University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Is affluence a developmental risk for Hong Kong Chinese adolescents?

(USC Thesis Other)

Is affluence a developmental risk for Hong Kong Chinese adolescents?

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 1

Is Affluence a Developmental Risk for Hong Kong Chinese Adolescents?

Jacqueline Lee Tilley

A dissertation presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In partial fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(PSYCHOLOGY)

August 2019
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 2

For my husband.

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 3
Table of Contents
Page

Abstract….…………………………………………………………………………. 4

Background………………………………………………………………………… 6

Method……………………………………………………………………………... 33

Results……………………………………………………………………………... 40

Discussion…………………………………………………………………………. 49

References…………………………………………………………………………. 65

Tables………………………………………………………………………………. 96

Figures…………………………………………………………………………….... 115

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 4
Abstract
Popular media suggests that adolescents who are raised in affluent families are at elevated risk
for poor psychological outcomes because the parenting behaviors characteristic of wealthy
parents negatively impact their psychological well-being. However, empirical evidence
supporting this theory is scarce and limited to affluent Caucasian families in the United States
and Norway. The current study examined whether affluent Hong Kong Chinese adolescents
show a similar pattern of elevated risk for psychological maladjustment and how their parents’
behaviors and youth cultural orientation were associated with their academic competence and
psychological adjustment. The participants were 153 Chinese adolescents (60 males, 93 females;
aged 14 – 18 years old: M = 15.71; SD = .99) who attended private international schools in Hong
Kong, and one of their parents (102 mothers; 51 fathers). Adolescents completed questionnaires
about their parents’ behaviors and their endorsement of Chinese cultural values, academic
competence, and psychological adjustment. Parents completed questionnaires about their
distress, their endorsement of Chinese cultural values, materialistic orientation, and social
comparison tendencies, as well as their children’s academic performance and problem behaviors.
There were four key findings: (1) affluent Hong Kong Chinese adolescents reported higher levels
of internalizing problems and lower levels of externalizing problems compared to Hong Kong
norms; (2) affluent female adolescents were at greater risk for psychological maladjustment and
academic disengagement than their male peers; (3) youth adherence to Chinese cultural values
moderated the relations between parenting behaviors and youth psychological adjustment; (4)
although youth total problems accounted for most of the variance in parents’ behavior, parents’
education level, materialistic orientation, and adherence to Chinese cultural values, contributed
to their academic expectations and parent-child engagement above and beyond youth total
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 5
problems and parent distress. The findings contribute to a growing literature which suggests that
affluence is a developmental risk factor for adolescents’ psychological adjustment; however,
cultural values and beliefs may influence how these risks are manifested through their impact on
parenting behaviors and adolescent perceptions of their parents’ behaviors.

