American
mainstream curriculum with little awareness of cultural diver-
sity (Canino & Spurlock, 2000; Chiang, 2000). These authors
note that teachers and parents tend to differ on specific values,
such as self-direction or conformity in children’s education and
guidance. Such value disparities between parents and school
staff may affect the quality of their relationship and may in-
crease the likelihood of interpersonal conflicts between teachers
and children who come from other cultures. These conflicts, in
turn, may result in lower school achievement, lower self-con-
cept, and higher school dropout rates among foreign-born
children (Canino & Spurlock, 2000; Ho, 1992a; Kim et al.,
1997; Ryu, 2004).
Ryu (2004) found that while adjusting to American schools,
three Korean-English bilingual gifted children were frustrated
and confused by both Korean parents and American classroom
in social roles, self-concepts, and academic and social expecta-
tions, and development. Korean American children are ex-
pected to follow parents’ advice and guidance rather than ex-
press their opinion and desire at home while U.S. classroom
teachers encourage Korean American children to manage and
control their behavior and feelings by themselves. Also, most
Korean parents focus on their children’s academic skills such as
reading and writing Korean and basic counting even before
entering elementary school, rather than social and emotional
development, emphasized by U.S. kindergarten teachers. There-
fore, it is recommended that the classroom teachers should
acknowledge and appreciate children’s home cultures as well as
learn basic foreign words, offering opportunities for children to
express individual and cultural differences (Canino & Spurlock,
2000; Ryu, 2004). To summarize, prior research provides sup-
port for the view that the adjustment of Korean children living
in the U.S. is likely to be influenced by several factors. The
factors include: English language proficiency, family relation-
ships, peer relationships, and school experiences.
Met ho d
Participants
The subjects for this study were 47 Korean children from
first to sixth grade and their Korean parents who lived in a
midwestern university community; 43% (n = 20) were male and
57% (n = 27) were female. The children ranged from 61 to 156
months old, with mean age of 96 months; 72% (n = 34) were
born in Korea and 28% (n = 13) were born in the U.S. The
mean length of time in the United States was 57 months, rang-
ing from 1 to 156 months; 47% (n = 22) of the children spoke
Korean as their primary language at home, 38% (n = 18) spoke
mostly English, and 15% (n = 7) spoke Korean and English
equally at home. Also, 89% (n = 48) of the Korean children
primarily spoke Korean with their parents at home and 11% (n
= 5) spoke English with their parents. A summary of sample
characteristics is presented in Table 1. Surveys were adminis-
tered to Korean children at the Korean Language School, which
they attended on Sunday (in addition to attending public
schools during the week), and were sent to their parents at
home via the children. All children had two Korean biological
parents living at home and were collectively referred to as
“Korean children,” whether they were American-born or Ko-
rean-born.
Measures
The Adjustment Scale. The Perceived Cross-Cultural Ad-
justment Scale, compiled by the investigator, incorporated
items selected from four measures: (a) Desire to Reside in the
Host Culture (Eshel & Rosenthal-Sokolov, 2000), (b) Child’s
Self-Esteem (Simpson & McBride, 1992), (c) Depression Scale
(Rumbaut, 1994), and (d) Self-Confidence (Hightower et al.,
1987). The Desire to Reside in the Host Culture Scale was de-
signed to investigate Russians’ subjective perceptions of ad-
justment in Israel (e.g., “I feel at home in Israel”). For this
study, children responded to five items (e.g., I wish to live in
the U.S.) using a Likert-types scale ranging from strongly dis-
agree to strongly agree in which high scores indicated that
children wanted to reside in the U.S. Child’s self-esteem was
derived from the Family, Friends, and Self (FFS) Assessment
Scales for Mexican American Youth (Simpson & McBride,
1992). The response scale ranged from 0 (never) to 4 (almost
always) where high scores indicated high self-esteem. Depres-
sion symptoms were measured with a four-item subscale from
the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D)
scale (Rumbaut, 1994). High scores indicated that the Korean

S. OH ET AL.
389
Table 1.
