208334098
Relations Between Dual Filial Piety and Life Satisfaction: The Mediating Roles of Individuating Autonomy and Relating Autonomy
Filial piety (FP) was formerly a Confucian concept that specifies how children should treat their elders. In recent years, some psychologists have postulated that there are considerable overlaps between Chinese FP and notions found in other cultures. They have redefined FP as a contextualized personality emphasizing the psychological schema of parent-child interaction so that it fits universal cultural contexts. Based on this theory construction, this study aimed to examine the effects of reciprocal FP and authoritarian FP on life satisfaction and the mediating roles of individuating autonomy and relating autonomy therein. To do so, we recruited and surveyed 360 high school students in China. Subsequently, a mediation model based on the Dual Filial Piety Model and previous studies was tested. Results demonstrate that reciprocal FP predicted life satisfaction positively and that both individuating autonomy and relating autonomy played significant mediating roles in the relationship between reciprocal FP and life satisfaction. Moreover, authoritarian FP had a negative indirect effect on satisfaction through the mediating role of individuating autonomy, while authoritarian FP had a positive indirect influence on satisfaction through the mediating role of relating autonomy. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
28492458
Filial piety and traditional Chinese values: A study of high and mass cultures.
Two studies were conducted, using indigenous materials stemming from both high and mass culture to construct measures of filial piety and other traditional Chinese values. In Study 1, data were collected from a sample of 666 participants (334 men and 332 women) with a mean age of 31.2 years from Taiwan and Hong Kong. In Study 2, data were collected from university students at different times, based on two samples in Hong Kong and another two in mainland China. The major findings are: (a) Filial piety is rooted more firmly in the ideal values of high culture than in the folk values of mass culture; (b) traditional Chinese values tend to be negatively associated with socioeconomic status; (c) ideal values are held much more strongly than folk values; and (d) among university students, there has been a moderate decrease in folk values in Hong Kong; but a moderate increase in folk values and a fairly large increase in ideal values in mainland China.
59336042
The History and the Future of the Psychology of Filial Piety: Chinese Norms to Contextualized Personality Construct
In the field of psychology, filial piety is usually defined in terms of traditional Chinese culture-specific family traditions. The problem with this approach is that it tends to emphasize identification of behavioral rules or norms, which limits its potential for application in other cultural contexts. Due to the global trend of population aging, governments are searching for solutions to the accompanying financial burden so greater attention is being focused on the issue of elder care and its relevance to filial practices. We contend that the psychological investigation of filial piety in Chinese societies has progressed to the point that it can now provide a solid structure for research targeting intergenerational relations in other cultures. We describe an indigenous psychology approach that integrated Chinese historical, philosophical, and social trends to construct a model of filial piety in terms of the dual reciprocal and authoritarian filial aspects underlying parent–child relations: the dual filial piety model (DFPM). We use this model to re-conceptualize filial piety from its usual definition as a set of Chinese culture-specific norms to a contextualized personality construct represented by a pair of culturally-sensitive psychological schemas of parent–child interaction. We then describe how the DFPM can provide a framework for research on filial relations on individual, structural, societal, and cross-cultural levels. We conclude with a discussion of how the model may be able to integrate and extend Western research on intergenerational relations and contribute to the issue of elder care beyond Chinese societies.
142689914
A test of the Dual Filial Piety model.
Filial piety is a central concept in Confucianism, containing important ideas about how children should treat their parents. Research over the past two decades has resulted in conflicting findings over whether filial piety is beneficial or harmful to individual development. The Dual Filial Piety model integrates these conflicting findings and suggests neither assessment of filial piety is appropriate. The present study offers empirical evidence in support of the dual model and offers commentary on the role of filial piety in modern Chinese society and directions for future research.
143263045
How parenting and filial piety influence happiness, parent–child relationships and quality of family life in Taiwanese adult children
This study explored how parenting shapes Taiwanese young adults’ filial piety, which in turn affects their life outcomes. The study utilized data from 2007 and 2011 collected from 1186 young adults, 316 fathers, and 870 mothers; the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The main findings were the following: (1) reciprocal filial piety mediates the influence of supportive parenting on young adults’ happiness and the quality of parent-adolescent relationships; (2) reciprocal and authoritarian filial piety mediate the effect of supportive parenting on the quality of family life; (3) supportive maternal parenting has a positive influence on mother–adult child relationships through facilitation of both reciprocal and authoritarian filial piety; and (4) supportive parenting as reported by parents is less strongly associated with young adults’ filial piety and other indicators, including happiness, parent–child relationships, and the quality of family life, compared to supportive parenting as reported by young adults.
