Kevin R. Bush

The Impact of Parental Support, Behavioral Control, and Psychological Control on the Academic Achievement and Self-Esteem of African American and European American Adolescents

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between adolescent functioning (i.e., self-esteem and academic achievement) and parental support, behavioral control, and psychological control in European American and African American adolescents. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that supportive behaviors of African American mothers toward their adolescent children positively predicted both self-esteem and academic achievement. Psychological control was significantly related to adolescent self-esteem in both the models of paternal parenting (African American and European American) and maternal parenting (African American). In addition, among European American adolescents, behavioral control was a significant predictor of academic achievement and self-esteem. This study provides support for the methodological value of examining the parenting dimensions independently as opposed to combining them to form parenting styles.

Adolescents’ Perceptions of Parental Behaviors as Predictors of Adolescent Self-Esteem in Mainland China

Parents’ child-rearing behaviors have been identified as major sources of influence on the self-esteem of adolescents from Western societies and Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. The pattern of relationships found in samples of Hong Kong adolescents has been similar to the pattern found among samples of U.S. adolescents, but contrary to what might be expected in collectivistic societies such as mainland China. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to test specific dimensions of parenting behaviors as possible predictors of adolescents’ self-esteem in mainland China. Self-report data were acquired for this study from 480 adolescents who attended secondary schools located in Beijing. Results indicated that patterns of socialization between parents and adolescents in mainland China were similar to those found in the United States, although explanations for these results may differ from those characteristic of the United States and other Western societies. Reasoning, monitoring, and autonomy-granting behavior by Chinese parents were positive predictors, whereas punitiveness was a negative predictor of Chinese adolescents’ self-esteem (both males and females). Contrasting with patterns commonly found in the United States was the finding that parental support was not a predictor of Chinese adolescents’ self-esteem.

Adversity and resilience: A synthesis of international research

Children and adolescents worldwide experience a variety of adversities that have the potential to disrupt typical development. However, some of these individuals exhibit resilience, evidencing normal development in the face of adversity. Here we review research on these constructs of risk, adversity, and resilience; synthesize international research on factors that may serve to protect children and adolescents from the negative effects of adversity at the individual, family, school, community, and cultural levels; and provide future implications for research on this topic, highlighting the unique contributions of the subsequent articles in this special issue, each of which contributes to an understanding of resilience processes in non-Western populations. Although some general trends in resilience and protection may extend beyond national borders, resilience is also strongly influenced by culture and context; therefore, it is important to advance a research agenda that recognizes the unique protective influences within and across cultural contexts.

Factor Structure of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale:

This study evaluated the factor structure of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) with a diverse sample of 1,248 European American, Latino, Armenian, and Iranian adolescents. Adolescents completed the 10-item RSES during school as part of a larger study on parental influences and academic outcomes. Findings suggested that method effects in the RSES are more strongly associated with negatively worded items across three diverse groups but also more pronounced among ethnic minority adolescents. Findings also suggested that accounting for method effects is necessary to avoid biased conclusions regarding cultural differences in self-esteem and how predictors are related to the RSES. Moreover, the two RSES factors (positive self-esteem and negative self-esteem) were differentially predicted by parenting behaviors and academic motivation. Substantive and methodological implications of these findings for cross-cultural research on adolescent self-esteem are discussed.

Assessing the Cross-Cultural Validity of a Parental Autonomy Granting Measure: Comparing Adolescents in the United States, China, Mexico, and India

This study investigates the cross-cultural validity of a 10-item parental autonomy granting measure with samples of adolescents from the United States, China, Mexico, and India. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis suggested a moderately high degree of cross-cultural equivalence, particularly for the United States and China. Invariance in item loadings was found across samples, with the exception of items assessing freedom regarding career choices and encouragement to participate in family decisions. Correlations between autonomy granting and three criterion factors suggested that, across cultures, parental autonomy granting is associated with higher perceptions of parental support and greater effort exerted in school. Correlations varied in reference to associations between parental autonomy granting and reports of love withdrawal from mothers and fathers. Results also suggested that mean levels of autonomy granting from parents were highest in the U.S. sample and lowest in China. Results provide support for the universality of autonomy granting as a salient aspect of parenting across cultures but also point to areas where significant cultural differences exist.

