Abstract
Research increasingly demonstrates that associations between autonomy-relevant parenting and adolescent adjustment generalize across cultures. Yet, there is still an ongoing debate about the role of culture in these effects of autonomy-relevant parenting. The current study aimed to contribute to a more nuanced perspective on this debate by addressing cultural variability in micro-processes involved in autonomy-relevant parenting and, more specifically, in adolescents’ appraisals of and responses to parental behavior. In this vignette-based experimental study, involving 137 South-Korean adolescents (54% female, mean age = 16 years), we examined whether individual differences in vertical collectivism affect the association between descriptions of potentially autonomy-supportive and controlling parenting practices and (a) appraisals of these practices (in terms of perceived autonomy support and control and experiences of autonomy need satisfaction and frustration), and (b) anticipated responses to these practices (i.e., negotiation, submissive compliance, and oppositional defiance). Participants in the autonomy-supportive condition reported more perceived autonomy support and autonomy satisfaction and lower perceived control and autonomy need frustration than participants in the controlling condition. Collectivism moderated between-vignette effects on perceived control and autonomy need frustration such that the differences between the autonomy-supportive and controlling vignettes were less pronounced (yet still significant) among adolescents scoring higher on collectivism. Collectivism did not moderate effects of the vignettes on the responses to parenting, but yielded a main effect, with collectivism relating to more submissive compliance and less oppositional defiance. Overall, the results suggest that both universal and culture-specific processes are involved in autonomy-relevant socialization.
Highlights
Several developmental and motivational theories emphasize the key importance of adolescents’ experiences of autonomy – and of parents’ support of autonomy – for adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment (e.g., Zimmer-Gembeck and Collins, 2003; Ryan et al, 2016; Soenens et al, 2018)
Among South-Korean adolescents, we examined whether vertical collectivism would affect (a) adolescents’ appraisals of potentially autonomy-supportive and controlling practices and (b) how adolescents respond to these parenting practices
This study aims to gain more insight into the micro-processes involved in the role of culture in autonomy-relevant parenting
Summary
Several developmental and motivational theories emphasize the key importance of adolescents’ experiences of autonomy – and of parents’ support of autonomy – for adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment (e.g., Zimmer-Gembeck and Collins, 2003; Ryan et al, 2016; Soenens et al, 2018). Collectivism and Autonomy-Supportive Parenting (SDT; Ryan and Deci, 2017), according to which perceived autonomy-supportive parenting is beneficial for adolescent development because it is conducive to their psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence (Joussemet et al, 2008a; Grolnick and Pomerantz, 2009). SDT-based research has quite systematically documented positive associations between perceived parental autonomy support and adolescents’ wellbeing, social adjustment, and achievement (Vasquez et al, 2016). Some crosscultural scholars have raised doubts about whether the effects of parental autonomy support are universal and play an adaptive role in the development of adolescents raised in a collectivist cultural climate (Rothbaum and Trommsdorff, 2007). Autonomy-supportive parenting may seem to be at odds with vertical collectivism, which entails hierarchical parent– child relationships and parental dominance (Zhai and Gao, 2009)
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