The Role of High Parental Expectations in Adolescents’ Academic Performance and Depression in Hong Kong

Abstract

Extensive research has demonstrated the positive relationship between parental expectations and adolescents’ academic performance. However, little attention has been paid to the negative influence of parental expectations on adolescents’ emotion well-being. The present study investigated the effects of high parental expectations on both academic performance and depression of adolescents. In addition, it also explored whether these relationships could be mediated through adolescents’ value of academic success, self-efficacy, and supports from parents and school. The sample consisted of 872 adolescents from secondary schools in Hong Kong and the results revealed that high parental expectations were positively associated with adolescents’ academic performance and also positively associated with their depression. The mediating roles of adolescents’ value of academic success and school support frequency were also confirmed. This study provides some implications for parenting practice by clarifying the complex roles of parental expectations and the need for social support for adolescents.

The wounded self—lonely in a crowd: A qualitative study of the voices of children living with atopic dermatitis in Hong Kong

“…This study also identifies the important influence of high academic stress on the experiences of school‐aged children living with AD. Confucian culture highly values academic excellence (Li, Xue, Wang, & Wang, ), as evidenced by the following sentence from an ancient Chinese poem: “Learning (studying) is better than doing any other thing.” High academic stress among children and high parental expectations regarding their children's achievement are very common in Chinese society (Ma, Siu, & Tse, ). However, this phenomenon may be more complicated in families that have a child with AD.…”

Perceived Helicopter Parenting and Korean Emerging Adults’ Psychological Adjustment: The Mediational Role of Parent–Child Affection and Pressure from Parental Career Expectations

“…This result suggests that when parents are overinvolved without allowing their children to experience sufficient autonomy to solve problems and make decisions, their emerging adult children are likely to feel the burden of satisfying their parents’ high career expectations. Korean emerging adults may be vulnerable to this burden because children in filial piety cultures tend to prioritize their parents’ expectations and are worried about disappointing their parents (Ma et al 2018 ). The significant link between pressure from parental career expectations and greater depressive symptoms in this study is in line with Jeong and Yoo ( 2015 ).…”

“…This feeling may have confounded the negative effect of the pressure on their overall evaluation of life by prompting the child to strive for a better life. A study of adolescents in Hong Kong showed that high parental expectations were linked to better academic performance as well as greater depressive symptoms (Ma et al 2018 ), which suggests that high parental expectations play a complex role. Helicopter parents’ high expectations could also lead to narcissism (Segrin et al 2013 ).…”

“…Particularly in emerging adulthood, pressure from parental career expectations may lead to lower levels of psychological adjustment. In a study conducted in Hong Kong (Ma et al 2018 ), high parental expectations were associated with adolescents’ depression even though the high expectations contributed to better academic performance. Parents’ unrealistic expectations for their children’s career also play a negative role in Korean college students’ psychological adjustment (Jeong and Yoo 2015 ; Shin and Yoo 2012 ).…”

“…Because helicopter parents maintain high expectations and overly stress their children’s success, these children are likely to internalize the high expectations and become sensitive to whether they can fulfill these expectations, which creates emotional pressure. In particular, emerging adults in Confucian countries commonly prioritize their parents’ expectations over their own goals and wishes due to the influence of filial piety (Ma et al 2018 ; Shin and Yoo 2012 ).…”