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 6
Background
Decades of research has shown that youth who are raised in wealthy families generally
have better academic and psychological outcomes than do those who are raised in low SES
families (Bornstein & Bradley, 2014; Bradley & Corwyn, 2002; McLoyd, 1998). Yet recent
research has shown that, despite significant educational advantage, adolescents raised by high-
income, white-collar, college-educated parents are at higher risk for anxiety, depression,
substance use, and life dissatisfaction when compared to adolescents raised by less privileged
families (Csikszentmihalyi & Schneider, 2000; Koplewicz, Gurian, & Williams, 2009; Luthar,
2003; Luthar, Barkin, & Crossman, 2013).
According to popular media, symptoms of affluenza – a metaphorical disorder associated
with the ill effects of living in a resource rich environment where the pursuit of material wealth
is valued over personal virtue – can be attributed to achievement pressures within a culture of
affluence that impact both parents and children (Luthar, 2003). Affluent parents often have high
expectations for their children’s academic and occupational achievement and are overly involved
in promoting their material happiness and success, yet they may be physically and emotionally
disengaged (Drexler, 2016; Fernandez & Schwartz, 2013; Levine, 2006; Lythcott-Haims, 2015;
Scelfo, 2015; Wallace, 2016). This pattern of parenting behavior can have maladaptive effects on
children, because it increases the risks for poor academic engagement and problem behaviors
(LeMoyne & Buchanan, 2011; Luthar et al., 2013; Luthar & Latendresse, 2005; Rousseau &
Scharf, 2015; Segrin, Givertz, Swaitkowski, & Montgomery, 2013).
While the affluenza argument is compelling, empirical research on the effects of growing
up in an affluent family or community is scarce and focused on white families in the United
States and Norway (Lund & Dearing, 2013; Lund, Dearing, & Zachrisson, 2017; Luthar, 2003;
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 7
Luthar et al., 2013). Therefore, it is unclear whether a pattern of elevated risk for problem
behaviors can be generalized to youth raised in affluent families in non-Western societies and if
the parenting behaviors observed among affluent American parents are associated with
adjustment problems in adolescents from non-individualistic-oriented cultural settings.
The purpose of the current study was to explore whether growing up affluent is a
developmental risk factor for adolescents who are raised in wealthy Hong Kong Chinese families
and the extent to which existing theories of affluenza are generalizable across cultural contexts.
The study had four primary aims. The first was to establish whether adolescents who are raised
in non-Western, affluent families manifest patterns of psychological maladjustment characteristic
of youth who are raised in high socioeconomic status (SES) families in individualistic, Western
societies; that is do they manifest elevated internalizing and externalizing problems compared to
Hong Kong national norms. The second aim was to explore the relations among parents’
achievement expectations, over-parenting behaviors, amount of parent-child engagement, and
youth psychological outcomes and academic engagement. The third aim was to examine whether
youth adherence to Chinese cultural values moderates the link between the parents’ behaviors
and adolescent outcomes. The final aim was to explore the extent to which parents’ adherence to
Chinese cultural values, their materialistic orientation, and their tendency to engage in social
comparisons, contribute to achievement expectations for their children, over-parenting behavior,
and parent-child engagement.
Understanding the experiences of Hong Kong Chinese families was of particular interest
for three reasons. First, Hong Kong, a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of
China, has one of the fastest growing populations of high net-worth individuals in the world
(Capgemini & RBC Wealth Management, 2015). The impact of growing affluence and the
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 8
associated culture of competition and materialism on the well-being of Hong Kong Chinese
youth is of increasing national concern (D. Shek & Ma, 2017). Second, while the literature on
children from affluent families suggests that these youth may be at elevated risk for problem
behaviors due to context-specific stressors, no studies have focused on the mental health of Hong
Kong Chinese youth from high SES families. Third, although Hong Kong is a modern,
cosmopolitan society with strong British influence, traditional Chinese values based on
Confucian ideals remain a dominant socializing force (Oyserman, Coon, & Kemmelmeier,
2002). Therefore, parenting behaviors that may appear maladaptive in an individualistic-oriented
cultural context, may be considered normative in Hong Kong and may not confer the same risks
to youth adjustment (Bornstein, 2012). For example, because academic achievement and high
parent involvement are valued in the Chinese cultural context (Chao, 1994, 1996; P. Wu et al.,
2002), parenting behaviors that include high achievement expectations or over-parenting may not
be associated with problematic youth outcomes. Hong Kong Chinese adolescents thus serve as
an interesting sample to test the universality or cultural specificity of the phenomenon of
affluenza among youth and their families.
The study draws on two theoretical frameworks: self-determination theory and the eco-
cultural model of parenting. Self-determination theory proposes that the pursuit and satisfaction
of three universal psychological needs: competence, autonomy, and relatedness are essential for
human psychological growth and well-being (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Competence involves a sense
of security and confidence in one’s abilities, autonomy reflects the ability to self-direct and make
one’s own choices, and relatedness refers to the need to feel close and connected to significant
others. As such, parenting behaviors that frustrate adolescents’ basic psychological needs
satisfaction, such as high achievement expectations, over-parenting, and parent disengagement,
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 9
may place adolescents at elevated risk for academic and psychological maladjustment (e.g.,
Ryan, 1995; Soenens & Vansteenkiste, 2010). Therefore, adolescents who are raised in affluent
homes may be at risk for academic and psychological problems because their parents’ behaviors
undermine their competence, autonomy, and relatedness.
However, according to the eco-cultural model of parenting, the effects of parenting on
adolescents’ developmental outcomes depend, in part, on the cultural context in which the family
resides (Bronfenbrenner, 1986; Harkness & Super, 1996; LeVine, 1988; Weisner, 1998).
Therefore, parenting behaviors that are risk factors in one cultural context may not have the same
effect in another cultural context. The model suggests that culture influences youth outcomes via
parenting in two ways (Bornstein, 2012).
First, the cultural context shapes the parents’ socialization goals, values, and beliefs, and
accordingly their parenting behaviors (Farver, 1999; Greenfield & Suzuki, 1998; Keller et al.,
2006; Super & Harkness, 1986; Weisner, 1998). As primary socialization agents, parents help
their children acquire the social, emotional, and cognitive skills required to adapt to and function
competently within their society (Farver, 1992; LeVine, 1988). Cultural norms inform parents’
beliefs and expectations about the skills that are important for children to develop and the
childrearing behaviors they use to promote behaviors that will allow children to thrive (Xu et al.,
2005). In other words, while parents attempt to raise their children in ways they believe will help
them become good people, parents’ notions of “what is best” may differ according to the cultural
context (Chao, 1994; Ho, 1986; Xu et al., 2005). For instance, parents who endorse a strong
collectivistic cultural orientation may nurture interdependent behaviors in their children by
stressing group harmony over individual pursuits, emphasizing obedience to rules and deference
to adult authority, and expressing warmth by prioritizing caretaking and education of children
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 10
(Chao, 1996). These parents may also encourage modest behavior in their children by using
shame to foster sensitivity towards others’ evaluations (Fung, 1999; Xu, Farver, Yang, & Zeng,
2008; Xu, Farver, Yu, & Zhang, 2009). Therefore, the cultural context can be expected to
influence parenting behaviors through the impact on their inherent value and belief system.
Second, the cultural context also shapes adolescents’ perceptions of their parents’
behaviors and impacts their developmental outcomes (Bornstein, 2009; Bornstein & Cheah,
2006). Parenting behaviors that are considered acceptable or normative within a cultural context
can be interpreted and experienced as beneficial or benign by adolescents, and in turn more or
less associated with their adjustment (Bornstein, 2013; Chao, 2001; Deater-Deckard & Dodge,
1997; Lansford et al., 2005; D. A. Nelson, Hart, Yang, Olsen, & Jin, 2006; Rohner & Pettengill,
1985; Sorkhabi, 2005). Studies have shown that the effects of corporal punishment, such as child
aggression and anxiety, are attenuated when children and adolescents perceive these disciplinary
techniques to be acceptable within their society (e.g., Gershoff et al., 2010; Lansford et al.,
2005). Therefore, adolescents’ own cultural values and beliefs may alter the impact of parents’
seemingly high achievement expectations, over-parenting, and parent disengagement on their
academic and psychological functioning. The current study will examine how these two theories
might explain the experiences of affluent Hong Kong Chinese families.
Parenting in Among Affluent Families
In the parenting literature, affluence refers to a relative position of wealth and privilege
that lies on the upper-end of society’s socioeconomic continuum (Koplewicz et al., 2009; Luthar,
2003). Research on affluent families has focused on those with median annual household
incomes ranging from US$110,000 to US$150,000; which represents approximately three times
the level of median household income for the United States. Most affluent parents are college
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 11
educated, white-collar professionals, and their children often attend exclusive, private schools
with high tuition fees or public schools in wealthy suburban areas (e.g., Leonard et al., 2015;
Luthar & Barkin, 2012; Lyman & Luthar, 2014). Socioeconomic privilege is typically associated
with positive parenting behaviors, such as less parenting stress and more parent involvement in
school (Bornstein & Bradley, 2014; Bradley & Corwyn, 2002; McLoyd, 1998). However, recent
research suggests that affluence can also give rise to parenting behaviors, such as overly high
expectations for children’s achievement, over-parenting, and parent disengagement, which are
associated with less optimal academic and psychological outcomes in adolescents (Levine, 2006;
Luthar, 2003; Luthar et al., 2013).
Achievement expectations. Affluent communities are often characterized as ultra-
competitive, achievement-oriented environments in which success and happiness are predicated
on attaining material wealth (Kasser, Ryan, Zax, & Sameroff, 1995; Luthar, 2003). Parents in
these communities are typically highly educated and well-remunerated for their talents and
abilities, and have similarly high educational, occupational, and material aspirations for their
children (Davis-Kean, 2005; Hills, 1987; Luthar et al., 2013; Zhan, 2006). Therefore, children
and adolescents who are raised in affluent families are often expected to excel in school and
perform well by holding leadership roles in non-academic achievement-related domains, such as
sports, music, and community service (e.g., Levine, 2006; Luthar, 2003).
The competition to meet these goals, however, can be keen and increasingly so in an era
of globalization for several reasons (Ramey & Ramey, 2009). First, conceptions of happiness and
success among affluent families are narrowly defined and depend primarily on material (or
extrinsic) achievement, namely gaining admission to selective, top-tier colleges and eventually
employment in prestigious highly-paid jobs (Levine, 2006; Luthar et al., 2013). Unfortunately,
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 12
opportunities that support the achievement of such narrowly-defined goals, such as being
valedictorian in a competitive high school that has a good track record of admissions to Ivy
League colleges, being a leader in performance-related extracurricular activities, and obtaining
internships that parlay into job offers at top corporate firms, are limited (MacLeod & Urquiola,
2015; Ramey & Ramey, 2009). In addition, social comparisons that fuel competition are often
heightened among individuals with similar abilities that are relationally close and approximate
the ideal standard (Garcia, Tor, & Schiff, 2013). Hence, competition is particularly high in
affluent communities that consist of ambitious individuals who attend the same exclusive schools
and colleges, are part of the same social networks, and are successful in similar academic or
professional domains.
When competition is fierce, the thresholds for success are limited and, in order to remain
competitive with one’s peers and achieve material success, children and adolescents living in
affluent communities need to excel in academic and extracurricular activities (Levine, 2006;
Luthar, 2003).
Over-parenting. Affluent parents are often characterized in popular media as over-
protective or overly involved in their children’s lives (Levine, 2006; Lythcott-Haims, 2015).
Parents who “over-parent,” or are referred to as “helicopter parents,” maintain a high level of
responsibility and control over their children’s lives while trying to shield them from any
perceived obstacles to their personal, academic, or occupational success. Over-parenting
behavior consists of excessive advice-giving, problem-solving, and the provision of abundant
and often unnecessary tangible assistance (Bradley-Geist & Olson-Buchanan, 2014; LeMoyne &
Buchanan, 2011; Segrin, Givertz, et al., 2013). For example, parents of adolescents or emerging
adults may intervene when their children have disputes with their friends, call their children’s
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 13
teachers when their children are unhappy with their grades, or insist on selecting their children’s
extracurricular activities or classes (e.g., Padilla-Walker & Nelson, 2012; Schiffrin et al., 2013;
Segrin, Givertz, et al., 2013).
However, it is noteworthy that while over-parenting behaviors can be intrusive, they are
distinct from what the parenting literature refers to as behaviorally and psychologically
controlling parenting behaviors. Behaviorally and psychologically controlling parenting
behaviors attempt to constrain and invalidate children’s psychological and emotional experience
and expression through harsh and manipulative parenting methods (Barber, 1996; Padilla-Walker
& Nelson, 2012; Soenens & Vansteenkiste, 2010). In contrast, parents who engage in over-
parenting behaviors are highly protective in relation to their children’s developmental stage, yet
they may not be intentionally punitive or unsupportive (Padilla-Walker & Nelson, 2012; Segrin,
Woszidlo, Givertz, Bauer, & Taylor Murphy, 2012). Instead, affluent parents often over-parent
because they feel pressured to help their children excel in achievement oriented domains and
have the resources to do so (Rosen, 2015). Unfortunately, their attempts to ensure their
children’s material success often come at the expense of supporting their children’s mastery of
other salient developmental tasks.
Concerted cultivation is a parenting behavior that is particularly characteristic of parents
who are on the upper-end of the SES hierarchy. According to Lareau (2011) these parents
engage in concerted cultivation because they believe that their children are projects who need
constant molding, and that their key responsibility is to actively stimulate their children’s
cognitive and social development. Concerted cultivation consists of parents’ extensive
involvement in their children’s schooling, deliberate nurturing of their interests and talent
through educational and recreational activities, and intensive analytical discussions (Hoover-
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 14
Dempsey & Sandler, 1997; Lareau, 2011). Several studies have shown that parents’ educational
attainment, occupational prestige, and income are positively associated with their sense of
responsibility for their children’s development, the need to maintain relationships with their
children’s school, to structure and schedule their extracurricular participation and hobbies, and to
hold discussions about their hobbies and school experiences (Bodovski & Farkas, 2008; Carolan
& Wasserman, 2015).
Furthermore, affluent parents are more likely than those from low SES backgrounds to
have the economic and cultural resources to engage in concerted cultivation. As such, wealthy
parents often provide their children with enriched learning environments and stimulating
educational opportunities that include books, educational games and toys, and cultural activities;
also they have access to better schools because they live in high-quality school districts or their
children attend elite private schools (Bradley, Corwyn, Burchinal, McAdoo, & García Coll,
2001; Chin & Phillips, 2004; Duncan, Brooks-Gunn, & Klebanov, 1994; J. D. McLeod &
Nonnemaker, 2000; Yeung, Linver, & Brooks-Gunn, 2002).
Affluent parents may also over-parent because they believe they are able to control
various aspects of their own lives as well as the lives of their children (e.g., Randall, Bohnert, &
Travers, 2015). Parents with abundant material resources and high social standing have many
opportunities to exert personal choice in their daily lives and to develop a heightened sense of
entitlement and control (Kraus, Piff, & Keltner, 2009; Piff, 2014; B. Schwartz, 2000). Such
frequent experiences of agency and control reinforce affluent parents’ beliefs that they can be
and should be in control of various life domains, including control over the lives of their
children, and can lead to more intrusive parenting behaviors. For example, Grolnick et al., (2007)
