CHINESE DIMENSIONS OF PARENTING - BROADENING WESTERN PREDICTORS AND OUTCOMES

This study examined perceived parental styles and psychosocial adjustm ent in 97 Hong Kong Chinese late adolescent girls, using culturally se nsitive measures of parenting (warmth, restrictive control, and attrib utes related to the Chinese philosophy of guan or ''training''), and o f adjustment. Parenting characteristics associated with guan showed co herence, correlated significantly with parental warmth, and predicted well-being. Contrary to the suggestions of other investigators, restri ctive control related negatively to self-esteem and well-being. Matern al control and paternal warmth emerged as important parent style varia bles in relating to adaptation, and exercized their effects on well-be ing partly through the mediating agency of self-esteem and relationshi p harmony. This preliminary study provides an empirical investigation of the impact exercized by a culturally specific dimension proposed fo r Chinese parenting, and highlights the importance of using culturally sensitive measures of adaptation.