Ecological Influences on Chinese Adolescents’ Problem Behaviors: A Multilevel Analysis

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of individuals, school, and familial protective and risk factors and their interactions on adolescent problem behaviors using a stratified random sample of 2,864 (51.5% female) students from 55 classrooms in 13 schools in Shanghai, China (M_age = 15.52 years, SD = 1.62). Results from the multilevel analyses indicate that being male, having high parent–adolescent conflict, high independent self-construal, low conformity, low grade rank, and low classroom-level and individual-level school adjustment predicted problem behaviors. Adolescent independent self-construal also interacted with parental autonomy granting to predict vandalism. For adolescents with low or moderate levels of independent self-construal, autonomy granting predicted lower odds of vandalism, but for adolescents with high levels of independent self-construal, parental autonomy granting predicted higher odds of vandalism. The findings highlight the complex effects of parenting and independent/interdependent self-construals on adolescent problem behaviors in China.

Keywords

parental autonomy granting independent/interdependent self-construals problem behavior Chinese adolescents

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Allen

J. P.

Weissberg

R. P.

Hawkins

J. A.

(1989). The relation between values and social competence in early adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 25, 458-464.

Jia

(2009). Comparison of behavior and emotional response between only-child and non-only-child middle school students in Beijing. Chinese Journal of School Health, 30, 1003-1005.

Bandura

(1994). Self-efficacy. In Ramachandran

V. S.

(Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior (Vol. 4, pp. 71-81). New York, NY: Academic Press. (Reprinted in Friedman

[Ed.], Encyclopedia of mental health. San Diego: Academic Press, 1998). Retrieved from https://web.stanford.edu/~kcarmel/CC_BehavChange_Course/readings/Bandura_Selfefficacy_1994.htm

Bartlett

Holditch-Davis

Belyea

(2007). Problem behaviors in adolescents. Psychiatric Nursing, 33(1), 13-18.

Baumeister

R. F.

Smart

Boden

J. M.

(1996). Relation of threatened egotism to violence and aggression: The dark side of high self-esteem. Psychological Review, 103, 5-33.

Bergeron

Schneider

B. H.

(2005). Explaining cross-national differences in peer-directed aggression: A quantitative synthesis. Aggressive Behavior, 31, 116-137. doi:10.1002/ab.20049

Bond

M. H.

(1986). The psychology of the Chinese people. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Bond

M. H.

(2004). Culture and aggression—From context to coercion. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 8, 62-78.

Bronfenbrenner

(1992). Ecological systems theory. In Vasta

(Ed.), Six theories of child development: Revised formulations and current issues (pp. 187-249). London, England: Jessica Kingsley.

10.

Bush

K. R.

(2000). Separatedness and connectedness in the parent-adolescent relation as predictors of adolescent self-esteem in U.S. and Chinese samples. Marriage & Family Review, 30, 153-178. doi:10.1300/J002v3001_10

11.

Bush

K. R.

Peterson

G. W.

Chung

G. R.

(2013). Family relationship predictors of parent-adolescent conflict: Cross-cultural similarities and differences. Child Studies in Diverse Contexts, 3(1), 49-68.

12.

Bush

K. R.

Peterson

G. W.

Cobas

J. A.

Supple

A. J.

(2002). Adolescents’ perceptions of parental behaviors as predictors of adolescent self-esteem in mainland China. Sociological Inquiry, 72, 503-526.

13.

Carter

M. A.

Frewen

Chunn

(2014). Through the eyes of parents: A Singaporean perspective of the importance of cognitive and non-cognitive skills for six-year-old children. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 39(3), 57-65.

14.

Chao

(1995). Chinese and European American cultural models of the self-reflected in mothers’ child-rearing beliefs. Ethos, 23, 328-354.

15.

Chao

R. K.

(2001). Extending research on the consequences of parenting style for Chinese Americans and European Americans. Child Development, 72, 1832-1843.

16.

