The present study examines the relationships between the endorsement of filial piety and both universal and indigenous personality trait factors among Chinese subjects. Two groups of college students from Hong Kong and Beijing participated in the study and completed a questionnaire composed of the Filial Piety Scale, the Five Factor Inventory (FFI), and five facets selected from the Chinese Tradition factor of the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI). The results showed that (a) the indigenous CPAI facets can significantly contribute to predicting filial piety scores over and above the universal FFI factors, and (b) among the five factors of the FFI, Neuroticism and Openness significantly predicted filial piety, whereas among the five facets of Chinese Tradition, Harmony and Renqing (relation orientation) were the two significant predictors. Thus, whether filial piety is universal or culture-specific, improved prediction requires using indigenous measures in addition to the FFI.
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