Parent and Adolescent Contributors to Teenage Misconduct in Western and Asian High School Students in Hong Kong

Adolescent Misconduct Behaviors: A Cross-Cultural Perspective of Adolescents and Their Parents

The primary goal of the current study was to examine cultural differences in Chinese and U.S. adolescents' and parents' perceptions and evaluations of adolescent misconduct behaviors. A total of 395 U.S. and Chinese adolescents (ages 11-19 years) and 255 parents participated in this study. Each participant generated adolescent misconduct behaviors and rated each misconduct behavior as to the degree of wrongness. The misconduct behaviors were coded into 10 categories across three themes (moral offenses, drugs, and conventions). Results revealed significant cultural differences in a number of adolescent misconduct behaviors. For example, the United States generated more misconduct behaviors in weapon offenses and drug use than did China. These cultural differences were further complicated by an interaction between culture and generation. Chinese adolescents were more likely than U.S. adolescents to use categories of school, home, and social conventional violations, and considered these adolescent misconduct behaviors to be more wrong. However, it was the U.S. parents who considered adolescent misconduct behaviors in these categories to be more wrong than did Chinese parents.

The Development of a Big Five Adolescent Personality Inventory

Using data from 3,752 middle and high school students, a series of eight studies developed and validated a measure of the Big Five personality traits tailored to adolescents, the Adolescent Personal Style Inventory (APSI). Study 1 tested the internal consistency reliability of the first version of the APSI. Study 2 validated the APSI against teacher ratings of Big Five traits. Study 3 confirmed the five-factor structure of the APSI. Study 4 developed evidence for the criterion-related validity of the APSI in two high schools using GPA, absences, and behavior problems. Study 5 demonstrated convergence of traits measured in the APSI and the NEO-FFI. Study 6 investigated the construct validity of the APSI in relation to the 16 PF, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and Otis-Lennon intelligence test. Study 7 examined known-group validation with two groups-an at-risk group of high school students and a high school leadership group. Study 8 provided descriptive statistics, coefficient alphas ranging from .80 to .85, and intercorrelation coefficients for subscales in the revised version of the APSI. Together the eight studies demonstrate the psychometric adequacy of the new Adolescent Personal Style Inventory.

Influences on Children’s Sharing in a Multicultural Setting

The authors examined contributors to sharing in Western and Asian children in relation to hypotheses derived from the cross-cultural framework. Parenting practices emphasizing training and awareness of others, and children’s moral reasoning were associated with larger donations. Asian girls shared more when their donations were identified rather than anonymous and shared more than Asian boys. Western boys and girls shared equally in all conditions. Moral reasoning was associated with donation, consistent with previous findings. Parenting practices and moral reasoning predicted 15% of the variance in anonymous donation. The findings suggest an integration of developmental and cultural influences on sharing in elementary school children.

Some Thoughts on the Future of Cross-Cultural Social Psychology

This article presents some predictions for the future of cross-cultural social psychology. It begins with the argument that all social psychology is cultural and that there is ever-growing acceptance of this fact. The results of this acceptance will be an increase in the pervasiveness of culture as a variable, a growth in multicultural research teams, and a recentering of research in social psychology. The introduction of non-Western constructs and theories, such as the interdependent self and relationship harmony, will increase in the future and bring with them a focus on research on interpersonal interactions and relationships. Finally, a model is presented that it is hoped will lead to studies that include both group-level and individual-level variables. It is concluded that an increase in complexity of studies and the incorporation of interdisciplinary research will lead to greater understanding of the mutual effects of culture and social behavior.

Applicability of Baumrind's parent typology to collective cultures: Analysis of cultural explanations of parent socialization effects

This article reviews studies that have examined whether Baumrind's parenting styles are related to child outcomes similarly in cultures where independence is said to be emphasized versus cultures where interdependence is said to be emphasized. I present evidence showing that Baumrind's parenting styles have similar function in both collectivist and individualist cultures. Based on these studies, I argue against the claim of some researchers that authoritarian parenting is not detrimental or authoritative parenting beneficial to the development of young people in cultures that are said to emphasize interdependence. However, more research is needed before conclusions can be reached about the extent to which the culture construct explains child-rearing effects on child development. Future directions for research, which include the importance of identifying diverse forms of parenting within interdependent cultures so as to distinguish the influence of functional and dysfunctional forms of parenting on child outcomes, are suggested.

Adolescent-parent disagreements and life satisfaction in families from Vietnamese- and European-American backgrounds

The authors investigated the relationship between adolescent-parent differences in the endorsement of family obligations and adolescent life satisfaction, in families from two differing cultural backgrounds. Surveys were completed by 238 adolescents and their parents, including 135 European-American families and 103 Vietnamese-American families. We examined the relationship between discrepancies and life satisfaction and the moderating effect of cultural background on this relationship. Results showed that adolescent-parent discrepancies were a strong negative predictor of life satisfaction, across two groups that differ both culturally and demographically. The effect was not moderated by cultural background.

