Transmission of ideas about love: Filial piety, love attitudes, and romantic satisfaction

Abstract

This study examined the relations between filial piety, attitudes about romantic relationships (love attitudes), and satisfaction in romantic relationships in the Chinese cultural context. The following research questions were investigated: How are adult children's filial piety beliefs connected to their love attitudes, and how do these contribute to their satisfaction in romantic relationships? A total of 412 college students in Taiwan who were currently involved or had been involved in romantic relationships participated in the study. Structural equation modeling showed that filial piety contributes to satisfaction in romantic relationships through the mediating effects of love attitudes. The findings advance our understanding of filial piety and its implications for young adults' romantic relationships.

Relations Between Dual Filial Piety and Life Satisfaction: The Mediating Roles of Individuating Autonomy and Relating Autonomy

“…However, gender difference in authoritarian FP was not statistically significant ( t = 0.37, p > 0.05, Cohen’s d = 0.04; Female: mean = 29.01, SD = 5.82; Male: mean = 28.80, SD = 5.17). These findings were consistent with previous research suggesting that females held stronger reciprocal FP than did Chinese males (Leung et al, 2010; Chen and Wu, 2017).…”

Expectation and Evaluation of Spouse’s Filial Piety and Marital Satisfaction in China

“…Adding to the nuclear family-focused marital expectations ( Fletcher et al, 2000 ; Campbell et al, 2001 ; Simpson et al, 2002 ; Khazan et al, 2008 ; Seiger and Wiese, 2011 ), consistent with previous research results that filial piety could be proposed as an important virtue for mate preference ( Zhang and Kline, 2009 ; Jiang and Gong, 2015 ; Gui and Li, 2019 ), the present study found a culture-specific marital expectation under the extended family historical background and confirmed that young Chinese couples identify with filial virtue and evaluate their spouse’s filial piety toward their parents and that a higher evaluation implies higher marital satisfaction. The present study is different from Chen and Wu (2017) focus on the transmission of filial piety belief to “Storge and Agape” love attitudes. From Chen and Wu (2017) perspective, young people interacted with parents and with romantic partners similarly; the researchers did not take into account the conflict of interest between partner and parents, and thus the study did not include a comprehensive description of family interaction in reality.…”

“…The present study is different from Chen and Wu (2017) focus on the transmission of filial piety belief to “Storge and Agape” love attitudes. From Chen and Wu (2017) perspective, young people interacted with parents and with romantic partners similarly; the researchers did not take into account the conflict of interest between partner and parents, and thus the study did not include a comprehensive description of family interaction in reality. Considering conflicts of interest between spouse and parents, the current study’s result confirms the expectancy violations theory that a condition which matches one’s expectations leads to a satisfactory relationship ( Burgoon, 1993 ; Wu and Huang, 2012 ).…”

“…If he does not approve of his wife, but his parents say, ‘she serves us well,’ he should behave with her in all respects as his wife, without fail, till the end of her life.” Although marriage and filial piety bind with each other so intensely as stated, only few studies have considered connecting filial piety with adult children’s romantic relationships in the present. Chen and Wu (2017) argue that there is a transmission from parent-child relationships to romantic relationships, that is, people who held strong filial piety beliefs are more likely to hold Storge and Agape loving attitudes toward their partners, which leads to satisfaction in romantic relationships; however, their research was based on undergraduate students who have not experienced actual family conflicts of interests between family members as experienced by married couples. Contrary to this “parents-partner” transmission theory, other researchers see the young couple as being responsible for negotiating various people’s interests in their intricate social network, especially each other’s parents’ interests ( Huston, 2000 ; Milardo and Helms-Erikson, 2000 ).…”

Transmission of ideas about love: Filial piety, love attitudes, and romantic satisfaction

“…In Chen and Wu (), the authors wish to correct the affiliation of Chih‐Wen Wu to: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, National Taiwan Normal University…”