Chinese Adolescents' Decision-Making, Parent-Adolescent Communication and Relationships

Abstract

The present study described Mainland Chinese adolescents' decision-making, and examined the relationship among their decision-making involvement, parent-adolescent communication and relationship variables by using Structural Equation Modeling. Results demonstrated that Chinese parents appeared to be less authoritarian than the prevailing literature had described. Chinese adolescents experienced a passage of autonomy development similar to that of their American counterparts. Good parent-adolescent communication was positively associated with cohesion and negatively associated with conflict. It also mediated the relationship between adolescent age and parent-adolescent conflict. The Yan R. Xia is affiliated with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Xiaolin Xie is affiliated with Northern Illinois University. Zhi Zhou is affiliated with First Data Corporation. John DeFrain is affiliated with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. William H. Meredith is affiliated with Kansas State University. Raedene Combs is affiliated with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. KEYWORDS.Chinese adolescents, decision-making, parent-adolescent communication, parent-adolescent relationships significant at p < .001 (see Figure 1). Relationships Among the Constructs and Variables. The structural parameter estimates-path coefficients from the model with mother-adolescent communication and the model with father-adolescent communication are presented in Figure 1. Results indicated that as adolescents were growing older, father-or mother-adolescent communication became less open and more problematic, and mother-adolescent relationship experienced more conflict. Adolescent age was a strong predictor of decision involvement. Parents' education was not observed to have a significant link to parent-adolescent communication. Better mother-adolescent communication was observed to be strongly associated with higher cohesion and less conflict. The more adolescents were involved in decision-making, the less conflict between mother and son or daughter. Father-adolescent communication was found to be a strong predictor of cohesion and conflict as was mother-adolescent communication.Mediating Effects. Both father-and mother-adolescent communication had a significant mediating effect on the relationship between age and conflict. The older the adolescent was, the poorer parent-adolescent communication (Re: father, = Ϫ.16, p < .001; Re: mother, = Ϫ.12, p < .01). In turn, the poorer parent-adolescent communication, the more conflict there was between parents and adolescent children (Re: father, = Ϫ.50, p < .001; Re: mother, = Ϫ.55, p < .001). No significant path coefficients were observed from either father-or mother-adolescent communication to decision involvement (Re: father, = .02, p > .10; Re: mother, = Ϫ.06, p > .10). Nor were the paths from decision involvement to cohesion (Re: father, = Ϫ.01, p > .05; Re: mother, = .03, p > .10). Therefore, decision involvement did not have any mediating effect on the relationship between parent-adolescent communication ...

Chinese Parents’ Perspectives on Adolescent Sexuality Education

“…In the present study, the latent construct of parent-child relationship quality included authoritative parenting style, parent-child communication, and relationship cohesion. This conceptualization of the parent-child relationship is consistent with current research indicating that Chinese parents are increasingly adopting a parenting style that is warm and attentive and allows for joint decision making (Chen & Li, 2012;Xia et al, 2004 Finally, our results suggest that this model is largely consistent regardless of the gender of the parent and the gender of the child and whether parents reside in a district of the city labeled as urban versus rural. Although the model fit well for all groups tested, the path between cultural beliefs and engagement in sexuality education was not as strong for parents of boys.…”

“…In the present study, the latent construct of parent-child relationship quality included authoritative parenting style, parent-child communication, and relationship cohesion. This conceptualization of the parent-child relationship is consistent with current research indicating that Chinese parents are increasingly adopting a parenting style that is warm and attentive and allows for joint decision making (Chen & Li, 2012;Xia et al, 2004).…”

“…These researchers also find that authoritative qualities are associated with perceptions of social change (Chen, Bian, Xin, Wang, & Silbereisen, 2010). Xia et al (2004) also found evidence that authoritative qualities such as greater acceptance of adolescents" rights, choices, and input on family decisions are increasing among Chinese parents. They found that greater parent-adolescent communication and involvement in decision-making was linked to higher degrees of cohesion and less family conflict (Xia et al, 2004).…”

“…Xia et al (2004) also found evidence that authoritative qualities such as greater acceptance of adolescents" rights, choices, and input on family decisions are increasing among Chinese parents. They found that greater parent-adolescent communication and involvement in decision-making was linked to higher degrees of cohesion and less family conflict (Xia et al, 2004). These results and others (e.g., Pong, Johnston, & Chen, 2010) suggest that the communication patterns associated with authoritative parenting in the United States may also characterize those in China.…”

Differentiating Ideals versus Practices in the Discussion of Confucian Influences on Chinese Parent–Child Relationships

“…Also, Yue and Ng (1999) found that young people tended to endorse high respect for elders but not obedience. Taken together, Chinese adolescent children demand autonomy and independence, and Chinese parents, willingly or not, need to negotiate with their children regarding everyday authority issues, which is not much different from the typically depicted Western family (Xia et al, 2004). Nonetheless, Chinese children might consider attentive parental monitoring and organization, instead of expressive affection, as indicative of parental love and warmth (Bush, Peterson, Cobas, & Supple, 2002).…”