Care or Control? A Gendered Looked at Chinese Helicopter Parenting and Adolescents’ Autonomy—Combining Variable- and Person-Centered Approaches

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 10:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Gender Differences in Adolescent Development: Asian Perspectives (Table 1)

Abstract

This study employed variable- and person-centered approaches to investigate the associations between helicopter parenting (HP) and relating autonomy in chinese adolescent families, examining boys and girls separately. 492 boys and 324 girls and both their parents participanted in this study. Results from SEM indicated that girls’ paternal HP and self-perceptions of HP positively correlated with their relating autonomy, whereas only boys’ self-perceptions of HP positively correlated with their relating autonomy. Latent profile analysis revealed four distinct HP profiles for both boys and girls: low-engagement, high-intensity, balanced, and maternal-focus, but boys’ and girls’ relating autonomy showed different patterns across these four profiles.

Authors

• Lu Ran Zhang, University of Macau

• Wei-Wen Chen, University of Macau