THE RELATION OF ALTRUISTIC ORIENTATION TO FAMILY SOCIAL-ENVIRONMENT IN CHINESE CHILDREN

A positive relation between altruistic orientation and family social e nvironment was found in a sample of 287 Chinese children in Hong Kong. High altruistic orientation was strongly associated with cohesive and harmonious family environment in which there were small amounts of op enly expressed anger, aggression and conflict among family members. Al truistic orientation was also high in families which emphasized on int ellectual and cultural activities. The relations of other family envir onmental characteristics to altruistic orientation were also investiga ted. The findings were interpreted in terms of the characteristics of the Chinese culture.