found that mothers with controlling attitudes (e.g., “children should always do what their parents
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 15
say, no matter what”) were more likely to give their children answers on a variety of tasks, fire
directions at their children, or take over tasks their children were engaged in compared to
mothers who did not endorse such attitudes. Soenen et al., (2005) also found that parents with
high expectations for control in the form of perfectionistic tendencies interacted with their
children in intrusive, controlling ways by pressuring their children to comply with their personal
standards. Therefore, while wealth confers a high degree of autonomy to affluent individuals, it
can also create an elevated sense of control that contributes to parents’ tendency to engage in
over-parenting.
Parent-child engagement. Although affluent parents tend to be highly involved in
ensuring their children’s material happiness and success, they are also characterized as being
physically and emotionally disengaged from them (Levine, 2006; Luthar et al., 2013; Schiffrin et
al., 2013). For example, a study of sixth- and seventh-grade students from an affluent U.S.
suburb indicated that about half of the students reported having little or no after-school adult
supervision (Luthar & Becker, 2002).
Two arguments could explain the lack of parents’ supervision and time spent with their
children. The first argument is that parents’ disengagement is related to the structural demands of
affluent parents who are engaged in highly paid, demanding careers that require long working
hours and extensive travel (Dewan & Gebeloff, 2012; Luthar, 2003; Luthar et al., 2013). In a
survey of four large multinational corporations, Hewlett and Luce (2006) found that 62% of
high-earning individuals work more than 50 hours a week, 35% more than 60 hours a week, and
10% more than 80 hours a week. A large meta-analysis examining correlates of long work hours
also found that career investment (e.g., educational attainment, work experience), organizational
pressures to perform, and job complexity were all positively related to number of hours worked,
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 16
and negatively related to the employee’s engagement in household responsibilities (Ng &
Feldman, 2008). Therefore, many affluent parents may have difficulty being physically present
in their children’s lives due to their work demands.
The second argument is that because affluent parents often adhere to an individualistic-
and materialistic-oriented cultural value system, they are less interested in engaging in
communally-oriented activities that include family-related obligations. Studies show that
affluence is associated with the endorsement of an individualistic-oriented value system and an
emphasis on the pursuit of extrinsic goals, like material success, over intrinsic ones, such as
interpersonal relationships (Iacoviello & Lorenzi-Cioldi, 2015; Kasser & Ryan, 1993; Kraus,
Piff, & Keltner, 2011). However, when parents endorse such values, they tend to prioritize
personal and career goals over child-rearing responsibilities and family time. Emerging research
suggests that affluent parents who endorse individualistic- and materialistic-oriented values find
it difficult to sacrifice their independence and personal goals for the benefit of their children
because they derive very little fulfillment from childcare activities. Kushlev et al., (2012) found
that, compared to low SES parents, high SES parents were more likely to report a low sense of
meaning and purpose in life when they spend time with their children. Thus, affluent parents
may spend less time with their children because it is not as rewarding as their personal or
professional pursuits.
Affluent parents who have high occupational demands on their time and find spending
time with their children unfulfilling often outsource childcare responsibilities to hired help, such
as nannies and tutors (e.g., Furnham, 2014; Szalavitz, 2014). In addition, children are given
material goods, such as toys, clothes, vacations, and money, as a substitute for quality time spent
with their parents (Bredehoft, Mennicke, Potter, & Clarke, 1998). Accordingly, adolescent
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 17
children may perceive their affluent parents as disengaged from their lives (Luthar & Becker,
2002; Luthar & Latendresse, 2005).
Affluent Parenting Behaviors and Adolescent Psychological Needs Satisfaction
Self-determination theory suggests that the parenting behaviors that undermine children
and adolescents’ basic and universal psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and
relatedness are associated with academic difficulties and psychological maladjustment.
Therefore, if parenting behaviors characteristic of affluent families frustrate adolescents’ sense of
autonomy, competence, or relatedness, then an affluent family context may place adolescents at
an elevated risk for academic and psychological problems.
Achievement expectations. Research suggests that parents’ high achievement
expectations can undermine their children’s basic psychological needs. When parents have high
achievement expectations, their children can be expected to internalize these high standards and
become self-critical (Damian, Stoeber, Negru, & Băban, 2013; Randall et al., 2015; Soenens et
al., 2005) which may diminish their sense of competence (Hart, Gilner, Handal, & Gfeller, 1998;
Stoeber, Hutchfield, & Wood, 2008). For example, studies show that when parents focus on
attaining socially-set standards, such as high grades and test scores or securing a place in a
prestigious college, adolescents are more likely to worry about their mistakes and have doubts
about their actions than do their peers whose parents are less focused on their children’s extrinsic
performance (e.g., Ablard & Parker, 1997).
Over-parenting. When parents engage in over-parenting behaviors, they limit the
opportunities for their children to learn and practice developmentally-appropriate skills to enable
them to cope with challenging circumstances (e.g., Givertz & Segrin, 2014). Hence, children and
adolescents of “helicopter parents” may question their ability to deal with difficult situations, or
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 18
actually find that they are unable to manage life’s challenges without help. Indeed, studies have
consistently shown that college students whose parents try to protect them from failure through
advice, problem-solving, and unnecessary tangible assistance tend to have low self-efficacy and
ineffective coping skills (Bradley-Geist & Olson-Buchanan, 2014; Carolan & Wasserman, 2015;
Givertz & Segrin, 2014; Segrin, Woszidlo, Givertz, & Montgomery, 2013).
Over-parenting can also frustrate adolescents’ need for autonomy because they lack
important decision-making and problem-solving skills that are necessary for independence
(Segrin, Woszidlo, et al., 2013; Vansteenkiste, Lens, & Deci, 2006). For example, Schriffin et al.
(2013) found that among emerging adults, parents’ tendencies to over-parent by monitoring their
children’s school work and contacting their professors about an unfair grade, and so forth, was
negatively related to their children’s feelings of autonomy and ability to decide how to live their
lives.
Parent-child engagement. Parents’ disengagement from their children’s lives may affect
children’s sense of relatedness. Studies have shown that lack of parent monitoring is related to an
insecure parent-child attachment relationship (e.g., Kerns, Aspelmeier, Gentzler, & Grabill,
2001). Parents’ disengagement from their children may be particularly problematic when they
also have high achievement expectations and demonstrate over-parenting behaviors. If parents
primarily engage with their children when emphasizing the importance of achieving material
goals (i.e., discussing extrinsic goals, such as academic and occupational achievements, or
problem-solving to improve children’s school performance), their children may develop the
belief that the pursuit of intrinsic aspirations (e.g., relationships, health, personal growth) are
unimportant and that their parents’ attention and affection are conditional on their ability to meet
their parents’ material expectations (e.g., Luthar et al., 2013).
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 19
Adolescents who believe that their parents’ regard for them is conditional may feel
pressured to act, think, or feel in particular ways to maintain their parents’ affection (Assor,
Roth, & Deci, 2004; Assor & Tal, 2012; Roth, Assor, Niemiec, Ryan, & Deci, 2009). This belief
in parents’ conditional regard can thus erode children’s sense of autonomy. If an adolescent’s
need for autonomy is not met, they may feel alienated or resentful towards their parents. This
feeling of alienation from their parents could further frustrate their sense of relatedness (Assor et
al., 2004; Roth et al., 2009). For example, studies show that over-parenting adolescents during
their emerging adulthood years is negatively associated with parent-child communication and
feelings of relatedness (Schiffrin et al., 2013; Segrin et al., 2012; Segrin, Woszidlo, et al., 2013).
Affluent Parenting Behaviors and Adolescent Academic Competence and Psychological
Adjustment
If affluent parents engage in behaviors that undermine the basic psychological needs of
their adolescent children, then youth who are raised in wealthy homes should be at greater risk
for academic difficulties and psychological maladjustment than peers from less privileged
families. However, empirical evidence in support of this hypothesis is relatively limited and only
partially supports the argument.
Achievement expectations. Existing studies have consistently found that parents’ high
achievement expectations are associated with depression, anxiety, and substance use in
adolescents who are raised in affluent families. Luthar and colleagues (2012; 2002; 2005)
conducted several studies on adolescents from affluent communities in the United States. They
found that parents’ achievement expectations were positively associated with depression and
anxiety, and negatively associated with delinquency and substance use in adolescents. A study of
10
th
grade students from four affluent communities in the United States similarly found that
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 20
parents’ achievement expectations were indirectly related to adolescents’ psychological
adjustment. Specifically, there was a positive relation between parents’ performance expectations
and depression and anxiety via the adolescents’ perceived pressure from their parents (Randall et
al., 2015). Thus, parents’ achievement expectations generally predict internalizing and
externalizing problems in adolescents who are raised in affluent families.
Interestingly, the findings from studies examining the academic competence of
adolescents who are raised in affluent families have been equivocal and depend on how parents’
high achievement expectations are defined. That is, when parents’ expectations are measured in
terms of high performance standards, studies have found that parents’ achievement expectations
are positively associated with adolescents’ teacher-rated classroom behavior and school grades
(e.g., Luthar & Latendresse, 2005). However, when studies define parents’ high achievement
expectations as parents’ emphasis on achievement (e.g., valuing achievement goals over personal
happiness) or parent criticism, parents’ achievement expectations were negatively associated
with teacher-rated classroom competence and were not significantly associated with school
grades (Ciciolla, Curlee, Karageorge, & Luthar, 2017; Luthar & Becker, 2002). Thus, it appears
that parents’ high performance standards can have a beneficial impact on adolescents’ academic
competence, but when parents value achievement goals at the expense of intrinsic ones or are
perceived as critical, such parent expectations are negatively associated with adolescent
academic outcomes. In the current study, parents’ achievement expectations reflect the two most
common operationalization of the concept in the literature (e.g., Luthar & Becker, 2002; Randall
et al., 2015): first, in terms of youth perceptions of parents’ having high performance expectation
(e.g., expectations of excellence and outstanding performance); and second, in terms of youth
beliefs that their parents’ expectations are excessive and unattainable.
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 21
Parent-child engagement. Parent disengagement is a risk factor for psychological
maladjustment in adolescents who are raised in affluent homes. Studies on adolescents from high
SES families in the United States have consistently found that adolescents who report feeling
close to their parents were less likely to be depressed and anxious or to engage in delinquent
behavior or substance use (Leonard et al., 2015; Luthar & Becker, 2002; Luthar & Latendresse,
2005). Parents’ presence at home and the frequency with which they monitor their children are
also associated with adolescent mental health outcomes. For example, a study found that after-
school adult supervision and having regular dinners with parents were negatively associated with
adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems (Luthar & Latendresse, 2005). In addition,
parents’ knowledge of their children’s whereabouts is negatively related to externalizing
problems, such as substance use and rule-breaking behaviors, in boys and girls (Luthar & Barkin,
2012). Thus, findings suggest that parent disengagement negatively impacts adolescent
psychological adjustment.
Two studies considered the effects of parent disengagement on adolescent academic
competence. However, there were no significant associations between any measure of parent-
child engagement and the academic competence of adolescents who are raised in affluent
families (Luthar & Becker, 2002; Luthar & Latendresse, 2005). Therefore, while research
indicates that parent disengagement is generally associated with internalizing and externalizing
problems in adolescents’ who are raised in affluent families, there is no evidence that it has any
direct effect on adolescent academic competence.
Over-parenting. Popular media has consistently attributed problems of affluenza to
over-parenting behaviors or “helicopter parenting.” However, only one known study has
empirically tested this assertion on youth raised in affluent families. The study examined 11
th
and
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 22
12
th
grade high school students from three affluent communities in the United States and found
no significant associations between adolescents’ psychological adjustment and their belief that
their parents would bail them out of a variety of transgressions, such as repeated use of vodka in
school and outright plagiarism (Luthar & Barkin, 2012). However, the study was limited in two
ways. First, the study examined one narrow dimension of over-parenting (i.e., bailing children
out of trouble). It is possible parents’ attempts to bail their children out of trouble has no impact
on their internalizing and externalizing behaviors because it may not directly undermine
children’s sense of competence, autonomy, or relatedness. Second, the study did not consider the
effects of over-parenting on adolescents’ academic competence. As such, the current study
examined the academic competence and psychological adjustment of adolescents raised in
affluent families using a more comprehensive measure of over-parenting.
In contrast to Luthar and Barkin’s (2012) findings, existing research on over-parenting
using non-affluent samples indicate that over-parenting is significantly associated with
psychological maladjustment. Specifically, studies have found that over-parenting is positively
associated with perceived stress, dysfunctional coping, depression, anxiety, and risky behaviors,
and negatively associated with self-esteem, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction in emerging adults
(Bradley-Geist & Olson-Buchanan, 2014; Givertz & Segrin, 2014; LeMoyne & Buchanan, 2011;
L. J. Nelson, Padilla-Walker, & Nielson, 2015; Segrin, Woszidlo, et al., 2013; van Ingen et al.,
2015). However, these studies have notably focused exclusively on college students from
middle-class families. Therefore, the results may not generalize to adolescents from affluent
backgrounds. Nonetheless, findings from studies on over-parenting suggest that the use of a
more comprehensive measure of over-parenting behaviors, such as those used in studies on
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 23
college students, may better elicit the links between over-parenting and adolescent psychological
adjustment.
Results from the few studies that examined the relation between over-parenting and
academic competence are mixed. The National Survey of Student Engagement reported that
American college students whose parents frequently contacted college officials on their
children’s behalf were more satisfied and more engaged with their college experience than were
those whose parents were less involved in their college life (Lipka, 2007; Shoup, Gonyea, &
Kuh, 2009). In contrast, other studies using college student samples report no significant
associations between over-parenting and self-reported GPA (Bradley-Geist & Olson-Buchanan,
2014) or negative associations with school engagement (L. J. Nelson et al., 2015; Padilla-Walker
& Nelson, 2012). One possible reason for these conflicting results is that the studies used
different measures of over-parenting behaviors. Studies that found positive relations between
college students’ academic engagement and over-parenting behaviors focused specifically on
parents’ general involvement in college-related activities as an indicator of over-parenting. On
the other hand, studies that found a negative association between over-parenting behaviors and
school engagement focused on parenting behaviors that were intrusive and controlling across
various domains of their children’s lives, such as monitoring their children’s diet, intervening in
roommate issues, or selecting their children’s college majors. What this suggests is that parents’
general interest and involvement in academic-related activities may be positive for their
children’s academic outcomes. However, parents who are overly involved across aspects of their
children’s daily lives may negatively impact their academic competence. In the current study,