Family Demographic Characteristics (N = 47)
Variable % n Mean SD Range
Child Characteristic
Age 96 25.1 61-156
Length of stay in the U.S. 57 37.5 1-156
Gender
Male 43% 20
Female 57% 27
Birth place
Korea 72% 34
U.S. 28% 13
Primary language at home
English 38% 18
Korean 47% 22
Bilingual 15% 7
Mothers' education
Less than bachelor's degree 2% 1
Bachelor's degree 66% 31
More than bachelor's degree 32% 15
Fathers' education
Less than bachelor's degree 0% 0
Bachelor's degree 9% 4
More than bachelor's degree 91% 43
Mothers' employment status
Unemployed 77% 36
Employed 23% 11
children were experiencing many depression symptoms. Self-
confidence, designed by Hightower et al. (1987), measured
perceptions of sureness about one’s school abilities. The scale
contained eight items (e.g., I like to do schoolwork) and each
item in the scale was scored from usually no to usually yes. For
the purposes of the current study, the perceived cross-cultural
adjustment scale was revised to make it suitable for Korean
children.
An English Language Proficiency Index. An English lan-
guage proficiency index (Rumbaut, 1994) used four items to
measure the respondent’s self-reported ability to speak, under-
stand, read, and write English. Each item was scored from 1
(not at all) to 4 (very well), with an overall index score calcu-
lated as the mean of the four items. Peer Relationships Scale.
Interpersonal Social Skills is one factor from the Child Rating
Scale (CRS) (Hightower et al., 1987), which in its entirety is
composed of four factors (Interpersonal Social Skills, Rule
Compliance/Acting Out, Anxiety/Withdrawal, and Self-confi-
dence). The Interpersonal Social Skills scale is utilized to assess
perceptions of interpersonal functioning and relationships with
peers. Possible responses range from strongly agree to strongly
disagree with high scores indicating that children had good
interpersonal social skills (α = .52). Family Relationships Scale.
The Parent-Child Conflict Scale (Rumbaut, 1994) consists of 3
items, with responses ranging from 1 (very true) to 4 (not true
at all). Family Warmth is a modified version of the Child’s
Attitude towards Family Scale (Vergne, 1982). The seven items
from the Family Warmth and Parent-child Conflict scales were
combined to create an overall indicator of the children’s Per-
ceptions of Family Relationships. School Experiences Scale.
The School Experiences Scale (α = .79), adapted by the inves-
tigator from the Family, Friends, and Self (FFS) Assessment
Scales for Mexican American Youth (Simpson & McBride,
1992) contains five items with a response format ranging from
strongly agree to strongly disagree, with high scores indicating
that children had good school experiences. Additionally, a
Family Demographic Data questionnaire, designed by the in-
vestigator, was completed by the parents and measured the
length of stay in the U.S., the primary language spoken at home,
and primary speaking language with the parents at home, oc-
cupation, and education. Parents were also asked to complete
an 8-item questionnaire regarding their perceptions of their
child’s adjustment to life in the U.S., including peer relation-
ships, teacher relationships, school experiences, and language
proficiency (e.g., “He /She is satisfied with his/her life in the
U.S.”).
Data Collecting Procedures and Anal yses
This study was designed to investigate factors influencing
the adjustment of Korean children who live in the U.S. In order
to carry out the objectives of this research most effectively, a
non-experimental survey research design was used. It was a
cross-sectional and local study in nature. The unit of analysis in
this study was the Korean children from the first grade to the
sixth grade in elementary school and their Korean parents.
Surveys were administered to Korean children who are attend-
ing the Korean Language School and were sent to their parents
in the greater Lansing, MI area.
Data collection began on February 9, 2003 and ended on
February 23, 2003. The Adjustment scale was administered to
Korean children who were attending the Korean Language
School on Sunday. The investigator presented versions in two
different languages (Korean and English) to aid the under-
standing of the young children. The survey questions were ad-
ministered individually to first and second grade students by the
primary investigator. The Parent Survey Questionnaire and
Family Demographic Survey were sent home to parents. De-
s cri ptive statistics were used to analyze the family demographic
data, such as the length of stay in U.S., parents’ educational
level, and occupational status. Pearson product moment corre-
lation coefficients were computed to analyze the relationship
between adjustment as reported by Korean children and English
proficiency, peer relationships, family relationships, and school
experiences. Additionally, structural equation modeling (SEM)
was used to examine how English proficiency, family relation-
ships, peer relationships, and school experiences serve as in-
fluential factors for adjustment of Korean children who live in
the U.S.

