Perceived parental control processes, parent-child relational qualities and psychological well-being of Chinese adolescents in intact and non-intact families in Hong Kong

Abstract

This paper examines whether Chinese adolescents' perceptions (N = 3,017) of parental behavioral control (parental knowledge, expectation, monitoring, discipline, and demandingness as well as parental control based on indigenous Chinese concepts), parental psychological control, parent-child relational qualities (perceived parental trust, child's trust of the parents, child's readiness to communicate with the parents, and child's satisfaction with parental control), and adolescent psychological well-being (hopelessness, mastery, life satisfaction and self-esteem) differed in intact and non-intact families. Results showed that relative to non-intact families, parental behavioral control processes were higher and parent-child relational qualities were better in intact families. In contrast, parental psychological control was higher in non-intact families than in intact families. Finally, the psychological well-being of adolescents in non-intact families was poorer than that of adolescents in intact families.