Parenting Immigrant Parents: Role Reversal, Language Brokering, and Psychological Adjustment Among Immigrant Adolescents in Israel

Abstract

This chapter addresses role reversal in immigrant families: child dominance (children acting as counselors and decision-makers for their parents) and language brokering (translating and interpreting the new language and culture). Two studies were conducted among immigrant adolescents from the former Soviet Union in Israel and their Israeli-born peers (total N = 445). The moderating effects of adolescents’ perceptions of parental support and negative emotions toward family roles on adolescents’ psychological adjustment were evaluated. Immigrant adolescents reported more dominant roles, perceived them as a burden, and experienced less support from their parents than Israeli-born adolescents. Child dominance was related to higher self-efficacy for immigrants who were less burdened by it. Language brokering was related to lower self-efficacy for immigrants who perceived parents as less supportive. These findings emphasize the importance of emotional atmosphere in the family for understanding the relations between immigrant adolescents’ adjustment and the roles they assume.