Cheung

McBride-Chang

(2008). Relations of perceived maternal parenting style, practices, and learning motivation to academic competence in Chinese children. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 54(1), 1-22.

17.

Cheung

C. S.

Pomerantz

E. M.

Wang

(2016). Controlling and autonomy-supportive parenting in the United States and China: Beyond children’s reports. Child Development, 87, 1992-2007. doi:10.1111/cdev.1256

18.

Cheung

Y. W.

(1997). Family, school, peer, and media predictors of adolescent deviant behavior in Hong Kong. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 26, 569-596.

19.

Cross

S. E.

Hardin

E. E.

Gercek-Swing

(2011). The what, how, why, and where of self-construal. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 15, 142-179.

20.

Deković

(1999). Risk and protective factors in the development of problem behavior during adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 28, 667-685.

21.

Ellickson

P. L.

McGuigan

K. A.

(2000). Early predictors of adolescent violence. American Journal of Public Health, 90, 566-572.

22.

Elliot

D. S.

(1990). National youth survey. Boulder: Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado.

23.

Farrell

A. D.

Sullivan

T. N.

Esposito

L. E.

Meyer

A. L.

Valois

R. F.

(2005). A latent growth curve analysis of the structure of aggression, drug use, and delinquent behaviors and their interrelations over time in urban and rural adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15, 179-204.

24.

Feldman

S. S.

Rosenthal

D. A.

(1991). Age expectations of behavioral autonomy in Hong Kong Australian and American youth: The influence of family variables and adolescents’ values. International Journal of Psychology, 26(1), 1-23.

25.

Griffin

K. W.

Botvin

G. J.

Scheier

L. M.

Diaz

Miller

N. L.

(2000). Parenting practices as predictors of substance use, delinquency, and aggression among urban minority youth: Moderating effects of family structure and gender. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 14, 174-184.

26.

Grolnick

W. S.

Deci

E. L.

Ryan

R. M.

(1997). Internalization within the family: The self-determination theory perspective. In Grusec

J. E.

Kuczynski

(Eds.), Parenting and children’s internalization of values: A handbook of contemporary theory (pp. 78-99). London, England: Wiley.

27.

Hahm

H. C.

Lahiff

Guterman

N. B.

(2003). Acculturation and parental attachment in Asian-American adolescents’ alcohol use. Journal of Adolescent Health, 33, 119-129.

28.

(1997). Gao zhong sheng du sheng yu fei du sheng zi nv ren ge te zhi de bi jiao yan jiu [Comparison of personality traits between only-child and non-only child high school students]. Psychological Development and Education, 1997(1), 21-25. doi:10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.1997.01.005

29.

Hodson

Newcomb

M. D.

Locke

T. F.

Goodyear

R. K.

(2006). Childhood adversity, poly-substance use, and disordered eating in adolescent Latinas: Mediated and indirect paths in a community sample. Child Abuse & Neglect, 30, 1017-1036. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2005.10.017

30.

Jessor

Turbin

M. S.

Costa

F. M.

Dong

Zhang

Wang

(2003). Adolescent problem behavior in China and the United States: A cross-national study of psychosocial protective factors. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13, 329-360.

31.

Kagitcibasi

(2005). Autonomy and relatedness in cultural context: Implications for self and family. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 36, 403-422. doi:10.1177/0022022105275959

32.

Kim

Markus

H. R.

(1999). Deviance or uniqueness, harmony or conformity? A cultural analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 785-800.

33.

Lam

(2003). Covert parental control: Parent-adolescent interaction and adolescent development in a Chinese context. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 15(1), 63-77.

34.

Leung

Lau

Lam

W. L.

(1998). Parenting styles and achievement: A cross-cultural study. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 44, 157-172.

35.

Wang

Shi

(2010). Individualism, collectivism, and Chinese adolescents’ aggression: Intracultural variations. Aggressive Behavior, 36, 187-194.

36.

McGue

Iacono

W. G.

(2005). The association of early adolescent problem behavior with adult psychopathology. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162, 1118-1124.