151855499
Filial piety and life satisfaction among Chinese students: Relationship harmony as mediator
We tested the mediation effect of relationship harmony in the psychological mechanisms underlying the effect of filial piety (FP) on life satisfaction. Participants were 381 undergraduate students (200 women and 181 men) at 3 universities in China who completed the Filial Piety Scale, the Interpersonal Relationship Harmony Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Results of structural equation modeling showed that reciprocity FP had a significant positive direct effect on life satisfaction. Further examination revealed that the link between FP and life satisfaction was significantly mediated by relationship harmony. Thus, improving the levels of FP and relationship harmony may function as methods to help students maintain their life satisfaction. Our findings augment the burgeoning body of research in which the function of FP in various facets of life is being investigated, and provide theoretical and practical implications.
145379197
Filial Piety and Psychosocial Adjustment in Hong Kong Chinese Early Adolescents
Is the Confucian concept of filial piety relevant for understanding contemporary Chinese children’s psychological well-being? This study of 231 Hong Kong Chinese fifth and sixth graders demonstrated that parental warmth and two facets of children’s filial piety belief were uniquely associated with life satisfaction, self-esteem, and social competence. Following the dual filial piety model, results distinguished children’s reciprocal and authoritarian filial piety beliefs. In particular, there were significant positive associations of reciprocal filial piety with life satisfaction and social competence and significant negative associations of authoritarian reciprocal filial piety with self-esteem and social competence, even statistically controlling for children’s ages, grade levels, and perceived parental warmth. Results suggested that children’s filial piety belief is a theoretically important aspect of Chinese values and beliefs that is uniquely associated with a variety of psychosocial adjustment variables and should be explored cross-culturally.
144260650
Traits Can Be Powerful, but Are Not Enough: Lessons from Subjective Well-Being
Abstract In the field of subjective well-being (SWB), Mischel's (1968) critique of personality is flipped on its head: personality traits strongly predict SWB, whereas situations often have only a small influence. Thus, the field of SWB is used to explore under what circumstances personality traits are likely to be important. Because of the strong influence of traits on SWB and a resurgence of interest in the “Big Five” system of traits, the area offers an excellent object lesson in the pitfalls of a personality psychology that relies exclusively on trait constructs. It is shown that even when traits offer strong predictions, they do not offer a complete account of psychological phenomena. It is concluded, however, that traits can be very important organizing structures with which to initially classify and understand some important phenomena of psychology. At the same time, scientific understanding based on traits must be augmented by a process orientation and a study of relevant situational factors in order for the field of personality to remain an intellectually vigorous science.
145629844
Filial piety in contemporary Chinese societies: A comparative study of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China
This study investigates the functions and implications of contemporary filial piety in three Chinese societies, namely, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China, using large-scale cross-national datasets from the 2006 East Asian Social Survey. Despite the shared Confucian cultural values among these three societies, they have sharply differed in their paths toward modernization and in the development of their sociopolitical structures over the last century. The authors propose that the implications and influences of filial piety tend to be more similar in Taiwan and Hong Kong, but may be different in China because of profound differences in its sociopolitical system. Using the dual filial piety model as the baseline for comparative analyses, the results show that dual filial piety can be found in all three societies, although there are some componential alterations in China. The study also goes beyond the common practice of treating filial piety within the confines of caring for family elders by considering its functional utility to influence an individual’s sociopsychological outcomes. The regression results support the significance of dual filial piety and its close association with various aspects of daily life in contemporary Chinese societies.
11264513
Longitudinal development of family decision making: defining healthy behavioral autonomy for middle-class African American adolescents.
