A within-cultural comparison of filial piety beliefs among college students in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau

Abstract

This study investigated variance in the structure, functions and implications of young adults’ dual filial piety beliefs in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan using the dual filial piety model (DFPM). A total of 879 Chinese college students participated in the study, including 424 students in Hong Kong, 155 in Macau and 300 in Taiwan. Information on these young adults’ filial piety beliefs and life satisfaction was collected. The results showed that while measures of filial piety beliefs performed well in general in the three regions, there were some regional differences. Young adults in Taiwan and Macau endorsed stronger reciprocal filial piety beliefs than young adults in Hong Kong, whereas young adults in Macau and Taiwan endorsed stronger authoritarian filial piety beliefs than their peers in Taiwan. In Taiwan, both reciprocal and authoritarian filial piety positively contributed to young adults’ life satisfaction. However, only reciprocal filial piety mattered for life satisfaction in Macau, and only authoritarian filial piety in Hong Kong.