37.

Merrin

G. J.

Espelage

D. L.

Hong

J. S.

(2016). Applying the Social-Ecological framework to understand the associations of bullying perpetration among high school students: A multilevel analysis. Psychology of Violence, 8, 43–56.

38.

Molero Jurado

M. D. M.

Pérez Fuentes

M. D. C.

Luque De La Rosa

Martos Martínez

Barragán Martín

A. B.

Simón Márquez

. (2016). Interpersonal values and academic performance related to delinquent behaviors. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1480. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01480

39.

Nagashi

J. L.

Marsiglia

F. F.

Parsai

Castro

F. G.

(2011). The moderating effects of ethnic identification on the relationship between parental monitoring and substance use in Mexican heritage adolescents in the southwest United States. Journal of Community Psychology, 39, 520-533. doi:10.1002/jcop.20449

40.

Patterson

G. R.

Dishion

T. J.

Yoerger

(2000). Adolescent growth in new forms of problem behavior: Macro- and micro-peer dynamics. Prevention Science, 1(1), 3-13.

41.

Pekerti

A. A.

Kwantes

C. T.

(2011). The effect of self-construals on perceptions of organizational events. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 11, 303-323.

42.

Peterson

G. W.

Bush

K. R.

Supple

A. J.

(1999). Predicting adolescent autonomy from parents: Relationship connectedness and restrictiveness. Sociological Inquiry, 69, 431-457.

43.

Peterson

G. W.

Rollins

B. C.

Thomas

D. L.

(1985). Parental influence and adolescent conformity: Compliance and internationalization. Youth & Society, 16, 397-420.

44.

Pflieger

J. C.

Vazsonyi

A. T.

(2006). Parenting processes and dating violence: The mediating role of self-esteem in low- and high-SES adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 29, 495-512.

45.

Pomerantz

E. M.

Qin

Wang

Chen

(2009). American and Chinese early adolescents’ inclusion of their relationships with their parents in their self-construals. Child Development, 80, 792-807.

46.

Pomerantz

E. M.

Wang

Cheung

Cimpian

(2016). Conceptions of adolescence: Implications for differences in engagement in school over early adolescence in the United States and China. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 45, 1512-1526.

47.

Ramirez

J. R.

Crano

W. D.

Quist

Burgoon

Alvaro

E. M.

Granpre

(2004). Acculturation, familism, parental monitoring, and knowledge as predictors of marijuana and inhalant use in adolescents. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 18(1), 3-11.

48.

Salmivalli

Kaukiainen

Kaistaniemi

Lagerspetz

K. M. J.

(1999). Self-evaluated self-esteem, peer-evaluated self-esteem, and defensive egotism as predictors of adolescents’ participation in bullying situations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 1268-1278. doi:10.1177/0146167299258008

49.

Seegan

Welsh

Plunkett

S. W.

Merten

M. J.

Sands

(2012). Neighborhood, parenting, and individual qualities related to adolescent self-efficacy in immigrant families. Family & Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 40, 348-360.

50.

Sentse

Veenstra

Kiuru

Salmivalli

(2015). A longitudinal multilevel study of individual characteristics and classroom norms in explaining bullying behaviors. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43, 943-955. doi:10.1007/s10802-014-9949-7

51.

Shek

D. T. L.

(1997). The relation of parent-adolescent conflict to adolescent psychological well-being, school adjustment, and problem behavior. Social Behavior and Personality, 25, 277-290.

52.

Shek

D. T. L.

Lin

(2016a). Delinquent behavior in high school students in Hong Kong: Sociodemographic, personal, and family determinants. Journal of Pediatric & Adolescent Gynecology, 29(1), S61-S71. doi:10.1016/j.jpag2015.10.009

53.

Shek

D. T. L.

Lin

(2016b). What predictors adolescent delinquent behavior in Hong Kong? A longitudinal study of personal and family factors. Social Indicators Research, 129, 1291-1318. doi:10.1007/s11205-015-1170-8

54.

