Cultural Differences in Parental Responsibility Assignment for Misbehavior: China and the U.S. Open Access

Abstract

Although scholars often attribute the academic and economic success of Asian Americans (especially compared to other racial and ethnic groups) to the strict parenting and other cultural values of Asians, little research examines attributions for negative behaviors. This study compares the impact of Western and Asian parenting and associated cultural values on perceived responsibility for misbehavior of children at different ages (12, 22, 32, 42). East Asian (Chinese) and Western (U.S.) study participants responded to vignettes of misbehavior. Results showed that Chinese perceivers, in response to misbehavior, assign more responsibility to parents and anticipate a greater loss of status for parents than U.S. perceivers. The results further showed that the influence of a child's misbehavior on the parents are moderated by the child's age, such that an elder adult child still has an impact on responsibility assignment to and the anticipated status loss for parents from the perspective of Chinese, but not American, participants. The implications of these findings on racial differences in life outcomes are discussed in this paper.

Table of Contents

Introduction ........................................................................ 2

Background ......................................................................... 3

Method ................................................................................11

Results .................................................................................18

Discussion............................................................................37

Appendix A...........................................................................43

Appendix B...........................................................................46

References ...........................................................................48

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Sociology
Degree	MA
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Sociology, Individual and Family Studies Psychology, Social Sociology, General
Keyword	Cultural Comparison China Attribution of Responsibility U.S. Social Status
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Hegtvedt, Karen A, Emory University
Committee Members	Williams, Melissa, Emory University Rubinson, Richard, Emory University

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