S. OH ET AL.
390
Results
Relationship between Korean Children’s Adjus tment
and the Predictor Variables
A Pearson product moment correlation indicated a statisti-
cally significant correlation between adjustment and the child-
ren’s English proficiency (r = .34, p = .021). Over 90% (n = 44)
of Korean children responded that they speak and understand
English “well” or “very well”. Over 50% (n = 26) of Korean
children scored higher than the mean score on an English Profi-
ciency Index. Korean children were asked to respond to ques-
tions on the Family Relationships Scale. The scale was divided
into two sub-scales: Family Warmth (e.g., My parents love me
a lot) and Parent-Child Conflict (e.g., I’m often in trouble with
my parents because of our different ways of doing things).
Even though over 50% (n = 25) of Korean children scored
higher than the mean score on Family Warmth Scale, there
were no significant relations between Korean children’s ad-
justment score and the family relationship scores (r = .16, p
= .285) and two sub-scales which were Family Warmth (r = .14,
p = .344) and Parent-Child Conflict (r = .13, p = .398). Korean
children who were in the upper grades (fifth and sixth grade)
tended to acknowledge conflict and dissatisfaction about their
family relationships. Specifically, 47% of Korean children in
the upper grades had a score above the mean on the Par-
ent-child Conflict scale, while 25% of Korean children in the
first grade had scores above the mean on the Parent-Child Con-
flict Scale. There was also a positive relationship between ad-
justment and Korean children’s peer relationships (r = .30, p
= .041). Korean children strongly agreed or agreed that they
have a lot of American (n = 42) as well as Korean friends (n =
36). Also, they strongly agreed (28%) or agreed (55%) that they
make friends easily. Surprisingly, most children in this study
responded “strongly agree (49%) or “agree (40%)” to the item,
“I have a lot of American friends.” Adjustment was signifi-
cantly correlated with the children’s reports of school expe-
riences (r = .64, p = .000). Children who reported positive
school experiences tended to be well-adjusted. Of the total
sample, 96% (n = 45) of Korean children in this study re-
sponded “strongly agree” or “agree” to the item, “I have posi-
tive relationships with teachers,” 87% and (n = 41) were satis-
fied with their school achievement. Among four sub-scales in
Korean children’s Adjustment scale, “Desire to reside in the
U.S. (r = .37, p = .010),” “Children’s Self-Esteem (r = .54, p
= .000),” and “Children’s Self-Confidence (r = .50, p = .000)”
were strongly correlated with Korean children’s school expe-
riences except “Children’s Depression.” School experience was
positively related to English proficiency (r = .40, p = .006),
peer relationships (r = .37, p = .011), and family relationships
(r = 48, p = .001).
Relationship between Parents’ Ratings about Their
Children Adjustment and Children’s Ratings about
their Adjustment
Pearson correlations showed no significant relations between
the parents’ ratings of the children’s adjustment and children’s
adjustment completed by the children. Also, the predictor va-
riables (English proficiency, peer relations, family relations,
and school experiences) which were reported by the children
did not have positive relations with parents’ ratings about their
children adjustment. Bivariate correlations identified that the
total score of the parents’ perceptions about their child’s ad-
justment to the U.S. was positively and significantly related to
child’s length of stay in the U.S. Parents responded that the
longer children have lived in the U.S., the better they have ad-
justed and acculturated in the U.S. (r = .51, p = .001).
In this study, 72% of Korean children were born in Korea
and 28% were born in the U.S. A t-test showed that there was a
significant difference in parents’ perceptions about their child-
ren’s adjustment between children who were born in Korea and
children who were born in the U.S. (t = 4.1, p < .01). Parents
reported that children who were born in the U.S. were better
adjusted than Korea-born children. Also, a t-test identified that
there was a significant difference in parents’ perceptions of
their child’s adjustment to life in the U.S. between children who
spoke English and children who spoke Korean with their par-
ents at home. Of the total sample, 89% (n=42) of the Korean
children used Korean as their primary language with their par-
ents at home, and 11% (n = 5) used English as their primary
language with their parents (t = 3.3, p < .01). Parents reported
that children who used English as their primary language with
their parents at home tended to be better adjusted in the U.S. A
one-way ANOVA was used to test the differences in adjust-
ment among three groups of children: those speaking primarily
Korean, primarily English, or both languages at home. There
was a difference among the three language groups in the par-
ents’ perceptions of adjustment. Parents reported that children
who were primarily speaking English tended to be better ad-
justed in the U.S. this finding is presented in Table 2.
