Intergenerational parenting practices shape societies. Positive parenting practices that endure over time instil health-promoting behavioural strategies within families and across wider populations. Indigenous Pacific cultures enhance positive parenting practices through shared values of relational connections to family, community, and homeland. However, it is unclear how emigration away from place of origin may impact a parent’s ability to nurture adaptive interpersonal behaviour strategies for resilient wellbeing. Within Aotearoa | New Zealand, evidence suggests that cultural connections, acculturation, and social inequalities each have implications for relational behaviours within Pacific families. Many families have less access to their heritage forms of social support and raise children in surroundings with distinctly different cultural norms than those experienced by predecessors from their homelands. Pacific youth and their families today are increasingly challenged by inequalities in health and overall wellbeing. Thus, the following question remains: how do intergenerational parenting practices impact next-generation behaviours, and what contextual factors influence their stability?

This doctoral study examined the intergenerational parenting practices of Pacific families living in Aotearoa | New Zealand in the context of cultural change. It analysed how parenting practices influence next-generation behaviours and identified key social influences that promoted stability of intergenerational patterns. It aimed to improve understanding of the social determinants of positive parenting practices and youth wellbeing among Pacific mothers and their children participating in the Pacific Islands Families birth-cohort study.

This research analysed data that were prospectively collected over seven measurement waves from childbirth to age 14 years. A multi-level mixed effects modelling approach was applied to account for correlations within the repeated measures of participant responses. Relational behaviour patterns across three generations of Pacific families were examined to assess the stability of intergenerational parenting practices within this population. This involved the sequential study of three consecutive time phases of parenting influence along an intergenerational parenting developmental pathway: I) long-term effects of childhood parenting on current parenting practices; II) real-time effects between parent and child behaviours; and III) cumulative effects on adolescents’ self-concept development. At each phase, the effects of key social determinants were also assessed.

Phase I examined associations between childhood parenting and current parenting practices of Pacific mothers of children aged two and four years. Maternal nurturance in childhood was the only type of recalled childhood parenting to have an enduring effect on current parenting practices. Mothers who recalled their maternal upbringing as often nurturing, rather than rarely, had significantly greater odds of frequent use of nurturing parenting practices with their children (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.6, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1, 2.3). Having a higher level of education and greater familiarity with local cultural contexts were also associated with more frequent use of nurturing parenting practices. Low household incomes were associated with harsh disciplinary practices.

In Phase II, analysis of current parent and child behaviours at six time-points between child ages two and 14 years revealed strongly associated behaviour patterns. In particular, the adjusted odds of age-appropriate development of prosocial behaviour between ages six and nine years was 20.9 (95% CI: 9.8, 44.5) for mothers who reported frequent use of optimal parenting practices compared to those reporting infrequent use. Additionally, optimal parenting practices had an inverse association with child internalising and externalising behaviours. Adverse parenting practices, including those typified by harsh discipline or low monitoring, were persistent risk factors for higher odds of internalising and externalising behaviours.

Phase III explored the prevalence of positive self-concept among Pacific youth (between ages 11 to 12 years) and their associations with parenting practices as had been reported over the previous five measurement waves. Self-concept was measured in terms of youth-perceived social relations and general self-worth. Pacific youth self-concept dimensions of parental relations, peer relations, and self-esteem were perceived as positive by 90%, 67%, and 61% of all youth, respectively. Cumulative parenting practices were most strongly related to the youth self-concept dimension of peer-relational competency, having enduring effects on youth-perceived peer relations. Optimal parenting practices related to greater odds of youth describing positive peer relations, while adverse parenting practices had the reverse effect.

This series of studies of Pacific maternal parenting practices found that positive intergenerational parenting practices persisted within the post-migration context. This was a novel finding within the PIF Study population. No continuity of negative intergenerational parenting was observed. The strong parent-child associations that were either both positive or both negative indicated that these behaviour patterns were bidirectionally reinforcing. They also related to youth-perceived quality of relations beyond the parent-child relationship. Maternal acculturation and higher education were protective factors for the relational wellbeing of both parent and child. The importance of maternal acculturation to optimal parenting practices and child behaviour development implies that trusted, proximal social support is vital to optimal parenting in the post-migration context. The need for sufficient material resources to support the healthy development of children was underscored by the risk of inadequate income to maladaptive parent and child behaviours.

The strong associations between maternal and child behaviours seen throughout childhood suggest that wellbeing developmental trajectories for both parent and child could be improved through early detection of behavioural challenges and parenting support. These findings advocate for a public health focus on reducing mothers’ social isolation that may result from cultural and language barriers, inadequate economic resources, or other factors affecting parental self-efficacy. Targeted, culturally responsive parenting support could benefit those mothers who do not recall frequent maternal nurturing in their own upbringing and those mothers currently experiencing challenging child behaviours. Public health initiatives that complement parental efforts to transmit adaptive cultural knowledge for relational health could benefit current and future generations and enhance wellbeing across multilevel social systems. Further in-depth research with Pacific mothers and youth is recommended to gain direct insights into the specific contexts that boost their personal agency to promote relational health and wellbeing resilience.