over-parenting was operationalized as parents’ over-involvement in various aspects of their
children’s lives.
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 24
Summary. The literature suggests affluent parents have high achievement expectations
for their children because of their own material successes and living in an affluent community
can be competitive. Affluent parents are often over-protective and take excessive interest in their
children’s material achievements. The tendency to over-parent is generally attributed to the
pressures of living in a competitive, achievement-oriented environment, parents’ beliefs in
concerted cultivation, and their inflated sense of control over various life domains. Affluent
parents also tend to be physically and emotionally absent from their children because they have
demanding, time-consuming professional lives and they find it unrewarding to spend time with
their children as opposed to pursuing their own personal and professional goals. As this pattern
of parenting behaviors tends to undermine adolescent’s basic psychological needs for
competence, autonomy, and relatedness, it can have a negative impact on their academic
competence and psychological adjustment. It is important to note that not all wealthy parents
engage in this pattern of parenting behaviors; however, affluence may encourage it. As a result,
youth who are raised in affluent families may be at elevated risk for academic and psychological
maladjustment (Levine, 2006; Luthar et al., 2013; Lythcott-Haims, 2015).
In general, the limited research on affluent families indicate that high achievement
expectations, over-parenting behaviors, and parent disengagement, are negatively associated with
adolescents’ psychological adjustment. However, findings on the effects of this pattern of
parenting behaviors on academic competence are more equivocal. Nonetheless, existing
empirical evidence is scarce and is largely dependent on a handful of studies with significant
methodological limitations. The current study sought to address some of the limitations in the
following ways.
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 25
First, empirical research on affluent families has focused on the effects of high
achievement expectations and parent-child disengagement on adolescent academic and
psychological outcomes. However, the impact of over-parenting behaviors on adolescents who
are raised in wealthy families remains largely unexplored. Therefore, the current study used a
comprehensive measure of over-parenting behaviors to examine its effects on adolescent
academic and psychological adjustment in adolescents raised in affluent families.
Second, with the exception of a few studies (e.g., Randall et al., 2015; Segrin, Woszidlo,
et al., 2013), most of the literature has relied primarily on children’s reports of their own and
their parents’ behavior. The use of a single-reporter for the independent and dependent variables
raises questions about potentially inflated effects due to shared method variance. For example, a
study by Segrin et al (2013) compared child and parent reports of over-parenting and their
relation to children’s problem. The results showed that virtually all of the variance in the relation
was explained by child, and not parent, reports of over-parenting. Therefore, the current study
used both parent and adolescent reports of academic competence and psychological adjustment
to tease apart issues related to shared method variance and to control for self-report bias.
Third, the effect sizes of the associations between this pattern of parenting behavior and
youth academic and psychological adjustment vary substantially. One possible reason for these
variations is that the parenting constructs are often poorly defined and measured in different
ways across different studies. For example, parents’ high achievement expectations have been
measured in terms of how critical parents are towards their children, how much parents
emphasize extrinsic goals over intrinsic goals, and whether parents have high performance
standards for their children. Likewise, measures of over-parenting behaviors have ranged from
parent involvement in their children’s academic-related activities to parents’ attempts to
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 26
intervene in various aspects of their children’s lives. To mitigate these effects, the current study
either used the most comprehensive measure available for that construct (i.e., over-parenting), or
used separate measures to identify underlying differences in a particular construct (e.g., having
highly critical parents vs. parents who have high performance expectations when measuring
parents’ achievement expectations).
Parenting Behaviors and Affluenza in the Chinese Context
The Hong Kong Chinese context provided a unique opportunity to examine affluenza in
youth from non-Western settings in several ways. First, the Asia-Pacific region, and particularly
the People’s Republic of China (PRC), has experienced robust economic development over the
past decade and this economic prosperity has led to a significant increase in wealthy families in
Asia (International Monetary Fund, 2015). The region is currently home to the largest number of
high net-worth individuals (HNWI; i.e., individuals with investible assets of US$1million or
more) in the world and is projected to hold 34% of global wealth by 2019 (Beardsley et al., 2015;
Capgemini & RBC Wealth Management, 2015). The PRC, which has the fourth-highest
population of HNWI globally, has been the main driver of this regional growth in wealth
(Capgemini & RBC Wealth Management, 2015). However, many Asian cities with large ethnic
Chinese populations that have strong ties to the PRC, such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and
Singapore, have also benefited from the mainland Chinese economic boom. As a result, family
wealth in these predominantly ethnic Chinese cities has grown substantially (Atsmon & Dixit,
2009). In particular, Hong Kong, a special administrative region of the PRC, now has the fastest
growing population of HNWI in the world with an annual growth of 33% (vs. 12% in the PRC
vs. 11.5% in the North America) and the world’s third highest concentration of ultra-high net
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 27
worth individuals (UHNW; i.e., individuals with investible assets of US$30million or more)
(Capgemini & RBC Wealth Management, 2015).
Second, despite this growth in ethnic Chinese affluent families, little is known about
parenting behaviors that are characteristic of wealthy Chinese parents and the influence of these
parenting behaviors on youth academic competence and psychological adjustment. Prior research
on parenting behaviors and affluenza has focused on Caucasian families living in the United
States. However, because the cultural context may influence parenting behaviors and their
relative effect on adolescents’ outcomes, existing findings may not be generalizable to wealthy
families living in non-individualistic-oriented cultural settings. This gap in knowledge is
problematic because if affluence does confer similar risks to parents and youth in collectivistic-
oriented Asian cultures, this rapid growth of wealth could have significant implications for the
optimal development and mental health needs of a substantial group of children and adolescents.
Parenting behaviors characteristic of Chinese families. Research suggests that certain
parenting behaviors that are characteristic of affluent Caucasian families, namely high
achievement expectations and over-parenting, may be consistent with Chinese parenting beliefs
and practices. In general, Chinese families tend to be collectivistic-oriented and endorse
interdependent values and beliefs that are based on Confucian principles (Markus & Kitayama,
1991; Triandis, 1995). Thus, Chinese parents are likely to emphasize values, such as the
importance of the family over the self and to be particularly protective over the family unit
(Chao, 1996). They are also likely to socialize their children in ways that highlight the
importance of maintaining social harmony and encourage their children to achieve academically
and occupationally as a means of social and family advancement (Chao & Tseng, 2002).
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 28
Therefore, parenting behaviors that emphasize these socialization goals may be considered
normative in the Chinese cultural context.
According to the eco-cultural model of parenting (Bornstein, 2013; Bronfenbrenner,
1986; Harkness & Super, 1996; LeVine, 1988; Weisner, 1998), when parenting behaviors are
perceived as normative within a particular cultural context, they may not confer the same kind of
risks for children’s academic and psychological adjustment as parenting behaviors that are
considered culturally incongruent. Therefore, affluent Chinese adolescents whose parents have
high achievement expectations or who engage in over-parenting behaviors may not be at an
increased risk for negative academic and psychological outcomes if these parenting behaviors are
considered acceptable and consistent with Chinese cultural values. On the other hand, parenting
behaviors, such as parent disengagement, that are not congruent with a collectivistic-oriented
value system may place Chinese adolescents at a greater risk for problem behaviors.
Achievement expectations. Studies have indicated that parents in collectivistic-oriented
Asian cultures, and in particular Chinese parents, often hold high achievement expectations for
their children (e.g., Luo, Tamis-LeMonda, & Song, 2013; D. T. Shek & Chan, 1999). For example,
when a sample of high school students in the United States, China, and Japan were asked what
scores on a mathematics test their parents would be satisfied with, Asian American, Chinese, and
Japanese students reported higher perceived parent expectations compared to Caucasian
Americans (C. Chen & Stevenson, 1995). Castro and Rice (2003) similarly found that Asian
American college students were more likely than their African American and Caucasian peers to
report higher parental expectations, parental criticism, and doubts about their own actions.
Two theoretical arguments have been proposed to explain Chinese parents’ tendency to
maintain such high performance standards. First, because collectivistic-oriented individuals tend
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 29
endorse an interdependent value system, they generally emphasize interpersonal social
relationships and the need to fulfill their obligations to others (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). As a
result, collectivistic-oriented individuals often define themselves and their self-worth by their
ability to fulfill these bonds of dependency and obligation. Hence, Chinese parents who endorse
an interdependent set of values may emphasize the importance of high achievement standards
because they believe an individual’s achievements and failures not only reflect on themselves,
but also on their family and wider friendship groups (Yoon & Lau, 2008). Second, Confucian
principles which strongly influence Chinese thought and belief place great value on education
and regard it as the primary avenue for social mobility (e.g., C. Chen & Uttal, 1988). In Chinese
culture, academic achievement continues to represent a means for personal advancement and to
acquire higher social status, wealth, and respect within the Chinese society (C. Chen & Uttal,
1988; Ho, 1981). Thus, Chinese parents may strongly emphasize high educational and
occupational aspirations because they believe that material achievements are integral for success
within the Chinese context (Chao, 1996; C. Chen & Stevenson, 1995; H. Chen & Lan, 1998;
Gorman, 1998; Peng & Wright, 1994; D. Y. Wu, 1996).
Consequently, it may be normative within the Chinese setting to have parents with high
achievement expectations and therefore this parenting behavior may not have a negative impact
on the academic competence and psychological adjustment of Chinese adolescents. In support of
this theory, Crystal et al. (1994) found that Chinese and Japanese high school students were more
likely than American students to perceive their parents as having higher academic expectations
and lower levels of satisfaction with their performance. Yet, they reported similar or lower levels
of stress and academic anxiety compared to their American peers. Therefore, Chinese
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 30
adolescents whose parents have high achievement expectations may not be at specific risk for
academic or psychological maladjustment.
Over-parenting. There are no known empirical studies examining the frequency with
which Chinese parents engage in over-parenting behaviors. Moreover, research suggests that
over-parenting may be a culturally-congruent parenting behavior in the Chinese cultural context
(e.g., Lowinger & Kwok, 2001). Studies have shown that Chinese mothers often view
themselves as having a key role in their children’s development and believe it is their
responsibility to protect their children and be highly involved in shaping their children through
“training” (or “guan”) (Chao, 1994, 1996; P. Wu et al., 2002). Thus, parenting behaviors that
consist of “extreme attention, overprotection, [and] constant monitoring of [children’s] behaviors
and desires” is relatively common among Chinese parents, and particularly those with higher
levels of education (D. Y. Wu, 1996, p. 20). This level of parent involvement is frequently
identified in the parenting literature as harsh and controlling in nature. However, the studies have
also shown that such governance by Chinese parents over their children’s lives can be associated
with warm and supportive parenting, and that parents may be perceived as being uncaring or
even negligent if they do not intervene on their children’s behalf (Chao, 2001; D. Y. Wu, 1996).
Therefore, over-parenting may be a normative parenting behavior in the Chinese setting
and have no negative effect on Chinese adolescents’ academic achievement and psychological
outcomes. For example, in contrast to research findings based on American college students
which suggest that over-parenting and psychological adjustment are negatively associated, Kwon
(2015) found no significant association between over-parenting and the emotional well-being of
Korean college students. Kwon attributed these findings to the notion that Korean college
students may perceive over-parenting as normative in the collectivistic-oriented Korean cultural
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 31
context and therefore did not negatively impact their emotional well-being. In a similar way,
collectivistic-oriented Hong Kong Chinese adolescents whose parents engage in over-parenting
may not be at elevated risk for academic and psychological maladjustment because they perceive
such behavior as typical and acceptable within their cultural context.
Parent-child engagement. If high levels of parent involvement are considered normative
within the Chinese cultural context, then the absence of these behaviors may be considered
culturally-incongruent Chinese youth. As such, a lack of parent-child bonding or insufficient
guidance and involvement by Chinese parents may be particularly detrimental to youth
adjustment because it conflicts with the adolescent’s need for relatedness. Studies on Chinese
adolescents appear to support this hypothesis. These studies have consistently found that family
conflict or the absence of family support often exacerbates the risk for distress and
psychopathology in Chinese children and adolescents (e.g., Au, Lau, & Lee, 2009; Juang &
Alvarez, 2010; Juang, Syed, Cookston, Wang, & Kim, 2012). Thus, parent disengagement may
place Chinese adolescents at an increased risk for academic and psychological maladjustment.
The view that parent disengagement is harmful to the adjustment of Chinese adolescents
is consistent with the number of media reports critically highlighting the materialistic tendencies
and impulsive, anti-social behaviors of Chinese youth who are raised in affluent families in Hong
Kong and the PRC (e.g., Beam, 2015; Fan, 2016; Fullerton, 2015). Many of these youth receive
excellent educational opportunities and financial resources to help them succeed materially.
However, a substantial and steadily increasing number are not being raised by their parents due
to their parents’ demanding careers (e.g., Tam, 2001; Taylor, 2014; K. Yang, 2013) and are
often sent away to boarding school at young ages in pursuit of these opportunities (Fan, 2016;
Gao, 2012; Morris, 2013). Such parenting behaviors place children at an increased risk for
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 32
impulsive and delinquent behaviors (e.g., Beam, 2015). These media reports suggest that
Chinese youth who are raised in affluent families experience parent disengagement in a fashion
similar to their counterparts in the United States and that the absence of parent-child engagement
may have the same effects on Chinese adolescents.
Summary. Research on Chinese parenting suggests that some parenting behaviors
characteristic of affluent Caucasian families, such as high achievement expectations and over-
parenting, may be culturally-congruent with Chinese cultural values and beliefs. Therefore,
having parents with high achievement expectations and who over-parent may be considered
normative for Chinese adolescents. Thus, although these two parenting behaviors are known to
be associated with poor academic and psychological outcomes in adolescents who are raised in
affluent Caucasian families in the United States, they may not confer the same risks to the
adjustment of Chinese adolescents who are raised in similarly wealthy families. In contrast,
research suggests that parent disengagement may be culturally incongruent with Chinese values
and beliefs. As such, adolescents who are raised in affluent Chinese families may face similar or
increased risk for academic and psychological problems if their parents are physically and
emotionally disengaged from their lives. However, as no known research has been conducted on
children and adolescents from affluent Chinese families, it is not clear whether affluent Chinese
youth are at an elevated risk for psychological maladjustment and to what extent these parenting
behaviors are associated with the academic competence and psychological adjustment of
adolescents who are raised in affluent Chinese homes. The current study sought to address this
gap in the literature.

