Children's interpretations of parental responses to children's negative emotions in Chinese urban and rural communities

Abstract

AbstractChildren's interpretations of parenting behaviors offer valuable insights into cultural meanings of parenting. This study examined how Chinese urban and rural children interpreted six different types of parental responses to children's negative emotions (PRCNE), which have traditionally been identified as supportive (e.g., emotion‐focused responses, problem‐focused responses, and expressive encouragement) versus nonsupportive ones (e.g., minimization, parental distress, punitive responses) in Western cultures. Based on surveyed samples of 976 children, demographically matched samples of 102 urban (Mage = 14.23 years) and 100 rural (Mage = 14.38 years) children were generated for analysis, using propensity score matching (PSM). Results revealed that compared with rural children, urban children rated problem‐focused responses as more normative, whereas parental distress and punitive responses as less normative. Additionally, urban children evaluated emotion‐focused responses, problem‐focused responses, expressive encouragement, and minimization as less negative, and parental distress as less positive than rural children. In urban communities, emotion‐focused responses, problem‐focused responses, and encouragement were evaluated most positively and least negatively, followed by minimization, and lastly parental distress and punitive responses. In rural communities, emotion‐focused responses and problem‐focused responses were evaluated most positively and least negatively, followed by encouragement and minimization, and lastly parental distress and punitive responses. The findings highlight the diverse interpretations children have towards PRCNE across different cultural contexts.