Structural Equation Model of the Adjustment of
Korean Children who Live in the U.S.
Using Amos 18, first of all I tested a structural equation
model examining the relationship between four predictor va-
riables (English proficiency, family relationships, peer rela-
tionships, and school experiences) and Korean children’s over-
all adjustment score, depicted in Figure 1 which is a proposed
model after exploring any kinds of positive relationships be-
tween all of the proposed predictor factors and Korean child-
ren’s overall adjustment score. I examined how English profi-
ciency, family relationships, peer relationships, and school
Table 2.
One-way ANOVA results for parents’ perceptions about their children’s
adjustment.
Language Mean adjustments scores on
the parents survey SD
English (n = 18) 33.22 a, b 3 .1
Korean (n = 22) 30.64 3 .2
Both language (n = 7) 30.43 1.5
Groups Mean Squares df f-value Prob.
Between 39 2 4.4 .02*
Within 8.8 44
Note. Results of post-hoc test: a. English language group had higher adjustments
scores than Korean language group; b. English language group had higher ad-
justments scores than bilingual group

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391
experiences may serve as influential factors for adjustment of
Korean children who live in the U.S. using structural equation
modeling (SEM)1. The resulting model had a good fit, χ2 = 2.02,
χ2/df = 1.01, comparative fit index (CFI) = 1.00, root mean
square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.02, which is small
enough to indicate a good fit, and indicated that Korean child-
ren’s school experiences had the strongest relationship with
their overall adjustment score (β = .73, p < .001). The analysis
demonstrated that school experience was significantly related to
children’s adjustment, while family relationships were not re-
lated. Family relationships (β = -.19, p = .129) did not have
positive relationship with Korean children’s overall adjustment
score. School experiences had a direct effect on the adjustment
of Korean children who live in the U.S. However, the effects of
English proficiency and family relationships on adjustment
were mediated through school experiences, although it is im-
portant to note that English proficiency did not have a positive
relationship with school experience (β = -.38, p = .340), but
Korean children’s school experiences were positively asso-
ciated with their English proficiency (β = .68, p < .05; see Figure
1). English proficiency and family relationships had an effect
on school experiences, which in turn, predicted children’s ad-
justment. The structural equation model is consistent with the
view that proficiency in English and good relationships with
family are important for positive experiences in school, and
positive experiences in school contribute to good adjustments
among Korean children living in the U.S. However, the analysis
indicated that peer relationships did not mediate the relation
between school experiences and the adjustment of Korean child-
ren. Also, Korean children’s family relationships were posi-
tively associated with their school experiences (β = .57, p < .05),
and Korean children’s school experiences were positively asso-
ciated with their English proficiency (β = .68, p < .05).
Dis cussion
The purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing
the adjustment of Korean children who live in the U.S. Specifi-
cally, this study examined several of the child’s microsystems
(the family, school, and peer groups). It was predicted that the
independent variables English proficiency, family relationships,
peer relationships, and school experiences would influence the
adjustment of Korean children who live in the U.S. The results
of this study supported previous research in that three variables,
English proficiency, peer relationships, and school experiences
were significantly related to the adjustment of Korean children
who live in the U.S. Prior studies investigating how the English
proficiency of foreign-born children influences their accultura-
tion and adjustment process in the host society (Bhattacharya,
2000; Ho, 1992a; Ho, 1992b; James, 1997) concluded that li-
mited English skills frequently prevented children from inte-
racting with friends and from participating in various school
activities. Over 90% (n = 44) of Korean children responded
“well” or “very well” to the question of, “How well do you
speak English?” This finding is consistent with other studies
(Ho, 1992a; James, 1997) which reported the importance of
assessing fluency in English and in the native Asian language
since communication skills may be affecting competence in
schoolwork or relationships with family and peers. Asian
children may become depressed, confused, and hopeless about
fitting into the American peer groups if they do not understand
the English language well.
Figure 1.
Structural Equation Model (SEM) to examine the relationship between four predictors and Korean children’s adjustment score.
