Perceived Parenting and Parent-Child Relational Qualities in Fathers and Mothers: Longitudinal Findings Based on Hong Kong Adolescents

Abstract

To understand how family environment and functioning change over time during adolescence, this study examined the developmental trajectories of perceived parent-child subsystem qualities indexed by parental control and parent-child relational qualities, and the related perceived differences between fathers and mothers. Longitudinal data were collected from 2023 students in 28 high schools in Hong Kong. Among the 28 schools, five schools were in Hong Kong Island, seven in Kowloon district, and 16 in New Territories. Students were invited to respond to measures of perceived parent-child subsystem qualities in six consecutive high school years from the 2009/10 academic year. Individual Growth Curve analyses and paired t-tests were used to explore the developmental trajectories of research variables and the differences between fathers and mothers. While parental behavioral control and psychological control generally declined throughout the high school years, parent-child relational quality showed a U-shaped trajectory. Parent gender significantly predicted the initial levels of all measures and changes in behavioral control and parent-child relational quality. Mothers showed higher levels of parental control and parent-child relational quality than did fathers at each time point. However, mothers showed a faster decrease in these measures than did fathers.