Parent-Youth Relationships and the Self-Esteem of Chinese Adolescents: Collectivism versus Individualism

Abstract This study sought to determine how several child-rearing behaviors within the Chinese parent-adolescent relationship were predictive of youthful self-esteem through either collectivistic or individualistic socialization approaches. Theoretically based relationships were tested with structural equation modeling to examine whether dimensions of parental behavior (i.e., support, reasoning, monitoring, and punitiveness) influenced the self-esteem of Chinese adolescents through the mediating influences of either conformity (i.e., collectivism) or autonomy (i.e., individualism) in reference to parents. The sample for this study consisted of 497 adolescents from Beijing, China, ranging in age from 12-19 years of age. Data were acquired with self-report questionnaires administered in school classrooms. Results provided support for parental behaviors as predictors of self-esteem development through individualistic patterns of socialization. Although collectivistic parent-adolescent patterns did not predict the self-esteem of Chinese adolescents, several results supported a collectivistic conception of socialization through significant relationships involving parental behaviors as predictors of adolescent conformity to parents. Some results of this study highlight the significance of parental support and dimensions of moderate parental control (e.g., reasoning and monitoring) within the Chinese parent-adolescent relationship, while identifying only a minimal role for punitive behavior.

Parenting Behaviors, Adolescent Depressive Symptoms, and Problem Behavior: The Role of Self-Esteem and School Adjustment Difficulties Among Chinese Adolescents

Cross-sectional data from 589 Chinese adolescents were used to investigate whether parenting behaviors are directly or indirectly (through self-esteem and school adjustment difficulties) associated with adolescent depressive symptoms and problem behavior. Structural equation modeling results showed that school adjustment difficulties fully mediated the relations between two parenting behaviors (parental punitiveness and paternal monitoring) and adolescent problem behavior and partially mediated the relation between maternal monitoring and adolescent problem behavior. Adolescent self-esteem partially mediated the relations between maternal punitiveness and adolescent depressive symptoms and fully mediated the relations between parental support and adolescent depressive symptoms. Parental love withdrawal was not significantly related to any adolescent adjustment when other parenting practices were controlled. The findings highlight the interactions between family and school contexts in adolescent development.

Parent–Child Relationships in Diverse Contexts

Families often serve as the most important social contexts for child development, with their most significant quality being complex relationships in which socialization influence flows in more than one direction. Children are not just passive social beings who are shaped by their surrounding environment. Instead, they are active agents who help reshape their environment over time as they exert countervailing influence on others in their social context. As children interact with parents, siblings, and other family members, significant symbols are exchanged, meanings and patterned behaviors are co-created, and roles are reciprocally determined and constantly renegotiated as children experience development in context. Patterned behavior within the parent–child relationship is a product of shared genetic characteristics, parents’ shared values and resources, common elements of the family environment, and patterned ways that parents respond to the young.

Chinese Parenting Behaviors, Adolescent School Adjustment, and Problem Behavior

The present research examined the relationship between supportive and controlling dimensions of parenting behaviors and Chinese adolescent outcomes (school adjustment and problem behavior). Researchers collected self-report data from 589 adolescents in Hangzhou, China. Results showed the factor structure for the Parent Behavior Measure in the Chinese sample was different from the factor structure based on Western research. Specifically, paternal support did not emerge as a viable factor. Parental monitoring and involvement predicted positive adolescent outcomes, whereas punitiveness and permissiveness predicted negative outcomes. Surprisingly, maternal support predicted more adolescent problem behavior, especially for boys. Guilt induction, love withdrawal, and positive induction did not predict any significant adolescent outcomes when other parenting behaviors were controlled. School adjustment mediated and gender moderated the relationship between parenting and adolescent problem behavior. The importance of considering parenting behaviors, adolescent school adjustment, gender, and cultural norms when examining adolescent problem behavior was discussed.

Conceptualizing Cultural Influences on Socialization: Comparing Parent–Adolescent Relationships in the United States and Mexico

This chapter is a review and conceptual analysis of the extent to which aspects of the parent–adolescent relationship can both vary and share qualities across cultures. Parent–adolescent relationships in both the United States and Mexico are used as examples to illustrate how cultural variations exist within common themes across cultures. Specifically, the first objective is to consider how cultural variation influences differences and similarities in the meaning of adolescent social competence in the United States and Mexico. The second objective of this chapter considers how cultural variation across these two societies results in differences and similarities in the socialization strategies that parents use to encourage or inhibit adolescent social competence. Such a conceptual analysis seeks to provide a better theoretical basis for cross-cultural understanding about how adolescent social competence is either fostered or impaired by parents in ways consistent with their cultural context. Accomplishing these objectives requires gaining an understanding of ecological theory, general cultural values that define the goals and strategies of socialization within different cultures, and a thorough review and synthesis of recent research on parent–adolescent relationships.