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Faculty of Graduate Studies

Imran Tatla

  • BA Hons. (University of the Fraser Valley, 2022)
Notice of the Final Oral Examination for the Degree of Master of Science

Topic

Cultural Crossroads: How Parent-Child Dynamics and Ethnic Identity Styles Steer the Course of Love

Department of Psychology

Date & location

  • Monday, August 18, 2025
  • 11:00 A.M.
  • Clearihue Building, Room B021

Examining Committee

Supervisory Committee

  • Dr. Nigel Mantou Lou, Department of Psychology, ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ (Supervisor)
  • Dr. Ulrich Mueller, Department of Psychology, UVic (Member)

External Examiner

  • Dr. Shemine Gulamhusein, School of Child and Youth Care, UVic

Chair of Oral Examination

  • Dr. Georgia Sitara, Department of History, UVic

Abstract

The present study examined the impact of parent-child relationships on romantic competence (the ability to engage in close, caring relationships while managing emotions, maintaining control, and feeling confident in intimacy) in children of immigrants, with ethnic identity components (identity conflict and integration) as mediating factors (Kumar & Mattanah, 2016). Grounded in Erikson’s psychosocial theory (1968) and Berry’s acculturation framework (1997), this research examined whether lower acculturative conflict and higher familial ethnic socialization predict higher romantic competence via ethnic identity negotiation. Data was collected from 248 participants aged 18–28 and analyzed using path analysis. The findings suggest that higher autonomy conflict predicted greater intimacy avoidance. Cultural preference was indirectly linked to romantic competence outcomes through ethnic identity integration and conflict. Specifically, cultural preference conflict predicted higher ethnic identity conflict, which was associated with greater intimacy avoidance and romantic loneliness. Moreover, cultural preference conflict predicted lower ethnic identity integration, which was indirectly related to lower relationship self-efficacy. Further, familial ethnic socialization positively predicted ethnic identity integration, which, in turn, was associated with higher relationship self-efficacy. Finally, gender did not moderate the pathways among acculturative conflict, identity processes, and romantic competence outcomes. Overall, the findings demonstrate that unresolved cultural conflict with parents undermines romantic competence partly through disrupted ethnic identity negotiation. In contrast, supportive familial ethnic socialization can foster identity integration and enhance romantic competence. These processes operated similarly across genders within this sample, emphasizing the central role of cultural family dynamics and identity development in shaping romantic functioning among children of immigrants.

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