Shek

D. L. T.

H. K.

(2001). Parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent antisocial and prosocial behavior: A longitudinal study in a Chinese context. Adolescence, 36, 545-555.

55.

Shek

D. T. L.

H. K.

Sun

R. C. F.

(2011). A brief overview of adolescent developmental problems in Hong Kong. Scientific World Journal, 11, 2243-2256. doi:10.1100/2011/896835

56.

Shek

D. T. L.

(2012). Longitudinal impact of the Project PATHS on adolescent risk behavior: What happened after five years? Scientific World Journal, 2012, 1-13. doi:10.1100/2012/316029

57.

Shen

Y.-L.

(2011). Effects of Chinese parental practices on adolescent school outcomes mediated by conformity to parents, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. International Journal of Educational Research, 50, 282-290.

58.

Silk

J. S.

Morris

A. S.

Kanaya

Steinberg

(2003). Psychological control and autonomy granting: Opposite ends of a continuum or distinct constructs? Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13, 113-128. doi:10.1111/1532-7795.1301004

59.

Soenens

Vansteenkiste

Van Petegem

(2015). Let us not throw the baby with the bathwater: Applying the principle of universalism without uniformity to autonomy-supportive and controlling parenting. Child Development Perspectives, 9, 44-49. doi:10.1111/cdep.12103

60.

Supple

A. J.

Ghazarian

S. G.

Peterson

G. W.

Bush

K. r.

(2009). Assessing the cross-cultural validity of a parental autonomy granting measure: Comparing adolescents in the U.S., China, Mexico and India. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, 5, 816-833.

61.

Taylor

L. D.

Davis-Kean

Malanchuk

(2007). Self-esteem, academic self-concept, and aggression at school. Aggressive Behavior, 33, 130-136. doi:10.1002/ab.20174

62.

Van de Vijver

F. J. R.

Watkins

(2006). Assessing similarity of meaning at the individual and country level: An investigation of a measure of independent and interdependent self. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 22(2), 69-77.

63.

Wang

Xia

Y. R.

Wilson

Bush

Peterson

(2016). Parenting behaviors, adolescent depressive symptoms, and problem behavior: The role of self-esteem and school adjustment difficulties among Chinese adolescents. Journal of Family Issues, 37, 520-542.

64.

Wang

Pomerantz

E. M.

Chen

(2007). The role of parents’ control in early adolescents’ psychological functioning: A longitudinal investigation in the United States and China. Child Development, 78, 1592-1610. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01085.x

65.

Watkins

Adair

Akande

Cheng

Fleming

Lefner

. . . Yu

(1998). Cultural dimensions, gender, and the nature of self-concept: A fourteen country study. International Journal of Psychology, 33(1), 17-31.

66.

Watkins

Mortazavi

Trofimova

(2000). Independent and interdependent conceptions of self: An investigation of age, gender, and culture differences in important and satisfaction ratings. Cross Cultural Research, 34, 113-134.

67.

Robinson

C. C.

Yang

Hart

C. H.

Olsen

S. F.

Porter

C. L.

. . . Wu

(2002). Similarities and differences in mothers’ parenting of preschoolers in China and the United States. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26, 481-491.

68.

Xia

Wang

Wilson

Bush

Peterson

(2015). Chinese parenting behaviors, adolescent school adjustment, and problem behavior. Marriage & Family Review, 51, 489-515. doi:10.1080/01494929.2015.1038408

69.

Yamada

A.-M.

Singelis

T. M.

(1999). Biculturalism and self-construal. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 23, 697-709. doi:10.1016/S0147-1767(99)00016-4

70.

Yau

Smetana

(1996). Adolescent-parent conflict among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. Child Development, 67, 1262-1275.

71.

Zhao

Huh

Murphy

S. T.

Chatterjee

J. S.

Baezconde-Garbanati

(2014). Self-construal as a predictor of Korean American women’s intention to vaccinate daughters against human papillomavirus. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 5, 96-105.