Asian “Guan” Parenting and Life Satisfaction Among Adolescents in Malaysia: The Mediating Role of Filial Piety

Abstract

Literature on adolescent development has shown that parenting practices have positive relationships with adolescents’ life satisfaction. Adolescents’ life satisfaction improves when they have parents low in psychological control who uphold reciprocal self-disclosure in their communication. Guan parenting was found to correlate positively with adolescents’ development. Therefore, it is methodologically important to replicate the investigation on the relationship between adolescents’ life satisfaction and Guan parenting. Literature suggests that filial piety is shaped by parenting practices and adolescents who perceived intense parental concern, care, and involvement tend to uphold filial piety and express gratitude toward parents which may promote the adolescents’ life satisfaction. In this study, mediation analysis was done to elucidate the relationship among parents’ guan parenting style, filial piety, and life satisfaction on 606 adolescents (Mage=15.07; SDage=1.03; 52.1% females) in Malaysia. The adolescents were sampled through cluster sampling, and data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. The results showed positive relationship between paternal and maternal guan parenting with filial piety and adolescents’ life satisfaction. Greater parents’ filial piety was linked to higher life satisfaction among adolescents. Findings from the mediation models indicated the association among guan parenting with filial piety, gratitude toward parents, and higher life satisfaction. The findings also offered empirical evidence to the underlying mechanism of how guan parenting could affect adolescent life satisfaction via the mediating role of filial piety. The findings also supported the importance of culture-infused parenting in inculcating adolescents’ filial piety besides establishing its link to life satisfaction in Asian families.

Effects of filial piety belief on cyberbullying perpetration of Chinese university students

“…These areas are also deeply influenced by Confucius culture. Empirical studies have demonstrated that filial piety belief has a significant impact on young people from East Asia ( Ismail et al, 2009 ; Nainee et al, 2022 ), suggesting that the present conclusion may be found in these countries.…”

“…Children’s perceived parental authority can reduce parent–child conflicts, thus decreasing delinquency; parental legitimacy mediates the effect of parenting style on changes in delinquency ( Zhang et al, 2006 ; Trinkner et al, 2012 ). Similarly, AFP significantly impacts on parent–child conflicts and children’s externalizing behaviors; AFP can act as a mediator on the association between parenting style and children’s life satisfaction ( Li et al, 2014 ; Nainee et al, 2022 ). Given these similarities, we speculate that children’s perceived legitimacy of parental authority may influence cyberbullying perpetration.…”

Constructing Indigenous Psychological Theories From A Global Perspective: Taking Filial Piety Model As An Example

“…The results extend the cross-cultural validity of the DFPM to Eastern Europe, and provide a counterpoint to paradigm of East-West differences. Nainee et al (2021) also applied the Malaysian version of the DFPS to elucidate the relationships among parenting style, filial piety, and life satisfaction for adolescents in Malaysia as well. In addition, Lim et al (2022) applied the English version of the DFPS to Asian and Caucasian Americans to demonstrate the cross-cultural applicability of the DFPM on the topic of caring for elderly parents and the potential to reflect significant filial differences within an individualist society.…”

A moderated mediation model of implicit theories of intelligence and life satisfaction among Chinese adolescents

“…According to ecological system theory, parental factors, as important micro-system factors, may interact with individual factors (e.g., career exploration) in adolescent development (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). Although numerous studies have demonstrated the role of general parenting behavior in adolescent social development outcomes (e.g., LS, empathy, and cyberbullying) (Avci & Sak, 2018; Liang et al, 2021; Nainee et al, 2021; Wu et al, 2021; Zhang et al, 2021b), few studies have explored the role of specific parenting behaviors related to career development. “Career-specific parental behaviors refer to the concrete actions parents use to guide the career development of their children” (Dietrich & Kracke, 2009; Guan et al, 2015, p. 95).…”