Abstract
This study attempted to examine the mediating role of filial piety in the relationships between parental autonomy support and control and Chinese adolescents’ academic autonomous motivation. A set of questionnaires were administered to 492 adolescent students at two senior high schools in Fuzhou, China. Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling were employed to analyze the data. The results showed that reciprocal filial piety (RFP) fully mediated the relationships of parental autonomy support and behavioral control with adolescents’ academic autonomous motivation. RFP did not significantly mediate the relationship between psychological control and academic autonomous motivation. Comparatively, authoritarian filial piety (AFP) did not play a significant mediating role in the relationship between the three parenting dimensions and adolescents’ academic autonomous motivation. The findings provide a new perspective for understanding the relationship between parenting behaviors and Chinese adolescents’ academic autonomous motivation.
Highlights
Autonomous motivation means that individuals engage in activities out of their own choice, volition, or values, which consists of two forms of motivation, including intrinsic motivation and identified motivation (Deci and Ryan, 1985; Ryan and Connell, 1989)
The results showed that the measurement model fit was satisfactory (χ2 = 307.71, df = 89, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.94, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.92, SRMR = 0.06, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.07)
This study administered a set of questionnaires to Chinese adolescents to examine the mediating role of filial piety in the relationship between perceived parental autonomy support and control and adolescents’ academic autonomous motivation
Summary
Autonomous motivation means that individuals engage in activities out of their own choice, volition, or values, which consists of two forms of motivation, including intrinsic motivation and identified motivation (Deci and Ryan, 1985; Ryan and Connell, 1989). Reviews of previous research have shown that parental autonomy support characterized by respecting children’s viewpoints, allowing children to make their own choices and supporting children’s initiatives and problem-solving efforts is positively related to children’s academic intrinsic motivation, autonomous self-regulation and metacognitive skills, which in turn contribute to their academic performance (Grolnick, 2009; Pino-Pasternak and Whitebread, 2010). Parental control characterized by asserting their authority, directing children’s behavior and problem solving for children is linked to children’s academic extrinsic motivation, performance goal orientation and poor academic performance (Grolnick, 2009; Pino-Pasternak and Whitebread, 2010)
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