Low-income Latinas/os are exposed to widespread mental health disparities in the United States. Most recently, a resurgence of anti-immigration narratives has led vulnerable Latina/o immigrants to experience considerable contextual stressors with multiple deleterious consequences for their overall well-being, including significant disruptions to their parenting practices.

Therapists are expected to practice cultural awareness. However, there is limited guidance on what this means when working with second or third generation families. This grounded theory study used a social constructionist life course perspective to understand how second generation Korean American parents locate themselves in the sociopolitical context and draw on these intergenerational experiences to construct a parenting ideology.

Objective: The present study examined the intergenerational risk of instrumental filial responsibility in the first generation on children’s externalizing behaviors in the next generation and examined difficult child temperament as a potential moderator of this association.