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 33
Method
Participants
Participants were 153 ethnic Chinese adolescents (60 males, 93 females; aged 14 – 18
years old: M = 15.71; SD = .99) who attended private international schools in Hong Kong and
one of their parents (102 mothers; 51 fathers). Four private international high schools
participated. The annual tuition fees ranged from HK$128,000 to 245,000 (US$16,300 – 31,230).
Families’ median monthly household income ranged from HKD$100,000 to $150,000
(US$12,745 – $19,118). The national median household income in Hong Kong is HKD$25,000
(~US$3,185) (Census & Statistics Department, 2017). Over 94% of the families had at least
twice the median monthly household income (HK$50,000 and above) and 64% reported a
monthly household income of at least $100,000, placing most among the top 7% of income-
earning households in Hong Kong (Census and Statistics Department, 2017).
Parents in the study were highly educated; 85% of the fathers and 72% of the mothers
completed at least college level education. Most parents (84% of fathers; 58% of mothers) were
employed in senior executive, managerial, or qualified professional level positions. In general,
families were intact, with most parents reporting that they were married or in a domestic
partnership (96%). Most of the adolescents considered at least one of their parents as their
primary caregiver (92%) and more than a quarter (28%) reported that this responsibility was
shared among other family members (e.g., grandparents, aunts and uncles, siblings) or
nannies/helpers.
Procedure
Eligible parents and adolescents were sent letters in English and traditional Chinese
explaining the study and requesting parent consent and youth assent. To reduce social
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 34
desirability bias and encourage participation, families were told that the purpose of the study was
to understand parent-child relations among high-achieving families.
Data collection for the adolescents occurred in their classrooms via a paper-and-pen
survey in English. The principal investigator and trained research assistants administered the
questionnaires, with teachers or school administrators occasionally in the classroom to help
maintain order. Upon completion of their survey, the adolescents were given a sealed envelope
with the parent survey to take home to their parents. The parent survey was in English and
traditional Chinese. Parents returned their completed survey by mail in a stamped, addressed
sealed envelope to the principal investigator’s office.
Participants were assured on multiple occasions that the survey was completely
anonymous and that no identifying information would be collected, except for an ID code that
linked parent and adolescent dyads. No monetary incentives were offered. All procedures were
reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of Southern
California.
Measures
All study information and parent measures were available in English and traditional
Chinese characters. Because English is the primary language of instruction in private
international schools in Hong Kong, adolescents completed the measures in English.
Demographic questionnaire. Parents and adolescents completed a brief demographic
questionnaire which included their age, gender, ethnicity, annual household income, parents’
educational attainment and occupation (i.e., current and most recent), and type of high school the
adolescent attends (i.e., private or public).
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 35
Youth internalizing and externalizing problems. Parents completed the Child Behavior
Checklist (CBCL/6-18; T. M. Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) and adolescents completed the
Youth Self Report (YSR; T. M. Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001). The CBCL is a 120-item parent-
report checklist that assesses a range of emotional and behavioral problems in children and
adolescents aged 6 to 18 years old along two broadband scales: internalizing and externalizing
problems. The YSR is a 112-item, parallel self-report measure for adolescents, aged 11 to 18
years old. Items are rated on a three-point scale (0 = not true; 1 = somewhat or sometimes true; 2
= very true or often true). There are eight subscales: somatic complaints, anxious/withdrawn,
anxious-depressed, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, delinquent problems,
and aggressive behavior. The CBCL and YSR have shown strong psychometric properties and
cross-cultural generalizability across diverse populations (Ivanova, Achenbach, Dumenci, et al.,
2007; Ivanova, Achenbach, Rescorla, et al., 2007), including Hong Kong and the PRC (Leung et
al., 2006; Liu, Guo, Liu, & Sun, 1997). In the current study, the CBCL (internalizing α = .90;
externalizing α = .84) and YSR (internalizing α = .90; externalizing α = .85; total = .94) showed
good internal reliability.
Youth academic performance. To provide a more accurate and less biased measure of
youth academic performance, a composite score consisting of the adolescents’ report of their
academic performance in English, Math, and Science (1 = failing; 5 = among the top 5%) and
parents’ report of the child’s overall academic performance (1 = failing; 5 = among the top 5%)
was created using the sum of the z-scores for both measures. This method of combining z-scores
to attenuate bias from different sources has been used in various studies (e.g., Bradley &
Corwyn, 2013; Z. Wang, Deater-Deckard, Petrill, & Thompson, 2012). The correlation between
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 36
the composite score and academic transcripts provided by the schools for 28% of the sample was
r = .69.
Youth academic engagement. Adolescents completed the Self-Regulation – Academic
Domain Questionnaire (SRQ-A; Ryan & Connell, 1989). The SRQ-A is a 32-item questionnaire
that measures students’ academic engagement in terms self-regulated learning (e.g., motivations
for completing school work, participating in class, and trying to do well in school). Items are
rated on a 4-point scale (1 = very true; 4 = not at all true) and consist of reasons based on four
dimensions of self-regulation: external regulation (i.e., motivated to avoid negative consequences
or obey externally imposed rules; “I do my homework because I'll get in trouble if I don't”),
introjected regulation (i.e., motivated to avoid negative feelings, such as guilt or shame, or to
gain adult approval; “I do my homework because I want the teacher to think I'm a good
student”), identified regulation (i.e., motivated because something is perceived to be important or
valuable to one’s identity; “I do my homework because it's important to me”), and intrinsic
regulation (i.e., motivated because of inherent enjoyment of the activity; “I do my homework
because I enjoy doing my homework”). The SRQ-A has adequate psychometric properties for
Chinese adolescent samples (Shih, 2009; X. Zhang, Klassen, & Wang, 2013). For the current
sample, reliability was α = .75 – 88 for the four subscales and a summative Relative Autonomy
Index score, with different weighting applied to the four subscales (as suggested by Ryan &
Connell, 1989) was used to measure the adolescents’ levels of self-regulated learning.
Cultural orientation. Parents and youth completed the Asian American Values Scale –
Multidimensional (AAVS-M; B. K. Kim, Li, & Ng, 2005). The AAVS-M is a multidimensional
measure of the six factors identified by the original Asian Values Scale (AVS; B. S. K. Kim,
Atkinson, & Yang, 1999) that differentiate between the cultural values held by Asians and their
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 37
Caucasian counterparts. The AAVS-M is a 42-item scale measures adherence to five domains of
Asian cultural values (i.e., collectivism, conformity to norms, emotional self-control, family
recognition through achievement, and humility) and is rated on a 7-point scale (1 = strongly
disagree, 7 = strongly agree). Items include “One’s efforts should be directed toward maintaining
the well-being of the group first and the individual second,” “One’s academic and occupational
reputation reflects the family’s reputation,” and “One’s emotional needs are less important than
fulfilling one’s responsibilities.” Previous studies have shown that the total scale and five
subscales for the original AVS and updated AAVS-M had adequate reliability for Mainland
Chinese samples, α = .76 - .88 (Xu et al., 2005) and Asian-American samples, α = .75 - .92 (B.
K. Kim et al., 2005), respectively. Reliability for the AAVS-M total scores (parent α = .89; child
α = .88) for the current sample was acceptable. Total scores for parents and adolescents were
used in the analyses.
Parent achievement expectations. Adolescents completed the 5-item parental
expectations subscale of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Frost, Marten, Lahart,
& Rosenblate, 1990), a 35-item measure reflecting six dimensions of perfectionism (i.e., concern
over mistakes, personal standards, parental expectations, parental criticism, doubts about actions,
and organization). Adolescents endorsed items, including “My parents set very high standards
for me” and “Only outstanding performance is good enough in my family” on a five-point scale
(1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). Reliability for the subscale in the current study, α =
.84, was equivalent to the original validation study carried out with female American college
students (α = .84; Frost et al., 1990).
Parent criticism. Adolescents completed the parent criticism subscale of the Frost
Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Frost et al., 1990). Adolescents rated four statements,
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 38
including: “I am punished for doing things less than perfectly” and “My parents never try to
understand my mistakes” using a 5-point scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree).
Reliability for the subscale in the current study, α = .85, was similar to the original validation
study on female American college students (α = .84; Frost et al., 1990).
Over-parenting. Adolescents completed the Helicopter Parenting Scale (HPS; LeMoyne
& Buchanan, 2011). The HPS is a 10-item measure consisting of items such as, “My parents
supervise my every move” and “I sometimes feel that my parents don’t feel I can make my own
decisions,” rated on a 5-point scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). Reliability of
scale in the original validation study on college-aged young adults in the United States was
adequate, α = .71. Nonetheless, because internal consistency of the full scale for the current
sample was relatively weak, α = .68, four items were dropped to increase the scale’s reliability to
α = .80.
Parent-child engagement. To measure parent-child engagement, adolescents completed
the maternal warmth subscale of the Perceptions of Parenting Scale (POPS; Robbins, 1994). The
POPS is a 42-item measure that assesses youth perceptions of their parents’ autonomy support,
involvement, and warmth, with parallel questions for mothers and fathers. The maternal warmth
subscale consists of six-items, including “My mother accepts me and likes me as I am” and “My
mother makes me feel very special,” which youth endorse on a seven-point scale (1 = not at all
true; 7 = very true). Previous studies with late adolescent samples have shown excellent
reliability for the subscale, α = .90 (Niemiec et al., 2006). Reliability for the current sample was
also α = .90.
Parents’ materialistic values orientation. Parents completed the 30-item Aspiration
Index (AI; Kasser & Ryan, 1993) to assess the extent to which they value material goals over
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 39
intrinsic ones. The instrument measures beliefs about the importance of two types of aspiration;
extrinsic or material aspiration (wealth, fame, and image) and intrinsic aspiration (meaningful
relationships, personal growth, and community contributions). In a study of Asian American
college students (J. W. Zhang, 2018) the reliability was α = .62 – 71 and in the current sample,
reliability for the six subscales ranged from α = .77 – 91. A weighted difference score (as
suggested by Kasser & Ahuvia, 2002; Kasser & Ryan, 1996), reflecting the relative centrality of
material values (i.e., extrinsic aspirations) to an individual’s value system, was used in the
analysis.
Parent social comparisons. Parents completed the short-version of the Scale for Social
Comparison Orientation /Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (INCOM; Gibbons
& Buunk, 1999). The six-item abbreviated INCOM scale assesses the extent to which people
compare various aspects of themselves and their loved ones with other people, such as “I often
compare how my loved ones are doing with how others are doing” “I often compare how I am
doing socially with other people,” using a 5-point scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly
agree). Previous studies with various cross-national samples have shown good reliability for the
original scale, α = .77 – 85 (Gibbons & Buunk, 1999). Reliability of the scale for the current
study was α = .84.
Parent distress. Parents completed the 12-item Parent Distress subscale of the 36-item
Parenting Stress Index – Short Form (PSI-SF; Abidin, 1995), that assesses the magnitude of
stress in the parent-child system. Items are rated on a 5-point scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 =
strongly agree) and the Parent Distress subscale includes statements such as “There are quite a
few things that bother me about my life” and “I feel trapped by my responsibilities as a parent.”
The subscale was validated with a variety of samples, with good internal reliability for Chinese
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 40
populations, α = .87 (Xu et al., 2005; Yeh, Chen, Li, & Chuang, 2001). Reliability for the current
study was α = .87.
Results
Preliminary Analyses
All data were examined for missing values and outliers. Missing data was less than 5%
on any variable in the dataset and Little’s Missing Completely At Random (MCAR) tests
indicated that these missing values completely at random (Little & Rubin, 2014). Because
previous studies have shown that imputation of missing data often results in more realistic
estimates than list-wise deletion (Schafer & Graham, 2002), multiple imputations using the
Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm in SPSS was used to compute the missing values
(Schafer, 1997). All analyses were carried out after the EM multiple imputation treatment.
Table 1 shows the means and standard deviations for the key sample variables. Because
previous studies indicated that there may be gender differences in problem behaviors among
affluent youth (e.g., Luthar & Barkin, 2012; Luthar & Latendresse, 2005), independent t-tests
were used to compare the key variables by gender. The results showed no significant differences
for family income, parent educational levels, youth or parent adherence to Chinese cultural
values, youth-reported externalizing problems, academic performance, parent achievement
expectations, parent criticism, over-parenting, and parent-child engagement. However, female
adolescents reported significantly higher levels of internalizing problems and lower levels of
academic engagement than did males. Parents of the female adolescents also reported that their
children had higher levels of internalizing and externalizing behaviors than did parents of male
adolescents. Female adolescents were significantly more likely to report that their parents were
critical than were males.
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 41
To examine the relations among the key variables, bivariate correlations were computed.
As shown in Table 2, the dependent variables were moderately correlated. Youth-reported
internalizing and externalizing problems were positively associated with parent-reported
internalizing and externalizing problems and negatively associated with their academic
engagement. Academic performance was negatively associated with youth- and parent-reported
externalizing behaviors.
Parenting behaviors and youth psychological and academic outcomes were also
correlated. Table 2 shows that parent achievement expectations were positively associated with
youth-reported internalizing and externalizing problems, and negatively associated with
academic engagement. Over-parenting was positively associated with youth-reported
internalizing and externalizing problems, parent-reported internalizing problems, and negatively
associated with academic engagement. Parent criticism was positively associated with youth- and
parent-reported internalizing and externalizing problems, and negatively associated with youth
academic performance and engagement. Parent-child engagement was negatively associated with
youth- and parent-reported internalizing and externalizing problems, and positively associated
with academic engagement.
Parents’ belief and value systems were also associated with parenting behaviors, youth
outcomes, and parent distress. Table 2 shows that parents’ adherence to Chinese cultural values
was positively associated with parents’ achievement expectations and parent distress, and
negatively associated with parent-child engagement and youth academic performance. Parents’
materialistic orientation was positively associated with youth-reported internalizing and
externalizing problems, parents’ academic expectations, parents’ criticism, and parent distress.
Parents’ social comparison tendencies were positively associated with youth-reported
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 42
externalizing problems, parents’ academic expectations, and parent distress. There was no
significant association between youth adherence to Chinese cultural values and adolescent
psychological or academic outcomes.
Finally, Table 2 indicates that parent distress was correlated with youth problem
behaviors and parenting behaviors. Parent distress was positively associated with youth- and
parent-reported internalizing and externalizing problems, and negatively associated with parent-
child engagement.
Comparison of Adolescents’ YSR and CBCL Scores with Hong Kong Norms
The Hong Kong Chinese adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems were
compared with Hong Kong national norms (Group 3; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2007) using a one-
sample t-test. As shown in Table 5, both males and females had higher scores for the
internalizing problems scale, as well as for the anxious-depressed and withdrawn-depressed
subscales, compared to the norms. Females had significantly higher scores on the somatic
complaints subscale while males had lower scores on the externalizing problems scale, and the
rule-breaking and aggressive behaviors subscales, compared to the normative sample.
Also displayed in Tables 5 and 6 are the proportions of adolescents and parents who
reported youth internalizing and externalizing problems that fell above the borderline clinical (≥
86%ile) and clinical levels (≥ 98%ile) based on Hong Kong norms (Achenbach & Rescorla,
2007). Notably, over half of the female adolescents and a third of the male adolescents reported
borderline clinical levels of internalizing problems. A higher proportion of females than males
also met borderline clinical and clinical cutoffs for externalizing problems (e.g., 13% of female
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 43
adolescents met borderline clinical cutoffs vs. 5% male adolescents).
1
In general, the proportion
of youth who met borderline clinical and clinical criteria for internalizing and externalizing
problems based on parent reports, was less than half of the proportion of those who met these
criteria based on self-report.
Parenting Behaviors, Youth Cultural Orientation, and Youth-Reported Problem Behaviors
The effects of parenting behavior and cultural orientation on youth-reported problem
behaviors was examined using hierarchical linear regression analyses. All predictor variables
were mean centered to attenuate effects of multicollinearity (Aiken & West, 1991) and the
youth-and parent-reported internalizing and externalizing behaviors, academic performance, and
academic engagement were treated as dependent variables. For females, parent achievement
expectations, over-parenting, parent criticism, and parent-child engagement (i.e., parenting
behaviors) were entered in the first step, with youth adherence to Chinese cultural values (i.e.,
youth cultural orientation) in the second step, and two-way parenting behaviors x youth cultural
orientation interactions entered in the third and final step. Because youth adherence to Chinese
cultural values was not significantly associated with any of the dependent variables for males,
the regression analysis was run as a single step with parent achievement expectations, over-
parenting, parent criticism, and parent-child engagement (i.e., parenting behaviors) as
independent variables. Also, due to the modest sample size, if the initial results showed
significant or marginally significant interaction effects, the regressions were re-run with the non-
significant interactions terms removed from Step 3 to increase overall power of the regression
model.