Are discrepancies in perceptions of psychological control related to maladjustment? A study of adolescents and their parents in Turkey

The current study examined whether adolescent–parent discrepancies in the perception of psychological control are associated with adolescent maladjustment. The sample consisted of 552 Turkish adolescents attending high school and their parents. Half of the adolescents had similar scores to their parents, while the remaining half thought differently. The results of the polynomial regression with response surface analysis showed that the incongruence between reports was positively associated with having deviant friends for males, and feelings of loneliness for females. Results suggested that reports of low levels of psychological control for father–adolescent pairs were associated with fewer deviant friends for males and lower levels of loneliness for females. Moreover, the possibility of having deviant friends was higher when males and their mothers were congruent in reporting high levels of psychological control. These findings highlight the importance of consideration of perceptual differences in parental practices in relation to adolescent maladjustment.

Student classroom misbehavior: an exploratory study based on teachers' perceptions

This study aimed to examine the conceptions of junior secondary school student misbehaviors in classroom, and to identify the most common, disruptive, and unacceptable student problem behaviors from teachers' perspective. Twelve individual interviews with teachers were conducted. A list of 17 student problem behaviors was generated. Results showed that the most common and disruptive problem behavior was talking out of turn, followed by nonattentiveness, daydreaming, and idleness. The most unacceptable problem behavior was disrespecting teachers in terms of disobedience and rudeness, followed by talking out of turn and verbal aggression. The findings revealed that teachers perceived student problem behaviors as those behaviors involving rule-breaking, violating the implicit norms or expectations, being inappropriate in the classroom settings and upsetting teaching and learning, which mainly required intervention from teachers.

Parenting styles in a cultural context: observations of "protective parenting" in first-generation Latinos

Current literature presents four primary parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful. These styles provide an important shortcut for a constellation of parenting behaviors that have been characterized as consisting of warmth, demandingness, and autonomy granting. Empirically, only warmth and demandingness are typically measured. Research reporting on parenting styles in Latino samples has been equivocal leading to questions about conceptualization and measurement of parenting styles in this ethnic/cultural group. This lack of consensus may result from the chasm between concepts (e.g., authoritarian parenting) and observable parenting behaviors (e.g., warmth) in this ethnic group. The present research aimed to examine parenting styles and dimensions in a sample of Latino parents using the two usual dimensions (warmth, demandingness) and adding autonomy granting. Traditional parenting styles categories were examined, as well as additional categorizations that resulted from adding autonomy granting. Fifty first-generation Latino parents and their child (aged 4-9) participated. Parent-child interactions were coded with the Parenting Style Observation Rating Scale (P-SOS). In this sample, the four traditional parenting categories did not capture Latino families well. The combination of characteristics resulted in eight possible parenting styles. Our data showed the majority (61%) of Latino parents as "protective parents." Further, while mothers and fathers were similar in their parenting styles, expectations were different for male and female children. The additional dimensions and implications are discussed. The importance of considering the cultural context in understanding parenting in Latino families is emphasized, along with directions for future research.

Misconduct Among Chinese American Adolescents

This study examined the relation between acculturation and misconduct among Chinese American adolescents. The sample included 309 adolescents (mean age = 14.7 years, SD = 0.71; 54% female), recruited from two high schools in an ethnically diverse, urban city on the West Coast. Findings showed that acculturation (i.e., generational status and U.S. and Chinese cultural involvements) did not predict misconduct. But specific cultural values (i.e., family obligation and autonomy expectations) did. Specifically, youth with stronger family obligation and later autonomy expectations engaged in less misconduct. Such findings suggest that examining specific and developmentally-salient cultural values may be especially helpful in explaining why some Chinese Americans engage in misconduct.

Racial variation in self-labeled child abuse and associated internalizing symptoms among adolescents who are high risk

One thousand and ten Non-Hispanic White, African American, Hispanic, and Asian Pacific Islander youth who were high risk and receiving public sector services were interviewed regarding history of child emotional and physical abuse and current internalizing symptoms. The study examined whether race moderated the association between adolescents' reports of specific parent behaviors and their self-labeling as victims of abuse. The study also examined whether reports of parental behaviors or self-labeled abuse better predicted internalizing symptoms, and whether these associations differed by race. When reporting punitive parent behavior, Non-Hispanic White youth were more likely to describe themselves as abused compared to Asian Pacific Islanders. Reported punitive parental behaviors accounted for more variance in internalizing symptoms than did self-labeled abuse. Reports of parent behaviors were more strongly related to concurrent internalizing symptoms among ethnic minority youth than among Non-Hispanic White youth. Results are discussed in the context of cultural competence in identification of child abuse.