Exploring Intersections of Culture and Challenging Behaviors: Perspectives from Korean Caregivers

Little is known about how culturally and linguistically diverse caregivers perceive their child’s challenging behaviors. To gain an understanding of how caregivers’ perceptions are influenced by their cultural backgrounds, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 Korean caregivers (Korean American = 10 caregivers; Korean caregivers in Korea = 9) of children with autism and developmental disabilities who exhibited challenging behaviors. The themes emerged around how the caregivers defined behavior as challenging, what they perceived reasons for challenging behavior, how they respond to challenging behavior, and how challenging behaviors impact them. Findings from the study revealed some discernible differences between the two groups and suggested that caregivers are heavily influenced by cultural values and available resources in their current country of residence, despite having the same country of origin. Implications for research and practice include (a) developing more culturally responsive positive behavior support interventions or adapting existing interventions to increase cultural contextual fit and (b) increasing diversity of caregiver participants in behavioral research.