Parent–Child Discrepancies in Perceived Parental Sacrifice and Achievement Motivation of Chinese Adolescents Experiencing Economic Disadvantage

Abstract

Based on a sample of 275 intact Chinese families having at least one child aged 11 to 16 experiencing economic disadvantage in Hong Kong, the relationship between parent-adolescent discrepancies in perceived parental sacrifice and adolescent achievement motivation was examined. It was found that parents and adolescents had different perceptions of parental sacrifice, with adolescents perceived lower levels of parental sacrifice than did their parents. Although the effect size of father-adolescent discrepancy in perceived paternal sacrifice was greater than mother-adolescent discrepancy in perceived maternal sacrifice, results indicated that mother-adolescent discrepancy in perceived maternal sacrifice negatively predicted adolescent achievement motivation in poor Chinese families, whereas father-adolescent discrepancy in perceived paternal sacrifice did not. The present study is the first scientific study showing that parent–child discrepancy in perceived parental sacrifice influences achievement motivation of poor Chinese adolescents, which provides insight for researchers, youth counsellors, and family practitioners to give more attention to the dyadic interactions on resource allocation among Chinese family members experiencing economic disadvantage.