Intergenerational patterns of values and autonomy expectations in culturesof relatedness and separateness

This study assessed the assumption that socialization practices relevant to value priorities and autonomy expectations differ between collectivist and individualist cultures. The authors investigated value priorities and auto nomy expectations in 58 pairs of Caucasian and 66 pairs of Asian teenagers and their mothers. This pairing enabled them to address similarities on val ues and autonomy expectations within families, which has not been done prev iously. Although Asian and Caucasian teenagers showed similarities on many value priorities, Asian participants' autonomy expectations were delayed co mpared to those of their Caucasian counterparts. Mother-teenager autonomy e xpectations were correlated in Asian but not in Caucasian families. Unlike Asian mothers, Caucasian mothers endorsing high value priority for Openness to Change supported earlier autonomy expectations for their teenagers. Par ental expectations unpackaged the effect of culture on teenagers' autonomy expectations. These findings support models that predict persistent family interdependence despite adoption of many individualist values in modernizin g collectivist cultures.