1
Although their raw mean scores were similar to their male peers, a much higher proportion of females than males
met borderline clinical or clinical criteria for externalizing problems because the borderline/clinical cut-offs for
Hong Kong norms were lower for females than males.
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 44
Tables 7 and 8 show that the model was statistically significant for internalizing and
externalizing problems for both genders. The model for males accounted for 28.0% and 23.1% of
the variance in internalizing and externalizing problems, respectively. For females, the model
explained 41.6% and 32.8% of the variance in internalizing and externalizing problems,
respectively. For both genders, parent criticism was positively associated with youth-reported
internalizing problems (males β =.37, p ≤.05; females β =.45, p ≤.01). In addition, parent-child
engagement was negatively associated with youth-reported internalizing (β = -.23, p ≤.01) and
externalizing problems (β = -.38, p ≤.01) for females; and over-parenting was positively
associated with internalizing (β = .26, p ≤.05) and externalizing (β = .36, p ≤.01) problems for
males. There were no significant interaction effects between parenting behaviors and youth
cultural orientation for either male or female adolescents for youth-reported problem behaviors.
Parenting Behaviors, Youth Cultural Orientation, and Parent-Reported Youth Problem
Behaviors
The effect of parenting behavior and youth cultural orientation on parent-reported
problem behaviors was examined using hierarchical linear regression analyses. Table 10 shows
that the model was statistically significant for internalizing and externalizing problems for
females only and accounted for 19.2% and 22.1% of the variance in outcomes, respectively. For
female adolescents, parent criticism was positively associated with parent-reported externalizing
problems (β = .35, p ≤.05) and parent-child engagement was negatively associated with parent-
reported internalizing (β = -.26, p ≤.05) and externalizing (β = -.30, p ≤.05) problems. There
were no significant main effects for male adolescents (see Table 9).
Model 3 of Tables 9 and 10 shows the significant interactive effects of parenting
behaviors and youth cultural orientation on parent-reported internalizing and externalizing
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 45
behaviors for males and female adolescents, respectively. For males, the Over-parenting x
Cultural Orientation Interaction was significant for parent-reported internalizing (β =.53, p ≤.01)
and externalizing (β =.35, p ≤.01) problems.
Figure 1 plots the interaction for male internalizing problems. The slope for low
adherence to Chinese cultural values was negative and significant (gradient = -.64, t = 2.74, p
≤.01), whereas the slope for high adherence to Chinese cultural values was positive and
significant (gradient = 1.14, t = 4.85, p ≤.01). The results indicated that for male adolescents
with high adherence to Chinese cultural values, parent-reported internalizing problems tend to
increase with higher levels of over-parenting; in contrast, for male adolescents with low
adherence to Chinese cultural values, parent-reported internalizing problems tend to decrease
with higher levels of over-parenting.
Figure 2 plots the interaction for male externalizing problems. The slope for high
adherence to Chinese cultural values was positive and significant (gradient = .56, t = 2.92, p
≤.01), whereas the slope for low adherence to Chinese cultural values was non-significant
(gradient = -.33, t = -1.72, ns.). The results indicated that for male adolescents with high
adherence to Chinese cultural values, parent-reported externalizing problems tend to increase
with higher levels of over-parenting.
For females, the Achievement Expectations x Cultural Orientation (β = -.41, p ≤.05) and
the Parent Criticism x Cultural Orientation (β =.31, p ≤.05) interactions were significant for
parent-reported internalizing problems. The interactions were plotted in Figure 3 and Figure 4
respectively with youth adherence to Chinese cultural values treated as the moderator.
For the Achievement Expectations x Cultural Orientation interaction (Figure 3), the slope
for low adherence to Chinese cultural values was negative and significant (gradient = -1.09, t = -
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 46
2.75, p ≤.05), whereas the slope for high adherence to Chinese cultural values was non-
significant (gradient = .54, t = 1.24, ns.). The results indicated that for female adolescents with
low adherence to Chinese cultural values, parent-reported internalizing problems tend to
decrease with higher levels of academic expectations.
For the Parent Criticism x Cultural Orientation interaction (Figure 4), the slope for low
adherence to Chinese cultural values was positive and significant (gradient = 1.59, t = 3.16, p
≤.01), whereas the slope for high adherence to Chinese cultural values was non-significant
(gradient = -.20, t = -.43, ns.). The results indicated that for female adolescents with low
adherence to Chinese cultural values, parent-reported internalizing problems tend to increase
with higher levels of parent criticism.
Parenting Behaviors, Youth Cultural Orientation, and Youth Academic Competence
Tables 11 and 12 show the model was statistically significant for academic engagement
for male adolescents only and accounted for 30.5% of the variance in outcome. Over-parenting
was marginally associated with academic engagement (β = -.22, p = .079.). There were no other
significant main effects for either gender.
Model 3 of Tables 11 and 12 shows the significant interactive effects of parenting
behaviors and youth cultural orientation on academic performance and academic engagement for
males and female adolescents, respectively. The overall models were not significant across either
gender; however, for males, the Over-parenting x Cultural Orientation interaction was significant
for academic performance (β =-.38, p ≤.05). Figure 5 plots the interaction for male academic
performance. The slope for low adherence to Chinese cultural values was positive and significant
(gradient = .12, t = 2.74, p ≤.01), whereas the slope for high adherence to Chinese cultural values
was negative and significant (gradient = -.21, t = -4.76, p ≤.01). The results indicated that for
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 47
male adolescents with low adherence to Chinese cultural values, academic performance tends to
increase with higher levels of over-parenting; in contrast, for male adolescents with high
adherence to Chinese cultural values, academic performance tends to decrease with higher levels
of over-parenting.
Contextual Factors and Parenting Behaviors
The results of bivariate correlations displayed in Table 13 showed that parents’
achievement expectations, over-parenting, and criticism were all positively associated. Parents’
achievement expectations were positively associated with their materialistic orientation, social
comparison tendencies, and adherence to Chinese cultural values. Over-parenting was positively
associated with youth total problems and marginally associated with parent distress. Parent
criticism was positively associated with youth total problems, parents’ materialistic orientation,
and parents’ social comparisons. Parent-child engagement was negatively associated with youth
total problems, and parents’ materialistic orientation, distress, and adherence to Chinese cultural
values.
To explore the contributions of contextual variables to parents’ achievement
expectations, over-parenting, criticism, and parent-child engagement, a series of hierarchical
regression analyses were conducted, with the parenting behaviors treated as dependent variables.
In each regression analysis, youth total problems and parent distress were treated as control
variables and entered in the first step, followed by parents’ educational level, parents’
materialistic orientation, social comparisons, and adherence to Chinese cultural values, in the
second step. The analyses are summarized in Table 14.
The results showed that youth total problems was the strongest predictor of over-
parenting, parent criticism, and parent-child engagement; but did not significantly account for
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 48
variation in parents’ achievement expectations. Nonetheless, contextual factors significantly
contributed to the variance in parents’ achievement expectations and parent-child engagement,
above and beyond youth total problems and parent distress.
After controlling for youth total problems and parents’ distress, parents’ achievement
expectations were positively predicted by parents’ educational level (β = .21, p ≤.05) and
parents’ adherence to Chinese cultural values (β = .16, p ≤.05). There was also a marginally
significant positive association between parents’ achievement expectations and parents’
materialistic orientation (β = .18, p = .05). Similarly, parent-child engagement was significantly
associated with parents’ materialistic orientation (β = -.18, p ≤.05) and marginally associated
with parents’ adherence to Chinese cultural values (β = -.14, p = .07). Contextual factors
explained an incremental 10% and 5% of the variance in parents’ achievement expectations and
parent-child engagement respectively, over and above the contributions of youth total problems
and parent distress to these parenting behaviors (2% and 16% respectively).
In summary, the results showed that (1) adolescents reported higher levels of
internalizing problems, but lower levels of externalizing problems, compared to national Hong
Kong norms, and the proportion of females who met borderline clinical or clinical criteria for
internalizing and externalizing problems was higher than males; (2) with the exception of parent
criticism, which was positively associated with internalizing problems for both genders,
parenting predictors of youth psychological adjustment and academic competence varied
somewhat by gender; over-parenting was positively associated with male internalizing and
externalizing problems, and parent-child engagement was negatively associated with female
internalizing and externalizing problems; (3) youth adherence to Chinese cultural values
appeared to sensitize males to the negative effects of over-parenting and to buffer females
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 49
against the negative effects of parent criticism and parent achievement expectations; (4) youth
total problems accounted for most of the variance in parenting behaviors; nonetheless, contextual
factors, such as parents’ education level, materialistic orientation, and adherence to Chinese
cultural values, contributed to parent academic expectations and parent-child engagement above
and beyond youth total problems and parent distress.
Discussion
Affluence as a Risk Factor for Hong Kong Chinese Adolescents
When compared to national Hong Kong norms, the affluent adolescents were at elevated
risk for internalizing problem behaviors. This finding partially replicates Luther’s (Luthar &
Becker, 2002; Luthar & D’Avanzo, 1999) and Lund et al.’s research (Lund & Dearing, 2013;
Lund et al., 2017) which showed that affluent Norwegian and American adolescents had
significantly higher levels of anxiety, depression, substance use, and delinquency than non-
affluent youth. Interestingly, the Hong Kong Chinese youth and their parents both reported
infrequent rule-breaking and delinquent behaviors when compared to Hong Kong national
norms. This finding suggests that while affluence may confer risk for youth internalizing
problems, it may also offer protection against externalizing problems for Chinese adolescents.
This pattern of findings may be related to cultural differences in peer norms. While Hong
Kong Chinese youth may face similar pressures to achieve academically as their affluent peers in
western countries, the peer pressure to engage in substance use and other rule-breaking behaviors
differs across societies. Studies on affluent youth in the United States and Norway show that
alcohol, drug use, and other risky behaviors are associated with increased popularity (Lund et al.,
2017; Luthar et al., 2013). In contrast, affluent Hong Kong Chinese adolescents rarely engage in
such deviant behaviors because within Chinese culture it is not normative for these behaviors to
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 50
be associated with higher social standing. Indeed, previous research on Mainland Chinese youth
has shown that peer pressure involves engaging in prosocial rather than antisocial behaviors
(e.g., Fang, Li, Stanton, & Dong, 2003; Xu, Farver, Chang, Yu, & Zhang, 2006). Prosocial
behaviors and academic achievement are strongly correlated with popularity, primarily because
these behaviors are consistent with Confucian ideals which maintain that social status is accrued
through morally responsible and interpersonally harmonious behavior (Niu, Jin, Li, & French,
2015). This finding supports the notion that while affluence may appear to confer risks to
adolescent psychological adjustment, how these risks are manifested in youth may differ
depending on what is encouraged or discouraged within the cultural context (Weisz, Suwanlert,
Chaiyasit, & Walter, 1987).
Gender Differences in the Adolescents’ Problem Behaviors
The results showed that females were more at risk for psychological maladjustment than
males; the proportion of female adolescents who met clinical and borderline clinical levels for
internalizing and externalizing problems was double the proportion of males who also met these
clinical criteria. The results are partially consistent with studies on affluent Norwegian and
American youth (Lund & Dearing, 2013; Luthar & Becker, 2002; Luthar & D’Avanzo, 1999),
and Hong Kong youth (Lau, Chan, & Lau, 1999; Stewart et al., 1999), which showed that female
adolescents reported higher levels of anxiety and depression than their male peers.
Luthar (2013) suggests gender differences in emotional distress among affluent youth
may arise from the multiple pressures female adolescents face from parents and peers because
they tend to be held to a higher standard than males (see also Spencer, Walsh, Liang, Mousseau,
& Lund, 2016). For example, parents expect their daughters to excel as much as their male peers
in traditionally “boy skills,” such as academics and extra curriculars, but also display a high level
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 51
of “girl skills,” such as self-awareness and empathy (Hinshaw & Kranz, 2009). They are also less
forgiving of their daughters’ transgressions. (Luthar & Barkin, 2012). In addition, female
adolescents face more pressure from their peers to be popular, to conform to social norms, and to
be physically attractive than males (Brown, Lohr, & McClenahan, 1986; Jones, Vigfusdottir, &
Lee, 2004). When the stress of these additional expectations interact with existing gender-based
vulnerabilities to depression and anxiety, such as dependence on relationships with others for
self-esteem, low expectations for their ability to control external events, unassertiveness, and
ruminative coping, it increases the risk for internalizing problems among affluent female
adolescents (e.g., Cyranowski, Frank, Young, & Shear, 2000; Hankin & Abramson, 2001; Hyde,
Mezulis, & Abramson, Lyn Y, 2008; Y. Yang, Li, Zhang, Tein, & Liu, 2008).
Past research on ethnic Chinese adolescents further supports the notion that females may
face more stress associated with external and internal expectations, than males. Compared to
their male peers, Chinese female adolescents in the PRC worry more about their grades and have
higher self-expectations (Sun, Dunne, Hou, & Xu, 2013). Furthermore, while Hong Kong society
has become increasingly progressive in women’s economic roles in the past decade, there
continues to be a cultural lag in gender egalitarianism outside the economic realm. Surveys
show, for example, that over 80% of men and women agree that “both women and men should
contribute to household income” and that society is gradually more accepting of the notion that
women should be sole breadwinners in their family (Women’s Commission, 2011). Nonetheless,
studies on youth perceptions of gender roles in Hong Kong suggest that while females believe
that they should be allowed to pursue their dreams and be independent, they are also expected to
adhere to gender-typed stereotypic notions of looking presentable, having good manners, and
being nice to others if they want to be socially accepted (Chan, Tufte, Capello, & Willliams,
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 52
2011). The pressure for Chinese female adolescents to succeed in these multiple roles, and to do
so without complaint, may explain their heightened distress. This explanation is consistent with a
study of young adult females in Hong Kong that showed a positive association between the
internalization of traditional gender roles and depressive and somatic symptoms (Tang & Tang,
2001).
Also, noteworthy in light of existing research on youth mental health, is the relatively
high proportion of females who met borderline clinical or clinical criteria for externalizing
problems compared to males. While this pattern can, in part, be explained by the lower female
(vs. male) borderline clinical and clinical cut-offs for externalizing behaviors based on Hong
Kong norms, this pattern is nonetheless notable because past investigators have concluded that
females tend to be at lower or similar risk for externalizing problems when compared to males
(e.g., Bongers, Koot, Van Der Ende, & Verhulst, 2004; Card, Stucky, Sawalani, & Little, 2008;
Leadbeater, Kuperminc, Blatt, & Hertzog, 1999). This pattern of gender differences can be
attributed to personality traits (e.g., Pursell, Laursen, Rubin, Booth-LaForce, & Rose-Krasnor,
2008), vulnerability to self-criticism (Leadbeater et al., 1999), and gender-related peer norms
(e.g., Feldman, Rosenthal, Brown, & Canning, 1995).
There are three possible explanations for elevated symptoms of rule-breaking and
aggressive behaviors amongst the Chinese females. First, externalizing and internalizing
problems are highly comorbid (Fanti & Henrich, 2010; Lilienfeld, 2003; McConaughy & Skiba,
1993) and endorsing externalizing symptoms may simply reflect affluent female adolescents’
overall heightened distress.
Second, Chinese female adolescents may be at greater risk for externalizing problems
than their male peers because they have heightened self-critical depressive vulnerabilities where
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 53
they experience guilt and self-blame. Some studies suggest that self-critical cognitions are
associated with comorbid externalizing problems (Ferguson, Stegge, Miller, & Olsen, 1999;
Leadbeater, Blatt, & Quinlan, 1995). Therefore, if Chinese females are more concerned with
moral correctness and proper behavior than are males, which has been shown in previous
research (Q. Wang & Leichtman, 2003), then this seemingly conscientious behavior may also
place them at high risk for feelings of guilt and self-blame when they are not able to achieve their
internalized expectations; a pattern of behavior that then contributes to increased internalizing
and externalizing symptoms.
Third, compared to their male counterparts, affluent Chinese female adolescents may be
more susceptible to parent approval or modeling of risky behaviors (e.g., Flay et al., 1994), such
as drinking alcohol, smoking, or behaving aggressively. In addition, they may be less protected
by parent monitoring. Studies on gender differences in drinking behavior among Hong Kong
Chinese youth have shown that mothers’ drinking behavior was positively associated with the
lifetime drinking status and past year drinking status of female youth, but had minimal impact on
males (Lo & Globetti, 2000). Furthermore, although high parent monitoring is associated with
less alcohol use and lowered risky sexual behaviors among male adolescents, parental
monitoring has less effect on females (Borawski, Ievers-Landis, Lovegreen, & Trapl, 2003;
Kincaid, Jones, Sterrett, & McKee, 2012). Given that affluent adults tend to drink more alcohol
(Chuang, Ennett, Bauman, & Foshee, 2009) and are more self-absorbed (Kraus et al., 2011) than
their lower SES counterparts, affluent Chinese female adolescents may be more inclined to
engage in externalizing behaviors because they tend to model their parents’ behavior more than
their male peers. Moreover, they may not benefit from parent monitoring as much as their male
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 54
counterparts. To better understand this elevated risk for externalizing problems among affluent
female adolescents, future research could focus on these explanatory mechanisms.
Parenting Behaviors, Youth Psychological Adjustment, and Academic Competence
Consistent with self-determination theory, affluent parenting behaviors that undermine
adolescent competence, autonomy, and sense of relatedness to others, were associated with poor
youth academic and psychological outcomes. Specifically, parent criticism was associated with
internalizing problems for both males and females. In addition, over-parenting was associated
with internalizing and externalizing problems behaviors for males, whereas parent-child