The development of decision-making autonomy was examined in 76 middle-class African American early adolescents (M = 13 years) and their mothers, who were followed longitudinally for 5 years. Adolescent decision-making autonomy over conventional, prudential, multifaceted, and personal issues increased over time but at different rates. Mothers viewed prudential and conventional issues as parent decisions, but adolescents increasingly viewed them as joint. Adolescents viewed multifaceted and personal issues as increasingly decided by adolescents (with parental input), whereas mothers viewed them as joint. Greater autonomy over multifaceted issues in early adolescence was associated with poorer adjustment. Controlling for background variables and earlier adjustment, increased autonomy over personal and multifaceted issues predicted less depression and better self-worth in late adolescence.
9384077
Pursuing goals for us: relationally autonomous reasons in long-term goal pursuit.
People pursue goals for a variety of reasons, including reasons that take into account close relationships (termed relationally autonomous reasons, or RARs). Two longitudinal studies examined the degree to which relational self-construal, RARs, and personally autonomous reasons (PARs) predicted goal attainment. In Study 1, 166 participants rated 7 goals on several goal outcomes at 2 sessions. Results revealed that self-construal was positively associated with RARs and that RARs predicted goal attainment, controlling for PARs. Study 2 (N = 177) added a 3rd follow-up to the Study 1 design, and results showed perceived progress toward one's goals predicted enhanced RARs but not enhanced PARs. Both studies showed that RARs are an effective motivational component in goal pursuit and attainment.
146766134
The Facilitating Effect of Need-Supportive Parenting on the Change Rate and Adaptation of Dual Autonomy Among Taiwanese Adolescents
Abstract. Two empirical studies were conducted to test the facilitating effect of need-supportive parenting (NSP) on Taiwanese adolescents’ individuating autonomy (IA) and relating autonomy (RA) as well as to investigate the mediating effect of IA and RA on the relationship between NSP and adaptation. Study 1 adopted a cross-sectional design and found that (1) NSP was positively related to adolescents’ IA and RA capacity; and (2) the positive effects of NSP on intrapersonal adaptation (i.e., self-esteem and happiness) and interpersonal adaptation (i.e., empathy and reciprocal filial piety) were superiorly mediated by IA and RA, respectively. Study 2 used a longitudinal design and added negative criteria (i.e., anxiety and depression for intrapersonal maladaptation, and hostility and delinquent behavior for interpersonal maladaptation). Hierarchical linear modeling analyses indicated that (1) NSP not only positively contributed to Taiwanese adolescents’ IA and RA, but also facilitated the change rate of IA...
143474509
Explaining Chinese students' academic motivation: filial piety and self‐determination
This study investigated the relevance of filial piety and the three components of self‐determination, namely, competence, autonomy and relatedness, on academic motivation among Hong Kong Chinese secondary school students. A total of 461 students completed the questionnaire which consisted of five scales assessing attitudes towards filial piety, perceived scholastic competence, perceived autonomous support from parents, relatedness with parents and academic motivation. By using structural equation modelling, a predictive model of academic motivation, with filial piety, competence, autonomy, relatedness, age and gender as antecedents, was developed. All variables explained the prediction of academic motivation, with competence acted as the strongest effect, followed by relatedness and filial piety. The findings highlight the important contribution of the three self‐determination theory (SDT) components and the value of filial piety for Chinese adolescents' academic motivation. The implications of the findings for future research and educational practice were discussed.
19325525
Differentiating autonomy from individualism and independence: a self-determination theory perspective on internalization of cultural orientations and well-being.
On the basis of self-determination theory (R. M. Ryan & E. L. Deci, 2000) and cultural descriptions drawn from H. C. Triandis (1995), the authors hypothesized that (a) individuals from different cultures internalize different cultural practices; (b) despite these differences, the relative autonomy of individuals' motivation for those practices predicts well-being in all 4 cultures examined; and (c) horizontal practices are more readily internalized than vertical practices across all samples. Five hundred fifty-nine persons from South Korea, Russia, Turkey and the United States participated. Results supported the hypothesized relations between autonomy and well-being across cultures and gender. Results also suggested greater internalization of horizontal relative to vertical practices. Discussion focuses on the distinction between autonomy and individualism and the relative fit of cultural forms with basic psychological needs.
