Parental Autonomy Support in Two Cultures: The Moderating Effects of Adolescents’ Self‐Construals

Abstract

Parental autonomy support has been related to positive adolescent outcomes, however, its relation to outcomes in collectivist cultural groups is unclear. This study examined relations of specific autonomy supportive behaviors and outcomes among 401 adolescents (M = 12.87) from the United States (N = 245) and collectivist-oriented Ghana (N = 156). It also examined whether adolescents' self-construals moderated the relations of specific types of autonomy support with outcomes. Factor analyses indicated two types of autonomy support: perspective taking/open exchange and allowance of decision making/choice. In both countries, perspective taking/open exchange predicted positive outcomes, but decision making/choice only did so in the United States. With regard to moderation, the more independent adolescents' self-construals, the stronger the relations of decision making/choice to parental controllingness and school engagement.

The mediating role of social capital in the relationship between socioeconomic status and adolescent wellbeing: evidence from Ghana

“…Thus, the respondents with low SES might have reported low life satisfaction possibly because of the direct physiological effects of lack of financial and material resources, which may inform, for example, poor shelter and inadequate material assets considering that the study participants were selected from the poorest region in Ghana. The finding that those with high social capital have high life satisfaction could also be linked to the socioemotional support derived from a sense of belonging, autonomy support, and control [34,35]. It was again found in this study that those with high social capital were more likely to feel happier compared to those with low social capital even after adjustments.…”

“…It is, hence, probable that the respondents assessed their life satisfaction based on their material conditions while they assessed their happiness based on their psychosocial conditions-social capital. The positive relationship between social capital and happiness can also be linked to the psychological benefits such as self-esteem and self-worth which is derived from a sense of belonging, autonomy, and control [34,35]. This study, moreover, found that autonomy support and control are crucial for the wellbeing of adolescents in a collectivist society-Ghana [28,34].…”

“…The positive relationship between social capital and happiness can also be linked to the psychological benefits such as self-esteem and self-worth which is derived from a sense of belonging, autonomy, and control [34,35]. This study, moreover, found that autonomy support and control are crucial for the wellbeing of adolescents in a collectivist society-Ghana [28,34]. Additionally, similar to assertions that parental autonomy support and control are two distinct constructs of parenting styles [27], the present study indicates that there are variations in how autonomy and control relate to different dimensions of wellbeing and the effect of family control on the wellbeing of Ghanaian adolescents is secondary to that of family autonomy support.…”

You should know me better: Parents’ temperament‐insensitivity has negative motivational effects on Bedouin and Jewish adolescents

“…Our results indicating lack of culture moderation are inconsistent with the results of some studies showing that the effects of several aspects of parental autonomy support and control are culturally sensitive (e.g., Marbell-Pierre, et al, 2017;Qin et al, 2009;Soenens et al, 2015). For example, Qin et al (2009) found that decision-making autonomy predicted enhanced emotional functioning more in the United States than in China.…”

“…While SDT's basic premises (Ryan & Deci, 2017) suggest that parental temperament-insensitivity is likely to undermine sense of autonomy and intrinsic motivation in most children, it is important to consider factors that may moderate these negative effects. Thus, in line with recent conceptualizations and research anchored in SDT (e.g., Marbell-Pierre, Grolnick, Stewart, & Raftery-Helmer, 2017;Soenens, Vansteenkiste, & Van Petegem, 2015) and research on autonomy in adolescence (e.g., Qin, Pomeratnz, & Wang, 2009), stressing the potential effects of cultural contexts, it seems important to start examining whether the negative effects of parental insensitivity to children's temperament dispositions are moderated, perhaps even canceled, by some cultural backgrounds. Research examining this issue is important because, if the negative effects of temperament-insensitivity will emerge across widely different cultures, this may suggest that temperament-sensitivity is a fundamental aspect of autonomy support.…”