engagement was negatively associated with internalizing and externalizing problems for females.
Although these relations were not significant, there was a trend for over-parenting and parent
criticism to be negatively associated with academic engagement in males and females,
respectively. Taken together, these findings underscore the problematic effects of controlling or
rejecting parenting behaviors for adolescents’ psychological functioning (Barber, 1996; Bögels
& Brechman-Toussaint, 2006; Creswell, Murray, Stacey, & Cooper, 2011; B. D. McLeod,
Weisz, & Wood, 2007; B. D. McLeod, Wood, & Weisz, 2007).
There were some notable gender differences in the link between parenting behaviors and
adolescent outcomes. That is, over-parenting significantly predicted internalizing and
externalizing problems in males, but not females, while parent-child engagement significantly
predicted internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors in females, but not in males. This
pattern might reflect gender socialization in Chinese culture where females are expected to value
dependence and connectedness to their parents; whereas males are socialized to value
independence and autonomy (Cross & Madson, 1997). As such, frustrating male independence
through over-parenting may have a more negative effect on their adjustment than on females;
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 55
whereas providing warmth and connectedness may have a stronger influence on psychological
outcomes in females than in males (e.g., Kincaid et al., 2012).
Finally, while parents’ achievement expectations did not significantly predict academic
or psychological adjustment among these adolescents, parent criticism and parents’ expectations
for their children are often confounded in the literature. In contrast to parent criticism which may
impair youth functioning (e.g., Horwitz et al., 2015), parents’ high academic expectations often
have a positive effect on their children’s high academic achievement (e.g., Aldous, 2006; Davis-
Kean, 2005; Spera, 2005) and academic self-efficacy (e.g., Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caparara, &
Pastorelli, 1996; Cheung & Pomerantz, 2015). This is because having high standards for one’s
children and expecting them to excel does not necessarily frustrate their competence, autonomy,
or relatedness (and in fact, may arguably reflect a parents’ belief in their children’s competence).
Therefore, the finding underscores a need to distinguish between the effect of having critical
parents versus parents who simply have very high aspirations for their children.
Cultural Orientation as a Moderator Between Parents’ Behaviors and Youth Outcomes
The results indicated that adolescents’ cultural orientation moderated the relation between
parenting behaviors and adolescent outcomes, although not in the expected direction. These
findings are generally consistent with the eco-cultural model of parenting which argues that the
cultural context – in this case, youth cultural beliefs – actively influence adolescent outcomes in
several ways (Bornstein, 2013; Bronfenbrenner, 1986; Harkness & Super, 1996; LeVine, 1988;
Weisner, 1998).
First, the link between over-parenting and problem behaviors for male adolescents was
moderated by their cultural orientation. Specifically, for adolescent males who more strongly
endorsed Chinese cultural values, the parent-reported internalizing problems were positively
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 56
associated with over-parenting. On the other hand, for adolescent males who adhered less
strongly to Chinese cultural values, parent-reported internalizing and externalizing problems
were negatively associated with over-parenting. This moderation effect may be related to a
cultural sensitization process in which over-parenting is detrimental to individuals who are
collectivistically-oriented and endorse a strong sense of family obligation and interpersonal
responsibility or filial piety (Fuligni, Tseng, & Lam, 2003; S. J. Schwartz et al., 2010).
Therefore, adolescents who adhere to the traditional Chinese cultural value system may feel
pressure to perform well and meet their parents’ expectations, particularly when they perceive
their parents to be providing excessive guidance and involvement or over-parenting. This
additional parent pressure could lead to more problem behaviors among these youth. It is also
possible that adolescents who endorse traditional Chinese cultural values have parents who are
also collectivistic-oriented and strongly believe it is their responsibility to be highly involved in
their children’s lives and to shape their children’s development (e.g., Chao, 1996). As a result, if
parents perceive their children to be struggling and appear to be depressed, anxious, withdrawn,
or acting out, they may engage in more over-parenting behaviors because they think their
children need more active parental support.
It is unclear why the male adolescents who were less adherent to Chinese cultural values,
have fewer parent-reported internalizing problems when their parents engage in high levels of
over-parenting. One speculation is that while over-parenting is associated with psychological
maladjustment among emerging adults because it violates the young adult’s need for autonomy
(Schiffrin et al., 2013; Segrin et al., 2012), over-parenting may not be as developmentally
inappropriate for mid-to-late adolescents. Furthermore, male adolescents who adhere less to
Chinese cultural values may not feel obligated to reciprocate when their parents actively help or
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 57
get involved in their lives. Instead, their mental health may benefit from the positive aspects of
over-parenting, such as an increased feeling of entitlement (Givertz & Segrin, 2014; Segrin et al.,
2012) or strong feelings of emotional support (Padilla-Walker & Nelson, 2012), without the
reciprocal burden and obligation typically associated with filial piety.
Second, youth cultural orientation moderated the link between parents’ achievement
expectations and females’ internalizing problems. However, there was no significant relation
between parents’ achievement expectations and female internalizing behaviors among those who
strongly endorsed Chinese cultural values. Generally, because academic and occupational
achievement is highly valued in Chinese culture, Chinese parents are known to maintain high
expectations for their children’s academic performance (C. Chen & Uttal, 1988). Therefore,
given these parent behaviors are normative within Chinese culture, the pressures associated with
them may not have any particular effect—and certainly not a detrimental one – on the
psychological adjustment of female adolescents who strongly adhere to traditional Chinese
values (Crystal et al., 1994). Interestingly, for females who were less adherent to Chinese
cultural values, parents’ achievement expectations were negatively associated with internalizing
problems. As suggested above, parents’ high expectations, which are distinct from parent
criticism, may signal belief in their children’s competence and in turn, promote positive
adolescent outcomes.
Third, female adolescents’ cultural orientation also moderated the relation between parent
criticism and their reports of internalizing problems. Similar to the findings for parent
achievement expectations, when females adhered more strongly to Chinese cultural values,
parent criticism was not associated with internalizing problems. In the Chinese culture,
achievement and failure reflect on individuals as well as on their collective or family members
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 58
and can result in a demanding and controlling family environment where perfectionistic
standards are normative and adaptive (Suh, Yuen, Wang, Fu, & Trotter, 2014). Moreover,
because modesty is also valued within Chinese culture, shaming is a common way of socializing
children to develop a sense of humility (Nelson et al., 2006; P. Wu et al., 2002). Therefore,
growing up in a critical family environment may not be as detrimental for female adolescents
who adhere strongly to Chinese cultural values. In contrast, female adolescents who did not
endorse Chinese cultural values had more parent-reported internalizing problems when their
parents were perceived as highly critical. Youth who endorse an individualistically-oriented
value system may be more sensitive to parent criticism because they have developed and now
value an independent notion of autonomy and competence than their more collectivistically-
oriented peers. As a result, adolescents may feel that their basic psychological needs are
undermined significantly by critical parenting, increasing their vulnerability to internalizing
problems.
The Cultural Context and Parenting Behaviors
The results showed that parents’ education level, materialistic orientation, and adherence
to Chinese cultural values, were associated with their achievement expectations for their children
and their parent-child engagement. These variables contributed to the variance in parenting
behaviors over and above youth and parents’ reports of distress. Highly educated Chinese parents
who valued extrinsic over intrinsic goals (i.e., were materialistically-oriented), and adhered to the
traditional Chinese cultural value system were more likely to be perceived by their children as
having high achievement expectations and as less emotionally engaged (i.e., less perceived
parent warmth). These findings support Luther’s (2013) work with American adolescents where
she argued that “the cultural context of affluence” encourages upper-middle class American
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 59
parents to expect more of themselves, value extrinsic, material goals over intrinsic ones, and
compare themselves to other; which in turn seems to make them more achievement oriented in
their approach to parenting and less emotionally available for their children.
The results also indicated that over-parenting and parent criticism were not significantly
associated with any of the contextual factors. Rather, these parenting behaviors were predicted
primarily by adolescent problem behaviors. The weak relation between adherence to Chinese
cultural values and over-parenting and parent criticism, supports emerging research questioning
the idea maintained by popular culture that over-involved and critical parenting are behaviors
that are necessarily encouraged in the Chinese culture (S. Y. Kim, Wang, Orozco-Lapray, Shen,
& Murtuza, 2013; Lui & Rollock, 2013). Although interest in over-parenting has burgeoned in
the past few years (e.g., Lythcott-Haims, 2015; Rousseau & Scharf, 2015; Segrin et al., 2012;
Segrin, Woszidlo, et al., 2013), more research is needed to better understand this new parenting
construct.
Consistent with long-standing parenting research suggesting that parent distress induces
problem behaviors in children through negative parenting (Deater-Deckard, 2008; Webster-
Stratton, 1990), the results showed a positive association between parent distress and youth
internalizing and externalizing problems. However, parent distress did not significantly
contribute to any of the parenting behaviors in the current regression models. This finding is
particularly surprising as previous studies (Lovejoy, Graczyk, O’Hare, & Neuman, 2000; Wilson
& Durbin, 2010), including one that focused on Chinese parents (Xu et al., 2005), have
demonstrated a solid link between parent distress and parenting behaviors. One speculation is
that affluent parents underreport their distress because they feel ashamed or guilty for having
problems despite “having it all” (Sherman, 2017; Wolfe & Fodor, 1996), and this perhaps
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 60
attenuated the link between their emotional well-being and their parenting behavior.
Alternatively, because affluent parents have a low base rate for distress (or distress as was
currently measured) due to their abundant resources, parent distress may not be a good
determinant of their parenting behaviors. Another possibility is that there is a qualitative
difference between the kind of parenting behaviors that affluent parents engage in and the harsh,
intrusive, and disengaged parenting behaviors that are typically associated with parent distress.
Most research on parenting behavior has focused on low SES and middle-class families. Results
of the current study suggests that our current understanding of parenting behavior may not
generalize to affluent families. Therefore, given that affluent families are an emerging “at risk”
group, more research is needed to better understand the processes that contribute to their
behaviors and associated outcomes for their children.
Overall the findings about how aspects of affluent families contextual settings contribute
to their parenting behaviors highlight the relevance of culture in shaping parents’ beliefs and
goals, and in turn their parenting behaviors, and lends further support to the eco-cultural theory
of parenting (Weisner, 2002). Nonetheless, it is notable that youth total problems were the
strongest predictor of over-parenting, parent criticism, and parent-child engagement. The
findings support the notion that parent-child interactions are bidirectional, and youth behaviors
shape parenting behaviors as much as parents shape their children’s behaviors (e.g., Hipwell et
al., 2008, 2008; Pettit & Arsiwalla, 2008), and suggests that child behaviors are likely more
proximal predictors of parenting than contextual ones, such as cultural values.
Limitations
The current study provides insights into the risk and protective processes that are
experienced by adolescents who are raised in affluent families in a previously unexplored
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 61
cultural context. Nonetheless, several limitations should be acknowledged. First, because there
were no comparison groups, explicit conclusions cannot be drawn about differences between
Western and Hong Kong Chinese youth or between affluent and non-affluent Hong Kong
Chinese youth. However, comparing the problem behaviors of affluent youth in our study with
Hong Kong national norms allowed some indication of their risk for maladjustment.
Furthermore, conducting within group analyses are a necessary starting point from which to
develop a program of research to examine cultural processes and other relevant contextual
factors (see D. Schwartz, Chang, & Farver, 2001; D. Schwartz, Farver, Chang, & Lee-Shin,
2002). Nonetheless, comparative statements regarding the various explanatory processes
underlying adolescent academic competence and psychological adjustment across settings should
also be made with great care.
Second, the participants in this study do not represent the spectrum of affluent Hong
Kong Chinese adolescents. Although the study was advertised to the entire eligible school body,
it may well be that parents who were more engaged with their children chose to participate.
Third, it is possible that social desirability may have impacted the results of the study.
Studies have consistently shown that individuals from Asian cultures often respond in ways that
present themselves favorably with respect to prevailing social norms because of the need to
maintain positive and harmonious relationships or to “save face” (Bornstein et al., 2015);
therefore, participants could have over- or under-reported ratings of their beliefs or behaviors.
For example, youth reports of their externalizing behavior may have been under-reported
because the parents and adolescents were less inclined to endorse aggressive or rule-breaking
behaviors that violate culturally acceptable norms or if they negatively impact a youth’s future in
some fashion. To reduce the impact of social desirability bias in the study, participants were
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 62
repeatedly assured that their survey responses were anonymous and a measure of adherence to
Chinese cultural values was included.
Fourth, because the research design is cross-sectional no conclusions can be made about
causality. For example, it is possible that over-parenting behavior promotes problem behaviors in
youth; however, it is also plausible that parents become more involved in their children’s school
work when they perceive them to be struggling. By the same token, parent criticism could
exacerbate youth distress levels, but depressed and anxious adolescents are also more inclined
than others to perceive the world in a more negative light. In addition, it is difficult to know how
consequential an adolescent’s current report of distress is to their later psychological functioning.
Longitudinal research would help to clarify the risks and gain an understanding of the impact of
these problems.
Fifth, although one of the strengths of the study is that both parent and youth reports of
academic competence and psychological adjustment were used, the between informant variations
in endorsed behaviors made interpretation about the relations between parenting behaviors and
youth outcomes particularly challenging. For example, the biggest effects were observed
between parenting behaviors and youth outcomes when youth reported on their parents’
behaviors and their own outcomes. Some researchers have argued that this may be an accurate
reflection of the processes underlying the phenomenon, particularly since children’s appraisals
about various aspects of their lives likely contribute most to their subjective distress (Luthar &
Becker, 2002). At the same time, these findings could be related to shared method variance.
Future research could use more objective measures (e.g., classroom observations of youth
behavior; teacher’s reports of parents’ over-parenting behaviors) to overcome this limitation.
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 63
Finally, overall adherence to Chinese cultural values contributed to parents’ reports of
their behavior and moderated the link between their behaviors and outcomes for their children.
However, the specific underlying cultural elements presumed to be responsible (e.g., peer or
social norms) were not directly measured and tested (Betancourt & López, 1993). Future
research would benefit from examining specific hypothesized cultural mechanisms which could
further develop theory and inform intervention.
Conclusion
The current study challenged the assumption that youth from wealthy families are at a
low-risk group for psychological and academic maladjustment. For many Chinese youth,
particularly female adolescents, growing up in an affluent family brings significant risks that can
be partly explained by their parents’ behaviors; risks are not necessarily mitigated by family
resources. As the study indicates, some parents are unaware of their adolescent children’s
emotional distress. Because these adolescents are dependent on their parents to gain access to
therapeutic services, many are not be getting help. Clearly, affluent youth face significant
psychological barriers to treatment because their parents’ desire to maintain a façade of
perfection and fear their admission of problems may impede their children’s academic and
professional opportunities (Pollak & Schaffer, 1985; Wolfe & Fodor, 1996) and shame and guilt
on the part of youth who may feel that they have no right to feel distressed because of their
privilege. These problems are further compounded by the stigma against mental health within the
Chinese cultural context (Chung & Wong, 2004; Lam et al., 2010). Research, such as the current
study, is therefore particularly important to helping raise awareness among parents, school
administrators, teachers, and mental health professionals of the vulnerability among this
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 64
subgroup of youth. It also challenges existing theoretical assumptions that there is a positive
linear relationship between SES and developmental outcomes.
The study also highlights how the eco-cultural context influences parenting behaviors and
adolescent developmental outcomes and identified aspects of parenting behavior and youth
adjustment that may be universal or culturally specific. The findings suggest that parenting
behaviors that undermine an adolescent’s sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness leads
to maladjustment in most youth. Nonetheless, individuals’ predominant cultural goals, values,
and beliefs, can shape this process. Adolescents’ perceptions of whether a particular parenting
behavior frustrates their basic psychological needs and their psychological adjustment, is
determined by their own internalization of or adherence to Chinese cultural values. Similarly,
parents’ endorsement of traditional Chinese cultural values contributes to their likelihood of
engaging in certain parenting behaviors, which in turn impact youth outcomes. Therefore, while
affluence may be a consistent risk factor for adolescent maladjustment across contexts, there is
also cultural variability in how these risks are manifested through parenting behaviors. As such,
there is a definite need for cultural approaches to thinking about issues of risk and resilience in
adolescent development.
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 65
References