4652180
Autonomy, culture, and well-being: The benefits of inclusive autonomy
In an attempt to understand cultural variation in motivation, we distinguished between the type of motivation (ranging from controlled to autonomous, as conventionally measured) and the subject of motivation (“I” vs. “my family and I”), creating measures of individual and inclusive academic motivation. Support was found for three hypotheses. First, Chinese Canadian and Singaporean students felt less relative autonomy than European Canadian students, on both the inclusive and individual measures. Second, individual relative autonomy was associated with psychological well-being (WB) for European Canadians and Chinese Canadians (Study 1), and Singaporeans (Study 2). Third, inclusive relative autonomy was associated with psychological well-being for Chinese Canadians and Singaporeans, but not European Canadians. Exploratory analyses are also presented, and implications for the theory and measurement of autonomy are discussed.
4528570
Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health.
Self-determination theory (SDT) is an empirically based theory of human motivation, development, and wellness. The theory focuses on types, rather than just amount, of motivation, paying particular attention to autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and amotivation as predictors of performance, relational, and well-being outcomes. It also addresses the social conditions that enhance versus diminish these types of motivation, proposing and finding that the degrees to which basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are supported versus thwarted affect both the type and strength of motivation. SDT also examines people’s life goals or aspirations, showing differential relations of intrinsic versus extrinsic life goals to performance and psychological health. In this introduction we also briefly discuss recent developments within SDT concerning mindfulness and vitality, and highlight the applicability of SDT within applied domains, including work, relationships, parenting, education, virtual environments, sport, sustainability, health care, and psychotherapy.
38098353
What is satisfying about satisfying events? Testing 10 candidate psychological needs.
Three studies compared 10 candidate psychological needs in an attempt to determine which are truly most fundamental for humans. Participants described "most satisfying events" within their lives and then rated the salience of each of the 10 candidate needs within these events. Supporting self-determination theory postulates (Ryan & Deci, 2000)--autonomy, competence, and relatedness, were consistently among the top 4 needs, in terms of both their salience and their association with event-related affect. Self-esteem was also important, whereas self-actualization or meaning, physical thriving, popularity or influence, and money-luxury were less important. This basic pattern emerged within three different time frames and within both U.S. and South Korean samples and also within a final study that asked, "What's unsatisfying about unsatisfying events?" Implications for hierarchical theories of needs are discussed.
27546553
The Satisfaction With Life Scale.
This article reports the development and validation of a scale to measure global life satisfaction, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Among the various components of subjective well-being, the SWLS is narrowly focused to assess global life satisfaction and does not tap related constructs such as positive affect or loneliness. The SWLS is shown to have favorable psychometric properties, including high internal consistency and high temporal reliability. Scores on the SWLS correlate moderately to highly with other measures of subjective well-being, and correlate predictably with specific personality characteristics. It is noted that the SWLS is Suited for use with different age groups, and other potential uses of the scale are discussed.
144392617
Analysis of factorial invariance across gender in the Taiwan version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale
The purpose of this study was to examine factorial invariance of the 5-item Satisfaction with Life Scale-Taiwan version (SWLS) across gender among university students in Taiwan. A total of 476 undergraduate students (males = 207 and females = 269) at National Taiwan University completed the Taiwan version of the SWLS. Prior to any invariance analysis, one-factor and two-factor models (present and past factors) were applied to each group. The confirmatory factor analysis results revealed that both the one-factor model and the two-factor model were acceptable for each group. However, since the “present” and “past” factors were highly correlated in both groups (>0.90), the one-factor model was accepted upon consideration of the principle of parsimony. Further, based on the one-factor model, results from multi-sample analysis revealed that the Taiwan version of the SWLS has the property of strict factorial invariance across gender, including invariance of factor loadings, unique variances and factor variance.
121277767
Parameter Recovery and Model Fit Using Multidimensional Composites: A Comparison of Four Empirical Parceling Algorithms
Manifest variables in covariance structure analysis are often combined to form parcels for use as indicators in a measurement model. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate four empirical algorithms for creating such parcels, focusing on the effects of dimensionality on accuracy of parameter estimation and model fit. Results suggest that accuracy of parameter estimation is primarily a function of the nature and number of dimensions in a composite, and that greater dimensionality also renders parceling methods more similar with respect to accuracy of estimation. Conversely, model fit is predominantly influenced by the parceling algorithm and number of parcels formed. An integrative analysis of the degree to which model fit signals accuracy of estimation highlights the respective advantages and disadvantages of the parceling algorithms. Results suggest that a Radial parceling algorithm may offer advantages over Correlational, Factorial, or Random assignment of items to parcels. The behavior of the Radial algorithm, and iterative algorithms in general, warrant further investigation.
