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Authority, Autonomy, and Family Relationships Among Adolescents in Urban and Rural China
Author(s) -
Zhang Wenxin,
Fuligni Andrew J.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of research on adolescence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.342
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1532-7795
pISSN - 1050-8392
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-7795.2006.00506.x
Subject(s) - closeness , autonomy , psychology , china , developmental psychology , social psychology , geography , political science , mathematical analysis , mathematics , archaeology , law
Approximately 700 urban and rural 10th‐ ( M =16.6 years) and 12th‐ ( M =18.9 years) grade students in China completed measures assessing their beliefs about parental authority and individual autonomy, as well as aspects of their relationships with their parents. Urban adolescents indicated a greater willingness to disagree openly with their parents, a greater intensity of conflict with their parents, lower levels of cohesion with their parents, and a lower frequency of discussions with their fathers. Urban males were distinct from all other adolescents in terms of several aspects of their family relationships, reporting the earliest expectations for autonomy, the lowest levels of closeness with their mothers, and the least frequent discussions with their fathers.