1To improve the fit of the model, nonsignificant parameters and variables were removed, including peer relationships. The χ2
test yields a value of
14.303 (df = 7), which has a corresponding p-value of .05, with CFI = .85 and RMSEA =
0.15. This modified model was not included in this paper
because a model should not be used if it has an RMSEA greater than .10.

S. OH ET AL.
392
School experiences, such as teacher relationships, school
achievement and grades, was significantly related to Korean
children’s adjustment in the U.S. Korean children who had
good school experiences have adjusted well to their new envi-
ronments. School-aged children are spending much time bond-
ing with their peers and teachers at school. School adjustment is
a very important factor because it may enhance their life skills
and make the acculturation process easier and faster. Asian
children tend to respect teachers as highly as their parents,
viewing teachers as role models, as evidenced by 96% (n = 45)
of Korean children responding “strongly agree” or “agree” to
the item, “I have positive relationships with teachers,” while
only 17% (n = 8) agreed with the item, “Some of my teachers
are not very nice to me.” This finding is consistent with pre-
vious studies (Bhattacharya, 2000; Ho, 1992a; James, 1997)
suggesting that the impact of social change as part of the accul-
turation process is most likely to be experienced by for-
e ign-born children in the school setting and a lack of acceptance
by peers and teachers may foster a sense of being different.
In regards to peer relationships, Korean children in this study
were asked to respond to items on the Interpersonal Social
Skills scale, such as “I make friends easily.” There was also
significant relation between adjustment and the peer relation-
ships of these Korean children. Particularly, a Pearson product
moment correlations showed a significant relation between
adjustment and having many American friends. Having Ameri-
can friends also was positively related to English proficiency
and school experiences. The result indicated that making
American friends was an important factor in the adjustment of
Korean children. Positive peer relationships with American
friends may play a pivotal role in children’s social and emo-
tional development and school adjustment.
Additionally, the study examined how English proficiency,
family relationships, peer relationships, and school experiences
may serve as influential factors for adjustment of Korean child-
ren who live in the U.S. using structural equation modeling
(SEM). The results of SEM showed that school experiences had
a direct effect on the adjustment of these Korean children in the
U.S., and that the effects of English proficiency and family
relationships on adjustment were mediated through the school
experiences. Children with better English skills and good fami-
ly relationships tended to have better school experiences. This
finding is consistent with previous studies (Kim, 2002; Okagaki
& Frensch, 1995) suggesting that parental help in understand-
ing school tasks, parents’ English proficiency, frequency of
child-parent communication, and level of home supervision
were positively associated with minority children’s educational
achievement and success in school. Korean children who had
better school experiences tended to be better adjusted in the U.S.
That is a key finding from this study and is supported by Cani-
no and Spurlock (2000), Ho (1992b), and James (1997) who
found that children who are not fluent in English may expe-
rience culture shock in the school setting and may be diagnosed
incorrectly as learning-disabled children. Ho (1992b) noted that
many Asian children’s school problems were related to lan-
guage problems and emphasized that school is an arena where
Asian children first experience cultural conflict and behavioral
adjustment problems.
L i mit ations
Although this research seemed to produce significant results
that could be useful when studying Korean children as well as
Asia n-born children who live in the U.S., this study has some
limitations which need to be taken into consideration when
studying or applying the results. Because of the sampling pro-
cedure, the sample is not likely to be representative of the Ko-
rean children who live in the U.S. The study concentrated on
the adjustment of Korean children attending a Korean language
school in East Lansing, MI in the U.S. Thus, generalizations to
the population of Korean children outside this environment
should be limited. To obtain the most accurate information
about the adjustment of Korean children who live in the U.S., a
sample that reflects the heterogeneity of the Korean children in
the U.S. is needed. If Korean children had been selected at
random throughout the area, the results would have given a
more accurate depiction of the population of Korean children
who live in the U.S. The sample size of 47 subjects was rela-
tively small. If the sample size were larger, there would be
more power available to detect relationships among the va-
riables of interest. Also, caution must be exercised in the i nter-
pretation of the SEM (structural equation modeling) results
based on this sma ll sample from only one Korean language
school in East Lansing, MI. in generalizing. Although, the in-
vestigator assessed each of the young children individually,
Korean children in the lower grades (first, second, and third
grades) might not have understood the meanings of some items,
especially items in the Self-esteem and Self-confidence Scales.
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