152119291
Transmission of ideas about love: Filial piety, love attitudes, and romantic satisfaction
This study examined the relations between filial piety, attitudes about romantic relationships (love attitudes), and satisfaction in romantic relationships in the Chinese cultural context. The following research questions were investigated: How are adult children’s filial piety beliefs connected to their love attitudes, and how do these contribute to their satisfaction in romantic relationships? A total of 412 college students in Taiwan who were currently involved or had been involved in romantic relationships participated in the study. Structural equation modeling showed that filial piety contributes to satisfaction in romantic relationships through the mediating effects of love attitudes. The findings advance our understanding of filial piety and its implications for young adults’ romantic relationships. The parent–child relationship, as the first intimate relationship experienced by most human beings, has been found to play an important role in the development of romantic relationships among youths (Furman, Simon, Shaffer, & Bouchey, 2002; Kan, McHale, & Crouter, 2008; Shulman & Scharf, 2000). However, despite the pronounced influence Chinese parents exert on their children’s developmental outcomes (e.g., Chao & Tseng, 2002), little research has sought to explore the relation between parent–child relationships and romantic relationships in the Chinese cultural context. Furthermore, there is a dearth of empirical evidence on the process of transmission of ideas about love from parent–child relationships to young adults’ romantic relationships (Gray & Steinberg, 1999). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate how Chinese adult children’s filial piety, which represents Chinese adult children’s attitudes toward Wei-Wen Chen, Faculty of Education, University of Macau; Chih-Wen Wu, Department of Psychology, National Taiwan Normal University. Correspondence should be addressed to Wei-Wen Chen, University of Macau, Faculty of Education, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau, China, e-mail: weiwenchen@umac.mo. their parents, is transmitted to their attitudes about romantic relationships and how these, in turn, contribute to young Chinese adults’ satisfaction in their romantic relationships. According to Gray and Steinberg (1999), socialization approaches derived from both social learning theory and attachment theory provide an insightful theoretical framework to conceptualize the transmission of behavioral repertoires and emotional dispositions from parent–child relationships to romantic relationships. As a function of parental socialization practices and through parent–child interactions, children adopt appropriate attitudes that help them construct healthy romantic relationships later on. Children who have positive experiences with their parents also tend to have optimistic cognitive maps and to hold constructive beliefs of romantic relationships. Their internal working models project them as lovable and desirable and others as trustful and available, attitudes that lead to more optimal romantic relationships (Furman et al., 2002). However, this process of transmission proposed by Gray and Steinberg (1999) remains largely theoretical, and further research is needed to provide more empirical evidence on how transmission takes
253711
Equivalence of the Mediation, Confounding and Suppression Effect
This paper describes the statistical similarities among mediation, confounding, and suppression. Each is quantified by measuring the change in the relationship between an independent and a dependent variable after adding a third variable to the analysis. Mediation and confounding are identical statistically and can be distinguished only on conceptual grounds. Methods to determine the confidence intervals for confounding and suppression effects are proposed based on methods developed for mediated effects. Although the statistical estimation of effects and standard errors is the same, there are important conceptual differences among the three types of effects.
2016309
Confidence Limits for the Indirect Effect: Distribution of the Product and Resampling Methods
The most commonly used method to test an indirect effect is to divide the estimate of the indirect effect by its standard error and compare the resulting z statistic with a critical value from the standard normal distribution. Confidence limits for the indirect effect are also typically based on critical values from the standard normal distribution. This article uses a simulation study to demonstrate that confidence limits are imbalanced because the distribution of the indirect effect is normal only in special cases. Two alternatives for improving the performance of confidence limits for the indirect effect are evaluated: (a) a method based on the distribution of the product of two normal random variables, and (b) resampling methods. In Study 1, confidence limits based on the distribution of the product are more accurate than methods based on an assumed normal distribution but confidence limits are still imbalanced. Study 2 demonstrates that more accurate confidence limits are obtained using resampling methods, with the bias-corrected bootstrap the best method overall.
