Abstract

This study examined the relationships between recollections of parental warmth and control and characteristics of the social support network, expecially network orientation in Korean and Caucasian American undergraduate students. One hundred and forty-seven Caucasian American and two hundred and twenty-one Korean students completed questionnaires regarding parental warmth and control and various characteristics of the social support network. The results showed that American students recalled their fathers and mothers as more warm and more controlling than did Korean students. Korean students showed more negative network orientation, perceived less amount of social support, and less satisfied with their perceived social support than did American students. Analyses also revealed that the more individuals recalled their parents as having been warm, the more positive perceptions about various characteristics of the social support network they reported. In addition, recalled father control were positively associated with perceived amount of social support for Korean students. The implications of these findings are discussed.