Effects of Chinese parental practices on adolescent school outcomes mediated by conformity to parents, self-esteem, and self-efficacy

Parental Autonomy Granting and School Functioning among Chinese Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Adolescents’ Cultural Values

“…Fit indices indicated good model fit: CFI mothers = 0.91, CFI fathers = 0.93, RMSEA mothers = 0.06, RMSEA fathers = 0.06 ( Supple et al, 2009 ). Reliabilities were also adequate, ranging from 0.77 to 0.83 ( Shen, 2011 ). In this study, reliability for adolescents’ perception of father’s (α = 0.90) and mother’s autonomy granting (α = 0.90) were high, with significantly high correlations between paternal and maternal scores.…”

“…For example, Chinese adolescents showed more willingness to adhere to their parents’ academic expectations compared to their American peers ( Chen and Lan, 1998 ). Although some Western researchers expressed concerns that too much conformity might prevent adolescents from developing social competency and autonomy ( Allen et al, 1989 ), Chinese adolescents who have high levels of conformity to their parents actually had higher school engagement and stronger school motivation ( Shen, 2011 ). Additionally, parent–adolescent conflict is another important family variable that has been found to impact youth outcomes in China, including school adjustment difficulties.…”

“…Various students’ characteristics, such as gender, age, only-child status and self-esteem, also have been found to contribute to school outcomes. Some researchers showed that Chinese girls tend to have better academic achievement than boys ( Shen, 2011 ; Liu et al, 2014 ), while others did not find these gender differences ( Schwartz et al, 2013 ). Moreover, older Chinese students tend to have lower GPAs (grade point averages) compared to younger students ( Shen, 2011 ), and self-esteem has been found to positively relate to school motivation and grades ( Tsai et al, 2001 ; Shen, 2011 ).…”

Ecological Influences on Chinese Adolescents’ Problem Behaviors: A Multilevel Analysis

“…Adolescents rated their perception of maternal and paternal behavioral autonomy granting on a 4-point Likert-type scale, from 1 = Strongly disagree to 4 = Strongly agree. The measure has been validated in Chinese samples, showing adequate reliabilities ranging from .77 to .83 (Shen, 2011; Supple, Ghazarian, Peterson, & Bush, 2009). In this study, there were high correlations between adolescent’s perception of maternal and paternal autonomy granting scores.…”

“…Although, some Western research found that adolescents’ conformity to parental norms/expectations are linked to negative outcomes, such as lower social competence and peer acceptance in the U.S. (Allen, Weissberg, & Hawkins, 1989), other scholars suggested that moderate levels of conformity to parental expectations are important and beneficial (Peterson, Bush, & Supple, 1999). In the Chinese context, conformity to parental expectations has been linked to higher self-esteem and better academic outcomes among Chinese adolescents (Shen, 2011). Research among adolescents from other collectivistic or interdependent cultures has also shown that youth who reported high levels of conformity displayed lower levels of delinquent behaviors (Molero Jurado et al, 2016) and were less likely to use substances (Hodson, Newcomb, Locke, & Goodyear, 2006).…”