149005236
Lesson of emotions in the family: The role of emotional intelligence in the relation between filial piety and life satisfaction among Taiwanese college students
This study investigated the relationships between reciprocal filial piety beliefs, emotional intelligence, and life satisfaction among Taiwanese young adults. A total of 481 college students from Taiwan were recruited for the study. Structural equation modelling was employed to analyze the data. The analysis produced the following results. First, reciprocal filial piety was positively related to all of the four types of emotional intelligence: self-emotional appraisal (SEA), others’ emotional appraisal (OEA), regulation of emotion (ROE), and use of emotion (UOE). Second, both ROE and UOE had a positive association with life satisfaction whereas SEA and OEA had a nonsignificant association with life satisfaction. Third, the two types of emotional intelligence, ROE and UOE, mediated the relation between reciprocal filial piety and young adults’ life satisfaction. The findings suggest that reciprocal filial piety, representing high-quality interaction between children and parents, can facilitate individuals’ ability to control and use their emotions, which in turn improves their life satisfaction.
10322340
Communalism, familism, and filial piety: are they birds of a collectivist feather?
The present studies examined the extent to which (a) communalism, familism, and filial piety would pattern onto a single family/relationship primacy construct; (b) this construct would be closely related to indices of collectivism; and (c) this construct would be related to positive psychosocial functioning and psychological distress. In Study 1, 1,773 students from nine colleges and universities around the United States completed measures of communalism, familism, and filial piety, as well as of individualistic and collectivistic values. Results indicated that communalism, familism, and filial piety clustered onto a single factor. This factor, to which we refer as family/relationship primacy, was closely and positively related to collectivism but only weakly and positively related to individualism and independence. In Study 2, 10,491 students from 30 colleges and universities in 20 U.S. states completed measures of communalism, familism, and filial piety, as well as of positive psychosocial functioning and psychological distress. The family/relationship primacy factor again emerged and was positively associated with both positive psychosocial functioning and psychological distress. Clinical implications and future directions for the study of cultural values are discussed.
9918572
Autonomy, Filial Piety, and Parental Authority: A Two-Year Longitudinal Investigation
ABSTRACT A 2-year longitudinal study was conducted to test 3 causal models about adolescent autonomy, filial piety, beliefs about parental authority, and obedience in terms of personal, prudential, and multifaceted issues. Four hundred and thirty-six students from 10 junior and senior high schools in Taiwan (boys, n = 223; senior high school, n = 211) participated in the study. Hypothesis 1 predicted that autonomy (individuating autonomy vs. relating autonomy) would positively correlate with beliefs about authority legitimacy and obligation to obey, but was not supported. Hypothesis 2 predicted that filial piety (authoritarian piety vs. reciprocal piety) would positively associate with authority beliefs, and was partially supported. Authoritarian piety showed the positive relation with authority beliefs. Hypothesis 3 predicted that beliefs about authority legitimacy and obligation to obey would positively associate with obedience, and was supported. Hypothesis 4 predicted that age might moderate the structure models across domains, but the results indicated that age did not moderate the structural model in the prudential and multifaceted domains. The overall findings of this study reveal that adolescent beliefs about authority serve as a mediator between authoritarian piety and obedience, suggesting that traditional piety still has an influence on parent–child interaction in today's society.
202928557
Pancultural explanations for life satisfaction: adding relationship harmony to self-esteem.
The first part of the study confirmed an additive effect of the newly proposed construct of relationship harmony to self-esteem in predicting life satisfaction across student samples from the United States and Hong Kong. As predicted from the dynamics of cultural collectivism, the relative importance of relationship harmony to self-esteem was greater in Hong Kong than in the United States. In the second part of the study, the independent and interdependent self-construals (H. R. Markus & S. Kitayama, 1991) and the 5 factors of personality (P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992) were advanced to be the culture-general determinants of life satisfaction, acting through the mediating variables of self-esteem and relationship harmony. Both self-construals and the 5 factors of personality were shown to influence life satisfaction through the mediating agency of self-esteem and relationship harmony in equivalent ways across these 2 cultural groups.