Early Childhood Behavioral and Social-Emotional Development Among Asian Indian, Filipino, and Korean Families in the United States: A Pilot Study

TL;DR

This pilot study explores early childhood development and parenting practices among Asian Indian, Filipino, and Korean American families in the U.S., highlighting differences in children's behaviors and the feasibility of remote data collection.

Contribution

The study provides preliminary insights into ethnic differences in child development and evaluates a remote research protocol for Asian American families.

Findings

Children of Filipino mothers had higher screen time and sleep problems compared to those of Asian Indian mothers.

Children of Korean mothers showed higher caregiver interaction scores.

Better parenting practices were linked to improved child wellbeing and lower sleep issues across all groups.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Socio-cultural adversities and health disparities across Asian American origin groups remain understudied, particularly in early childhood. This limits the development of culturally responsive prevention and intervention strategies. A family-based Asian American epidemiologic study is essential to address these gaps and to inform tailored solutions. As an initial pilot effort, this pilot study was designed primarily to assess feasibility and generate preliminary data to inform future hypothesis-driven, large-scale epidemiologic research. The study objectives were to evaluate the feasibility of a remote study protocol and to collect preliminary data on child development and parental factors among Asian Indian, Filipino, and Korean American families with young children. Methods: A remote pilot study was conducted in 2024–25 among 48 mother–father–child (age 1–4 years) triads residing in Illinois, including 18 Asian Indian, 12 Filipino, and 18 Korean American mothers. Parents completed an online survey, and children wore an ActiGraph accelerometer on their hips. Analyses were conducted to describe child development, parental experiences, and parenting practices among the three ethnic groups. Results: Of the 48 mothers, 29 (60%) were US-born, and all but 1 had at least a bachelor’s degree. All parent pairs completed the survey, whereas only 34 children (71%) provided valid accelerometer data. Disaggregated data showed that, compared to children of Asian Indian mothers, children of Filipino mothers had higher daily screen time (p < 0.10) and higher sleep problem scores (p < 0.05), and children of Korean mothers had higher child–caregiver interaction scores (p < 0.05). Across all three groups, more favorable parenting practices were associated with lower sleep problem scores, higher wellbeing scores, and higher child–caregiver interaction scores (p < 0.01). Conclusions: The remote study protocol was generally feasible; however, child compliance with hip accelerometer wear was suboptimal. Preliminary data revealed differences in children’s physical behaviors and social-emotional development across Asian ethnic groups. A full-scale study should enhance the engagement of socioeconomically diverse families and refine wearable data collection methods to improve data representativeness and completeness.

Figures