Links between parental autonomy support and psychological control and Chinese emerging adults' conceptions of adulthood

Abstract

AbstractFramed through family life course theory, two studies were conducted to examine the relationship between parenting and Chinese emerging adults' conceptions of adulthood. Study 1 identified five important adult criteria among 763 participants (Mage = 23.13; 54.8% girls) through exploratory factor analysis. In Study 2, 616 participants (Mage = 22.51; 71.6% girls) completed measures of parental autonomy support (PAS) and psychological control (PPC), subjective adult status, and adult criteria. Results showed that PAS was positively associated with subjective adult status and endorsement of almost all adult criteria, whereas PPC was both positively and negatively associated with different adult criteria. Findings reveal the influence of family factors on youth transition to adulthood in the Chinese context and may have implications for family based interventions.