Ecological Influences on Chinese Adolescents’ Problem Behaviors: A Multilevel Analysis

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of individuals, school, and familial protective and risk factors and their interactions on adolescent problem behaviors using a stratified random sample of 2,864 (51.5% female) students from 55 classrooms in 13 schools in Shanghai, China ( Mage = 15.52 years, SD = 1.62). Results from the multilevel analyses indicate that being male, having high parent–adolescent conflict, high independent self-construal, low conformity, low grade rank, and low classroom-level and individual-level school adjustment predicted problem behaviors. Adolescent independent self-construal also interacted with parental autonomy granting to predict vandalism. For adolescents with low or moderate levels of independent self-construal, autonomy granting predicted lower odds of vandalism, but for adolescents with high levels of independent self-construal, parental autonomy granting predicted higher odds of vandalism. The findings highlight the complex effects of parenting and independent/interdependent self-construals on adolescent problem behaviors in China.