Abidin, R. R. (1995). Parenting Stress Index (3rd ed.). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment
Resources.
Ablard, K. E., & Parker, W. D. (1997). Parents’ achievement goals and perfectionism in their
academically talented children. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 26(6), 651–667.
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2001). Manual for the ASEBA schoolage forms & profiles.
Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, &
Families.
Achenbach, Thomas M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2007). Multicultural Supplement to the Manual for
the ASEBA School-Age Forms & Profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont,
Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.
Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions.
Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Aldous, J. (2006). Family, ethnicity, and immigrant youths’ educational achievements. Journal
of Family Issues, 27(12), 1633–1667.
Assor, A., Roth, G., & Deci, E. L. (2004). The emotional costs of parents’ conditional regard: a
self-determination theory analysis. Journal of Personality, 72(1), 47–88.
Assor, A., & Tal, K. (2012). When parents’ affection depends on child’s achievement: Parental
conditional positive regard, self-aggrandizement, shame and coping in adolescents.
Journal of Adolescence, 35(2), 249–260.
Atsmon, Y., & Dixit, V. (2009, July). Understanding China’s wealthy. Retrieved February 24,
2016, from http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-
insights/understanding-chinas-wealthy
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 66
Au, A. C. Y., Lau, S., & Lee, M. T. Y. (2009). Suicide ideation and depression: The moderation
effects of family cohesion and social self-concept. Adolescence, 44(176), 851–868.
Bandura, A., Barbaranelli, C., Caparara, G. V., & Pastorelli, C. (1996). Multifaceted impact of
self-efficacy beliefs on academic functioning. Child Development, 67(3), 1206–1222.
Barber, B. K. (1996). Parental psychological control: Revisiting a neglected construct. Child
Development, 67(6), 3296–3319. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1996.tb01915.x
Beam, C. (2015, January 10). Children of the yuan percent: Everyone hates China’s rich kids.
Retrieved December 28, 2015, from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-10-
01/children-of-the-yuan-percent-everyone-hates-china-s-rich-kids
Beardsley, B., Becerra, J., Burgoni, F., Holley, B., Kessler, D., Muxi, F., … Zakrzewski, A.
(2015). Global wealth 2015: Winning the growth game. Retrieved February 24, 2016,
from https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/financial-institutions-growth-
global-wealth-2015-winning-the-growth-game/
Betancourt, H., & López, S. R. (1993). The study of culture, ethnicity, and race in American
psychology. American Psychologist, 48(6), 629–637. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-
066X.48.6.629
Bodovski, K., & Farkas, G. (2008). “Concerted cultivation” and unequal achievement in
elementary school. Social Science Research, 37(3), 903–919.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2008.02.007
Bögels, S. M., & Brechman-Toussaint, M. L. (2006). Family issues in child anxiety: Attachment,
family functioning, parental rearing and beliefs. Clinical Psychology Review, 26(7), 834–
856.
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 67
Bongers, I. L., Koot, H. M., Van Der Ende, J., & Verhulst, F. C. (2004). Developmental
trajectories of externalizing behaviors in childhood and adolescence. Child Development,
75(5), 1523–1537. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00755.x
Borawski, E. A., Ievers-Landis, C. E., Lovegreen, L. D., & Trapl, E. S. (2003). Parental
monitoring, negotiated unsupervised time, and parental trust: the role of perceived
parenting practices in adolescent health risk behaviors. Journal of Adolescent Health,
33(2), 60–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1054-139X(03)00100-9
Bornstein, M. H. (2009). Toward a model of culture↔parent↔child transactions. In A. J.
Sameroff (Ed.), The transactional model of development: How children and contexts
shape each other (pp. 139–161). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological
Association.
Bornstein, M. H. (2012). Cultural approaches to parenting. Parenting, Science and Practice,
12(2–3), 212–221. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2012.683359
Bornstein, M. H. (2013). Parenting and child mental health: a cross-cultural perspective. World
Psychiatry, 12(3), 258–265. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20071
Bornstein, M. H., & Bradley, R. H. (2014). Socioeconomic Status, Parenting, and Child
Development. Routledge.
Bornstein, M. H., & Cheah, C. S. (2006). The place of “culture and parenting” in the ecological
contextual perspective on developmental science. Parenting Beliefs, Behaviors, and
Parent-Child Relations: A Cross-Cultural Perspective, 3–33.
Bornstein, M. H., Putnick, D. L., Lansford, J. E., Pastorelli, C., Skinner, A. T., Sorbring, E., …
Oburu, P. (2015). Mother and father socially desirable responding in nine countries: Two
kinds of agreement and relations to parenting self-reports. International Journal of
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 68
Psychology : Journal International de Psychologie, 50(3), 174–185.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12084
Bradley, R. H., & Corwyn, R. (2013). From parent to child to parent…: paths in and out of
problem behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41(4), 515–529.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-012-9692-x
Bradley, R. H., & Corwyn, R. F. (2002). Socioeconomic status and child development. Annual
Review of Psychology, 53, 371–399.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135233
Bradley, R. H., Corwyn, R. F., Burchinal, M., McAdoo, H. P., & García Coll, C. (2001). The
home environments of children in the United States Part II: Relations with behavioral
development through age thirteen. Child Development, 72(6), 1868–1886.
Bradley-Geist, J. C., & Olson-Buchanan, J. B. (2014). Helicopter parents: an examination of the
correlates of over-parenting of college students. Education+ Training, 56(4), 314–328.
Bredehoft, D. J., Mennicke, S. A., Potter, A. M., & Clarke, J. I. (1998). Perceptions attributed by
adults to parental overindulgence during childhood. Journal of Family and Consumer
Sciences Education Volume, 16(2), 1–15.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). Ecology of the family as a context for human development: Research
perspectives. Developmental Psychology, 22(6), 723–742.
Brown, B. B., Lohr, M. J., & McClenahan, E. L. (1986). Early adolescents’ perceptions of peer
pressure. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 6(2), 139–154.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431686062005
Capgemini, & RBC Wealth Management. (2015). World Wealth Report 2015. Retrieved
February 24, 2016, from www.worldwealthreport.com
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 69
Card, N. A., Stucky, B. D., Sawalani, G. M., & Little, T. D. (2008). Direct and indirect
aggression during childhood and adolescence: A meta-analytic review of gender
differences, intercorrelations, and relations to maladjustment. Child Development, 79(5),
1185–1229. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01184.x
Carolan, B. V., & Wasserman, S. J. (2015). Does parenting style matter? Concerted cultivation,
educational expectations, and the transmission of educational advantage. Sociological
Perspectives, 58(2), 168–186. https://doi.org/10.1177/0731121414562967
Castro, J. R., & Rice, K. G. (2003). Perfectionism and ethnicity: Implications for depressive
symptoms and self-reported academic achievement. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic
Minority Psychology, 9(1), 64–78. http://dx.doi.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/10.1037/1099-
9809.9.1.64
Chan, K., Tufte, B., Capello, G., & Willliams, R. B. (2011). Tween girls’ perception of gender
roles and gender identities: a qualitative study. Young Consumers, 12(1), 66–81.
Chao, R. K. (1994). Beyond parental control and authoritarian parenting style: Understanding
Chinese parenting through the cultural notion of training. Child Development, 65(4),
1111–1119.
Chao, R. K. (1996). Chinese and European American mothers’ beliefs about the role of parenting
in children’s school success. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 27(4), 403–423.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022196274002
Chao, R. K. (2001). Extending research on the consequences of parenting style for Chinese
Americans and European Americans. Child Development, 72(6), 1832–1843.
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 70
Chao, R. K., & Tseng, V. (2002). Parenting of Asians. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of
parenting: Vol. 4: Social conditions and applied parenting (2nd ed.) (Vol. 4, pp. 59–93).
Mahwah, NJ, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Chen, C., & Stevenson, H. W. (1995). Motivation and mathematics achievement: A comparative
study of Asian‐American, Caucasian‐American, and East Asian high school students.
Child Development, 66(4), 1215–1234.
Chen, C., & Uttal, D. H. (1988). Cultural values, parents’ beliefs, and children’s achievement in
the United States and China. Human Development, 31(6), 351–358.
Chen, H., & Lan, W. (1998). Adolescents’ perceptions of their parents’ academic expectations:
Comparison of American, Chinese-American, and Chinese high school students.
Adolescence, 33(130), 385–390.
Cheung, C. S.-S., & Pomerantz, E. M. (2015). Value development underlies the benefits of
parents’ involvement in children’s learning: A longitudinal investigation in the United
States and China. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107(1), 309–320.
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037458
Chin, T., & Phillips, M. (2004). Social reproduction and child-rearing practices: Social class,
children’s agency, and the summer activity gap. Sociology of Education, 77(3), 185–210.
https://doi.org/10.1177/003804070407700301
Chuang, Y. C., Ennett, S. T., Bauman, K. E., & Foshee, V. A. (2009). Neighborhood influences
on adolescent cigarette and alcohol use: mediating effects through parent and peer
behaviors. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 38(10), 1388–1398.
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 71
Chung, K. F., & Wong, M. C. (2004). Experience of stigma among Chinese mental health
patients in Hong Kong. Psychiatric Bulletin, 28(12), 451–454.
https://doi.org/10.1192/pb.28.12.451
Ciciolla, L., Curlee, A. S., Karageorge, J., & Luthar, S. S. (2017). When mothers and fathers are
seen as disproportionately valuing achievements: Implications for adjustment among
upper middle class youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46(5), 1057–1075.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0596-x
Creswell, C., Murray, L., Stacey, J., & Cooper, P. (2011). Parenting and child anxiety. Anxiety
Disorders in Children and Adolescents, 2, 299–322.
Cross, S. E., & Madson, L. (1997). Models of the self: self-construals and gender. Psychological
Bulletin, 122(1), 5–37.
Crystal, D. S., Chen, C., Fuligni, A. J., Stevenson, H. W., Hsu, C.-C., Ko, H.-J., … Kimura, S.
(1994). Psychological maladjustment and academic achievement: A cross-cultural study
of Japanese, Chinese, and American high school students. Child Development, 65(3),
738–753. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1994.tb00780.x
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Schneider, B. (2000). Becoming Adult: How Teenagers Prepare for the
World of Work. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Cyranowski, J. M., Frank, E., Young, E., & Shear, M. K. (2000). Adolescent onset of the gender
difference in lifetime rates of major depression: A theoretical model. Archives of General
Psychiatry, 57(1), 21–27. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.57.1.21
Damian, L. E., Stoeber, J., Negru, O., & Băban, A. (2013). On the development of perfectionism
in adolescence: Perceived parental expectations predict longitudinal increases in socially
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 72
prescribed perfectionism. Personality and Individual Differences, 55(6), 688–693.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2013.05.021
Davis-Kean, P. E. (2005). The influence of parent education and family income on child
achievement: The indirect role of parental expectations and the home environment.
Journal of Family Psychology, 19(2), 294–304. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-
3200.19.2.294
Deater-Deckard, K. (2008). Parenting Stress. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Deater-Deckard, K., & Dodge, K. A. (1997). Externalizing behavior problems and discipline
revisited: Nonlinear effects and variation by culture, context, and gender. Psychological
Inquiry, 8(3), 161–175.
Dewan, S., & Gebeloff, R. (2012, January 14). The 1 percent paint a more nuanced portrait of the
rich. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/business/the-1-percent-paint-a-more-nuanced-
portrait-of-the-rich.html
Drexler, P. (2016, January 25). Is affluenza real? Retrieved February 3, 2016, from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/our-gender-ourselves/201601/is-affluenza-real
Duncan, G. J., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Klebanov, P. K. (1994). Economic deprivation and early
childhood development. Child Development, 65(2), 296–318.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1994.tb00752.x
Fan, J. (2016, February 22). The Golden Generation. The New Yorker. Retrieved from
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/22/chinas-rich-kids-head-west
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 73
Fang, X., Li, X., Stanton, B., & Dong, Q. (2003). Social network positions and smoking
experimentation among Chinese adolescents. American Journal of Health Behavior,
27(3), 257–267.
Fanti, K. A., & Henrich, C. C. (2010). Trajectories of pure and co-occurring internalizing and
externalizing problems from age 2 to age 12: findings from the National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care. Developmental Psychology,
46(5), 1159–1175.
Farver, J. A. M. (1992). Parenting behavior in cross-cultural perspective: A review of
Bornstein’s “Cultural Approaches to Parenting.” Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 38(4), 563–
566.
Farver, J. A. M. (1999). Activity setting analysis: A model for examining the role of culture in
development. In A. Göncü (Ed.), Children’s Engagement with the World: A Socio-
cultural Perspective. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Feldman, S. S., Rosenthal, D. R., Brown, N. L., & Canning, R. D. (1995). Predicting sexual
experience in adolescent boys from peer rejection and acceptance during childhood.
Journal of Research on Adolescence, 5(4), 387–411.
https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327795jra0504_1
Ferguson, T. J., Stegge, H., Miller, E. R., & Olsen, M. E. (1999). Guilt, shame, and symptoms in
children. Developmental Psychology, 35(2), 347–357. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-
1649.35.2.347
Fernandez, M., & Schwartz, J. (2013, December 13). Teenager’s sentence in fatal drunken-
driving case stirs ‘Affluenza’ debate. The New York Times. Retrieved from
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 74
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/14/us/teenagers-sentence-in-fatal-drunken-driving-
case-stirs-affluenza-debate.html
Flay, B. R., Hu, F. B., Siddiqui, O., Day, E., Petraitis, J., Richardson, J., & Sussman, S. (1994).
Differential influence of parental smoking and friends’ smoking on adolescent initiation
and escalation and smoking. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 35(3), 248–265.
Frost, R. O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism.
Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14(5), 449–468. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01172967
Fuligni, A. J., Tseng, V., & Lam, M. (2003). Attitudes toward family obligations among
American adolescents with Asian, Latin American, and European backgrounds. Child
Development, 70(4), 1030–1044. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00075
Fullerton, J. (2015, July 9). China cracks down on its sex partying, Ferrari-driving rich kids.
Retrieved February 25, 2016, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-
3153301/China-cracks-sex-partying-Ferrari-driving-money-burning-fuerdai-generation-
super-rich-shallow-spoiled-brats.html
Fung, H. (1999). Becoming a moral child: The socialization of shame among young Chinese
children. Ethos, 27(2), 180–209.
Furnham, A. (2014, August 28). Affluenza: The psychology of wealth. Retrieved March 23,
2016, from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sideways-view/201408/affluenza-the-
psychology-wealth
Gao, H. (2012, March 28). How China’s new love affair with U.S. private schools is changing
them both. The Atlantic. Retrieved from
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/how-chinas-new-love-affair-
with-us-private-schools-is-changing-them-both/255154/
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 75
Garcia, S. M., Tor, A., & Schiff, T. M. (2013). The psychology of competition: A social
comparison perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8(6), 634–650.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691613504114
Gershoff, E. T., Grogan‐Kaylor, A., Lansford, J. E., Chang, L., Zelli, A., Deater‐Deckard, K., &
Dodge, K. A. (2010). Parent discipline practices in an international sample: Associations
with child behaviors and moderation by perceived normativeness. Child Development,
81(2), 487–502.
Gibbons, F. X., & Buunk, B. P. (1999). Individual differences in social comparison:
Development of a scale of social comparison orientation. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 76(1), 129–142. http://dx.doi.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/10.1037/0022-
3514.76.1.129
Givertz, M., & Segrin, C. (2014). The association between overinvolved parenting and young
adults’ self-efficacy, psychological entitlement, and family communication.
Communication Research, 41(8), 1111–1136.
Gorman, J. C. (1998). Parenting Attitudes and Practices of Immigrant Chinese Mothers of
Adolescents. Family Relations, 47(1), 73–80.
Greenfield, P. M., & Suzuki, L. K. (1998). Culture and human development: Implications for
parenting, education, pediatrics, and mental health. Handbook of Child Psychology, 4,
1059–1109.
Grolnick, W. S., Price, C. E., Beiswenger, K. L., & Sauck, C. C. (2007). Evaluative pressure in
mothers: effects of situation, maternal, and child characteristics on autonomy supportive
versus controlling behavior. Developmental Psychology, 43(4), 991–1002.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.43.4.991
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 76
Hankin, B. L., & Abramson, L. Y. (2001). Development of gender differences in depression: An
elaborated cognitive vulnerability–transactional stress theory. Psychological Bulletin,
127(6), 773–796.
Harkness, S., & Super, C. M. (1996). Parents’ cultural belief systems: Their origins, expressions,
and consequences. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Hart, B. A., Gilner, F. H., Handal, P. J., & Gfeller, J. D. (1998). The relationship between
perfectionism and self-efficacy. Personality and Individual Differences, 24(1), 109–113.
Hills, T. W. (1987). Children in the fast lane: Implications for early childhood policy and
practice. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 2(3), 265–273.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0885-2006(87)90035-4
Hinshaw, S., & Kranz, R. (2009). The Triple Bind. New York, NY: Ballatine Books.
Hipwell, A., Keenan, K., Kasza, K., Loeber, R., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & Bean, T. (2008).
Reciprocal influences between girls’ conduct problems and depression, and parental
punishment and warmth: A six year prospective analysis. Journal of Abnormal Child
Psychology, 36(5), 663–677. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-007-9206-4
Ho, D. Y. F. (1981). Traditional patterns of socialization in Chinese society. Acta Psycholoigica
Taiwanica, 23, 81–95.
Ho, D. Y. F. (1986). Chinese patterns of socialization: A critical review. In M. H. Bond (Ed.),
The Psychology of Chinese People (pp. 1–37). Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.
Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., & Sandler, H. M. (1997). Why do parents become involved in their
children’s education? Review of Educational Research, 67(1), 3–42.
https://doi.org/10.2307/1170618
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 77
Horwitz, B. N., Marceau, K., Narusyte, J., Ganiban, J., Spotts, E. L., Reiss, D., … Neiderhiser, J.
M. (2015). Parental criticism is an environmental influence on adolescent somatic
symptoms. Journal of Family Psychology, 29(2), 283–289.
https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000065
Hyde, J. S., Mezulis, A. H., & Abramson, Lyn Y. (2008). The ABCs of depression: integrating
affective, biological, and cognitive models to explain the emergence of the gender
difference in depression. Psychological Review, 115(2), 291–313.
Iacoviello, V., & Lorenzi-Cioldi, F. (2015). Individualistic tendencies: When group status makes
the difference. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 18(4), 540–556.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430214552332
International Monetary Fund. (2015). Regional economic outlook: Asia and Pacific. Washington,
D.C.: International Monetary Fund. Retrieved from
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2015/apd/eng/areo0415.htm
Ivanova, M. Y., Achenbach, T. M., Dumenci, L., Rescorla, L. A., Almqvist, F., Weintraub, S., …
Verhulst, F. C. (2007). Testing the 8-syndrome structure of the Child Behavior Checklist
in 30 societies. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 36(3), 405–417.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15374410701444363
Ivanova, M. Y., Achenbach, T. M., Rescorla, L. A., Dumenci, L., Almqvist, F., Bilenberg, N., …
Döpfner, M. (2007). The generalizability of the Youth Self-Report syndrome structure in
23 societies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75(5), 729–738.
Jones, D. C., Vigfusdottir, T. H., & Lee, Y. (2004). Body image and the appearance culture
among adolescent girls and boys: An examination of friend conversations, peer criticism,
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 78
appearance magazines, and the internalization of appearance ideals. Journal of
Adolescent Research, 19(3), 323–339. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558403258847
Juang, L. P., & Alvarez, A. A. (2010). Discrimination and adjustment among Chinese American
adolescents: Family conflict and family cohesion as vulnerability and protective factors.
American Journal of Public Health, 100(12), 2403–2409.
https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2009.185959
Juang, L. P., Syed, M., Cookston, J., Wang, Y., & Kim, S. Y. (2012). Acculturation-based and
everyday family conflict in Chinese American families. New Directions for Child &
Adolescent Development, 2012(135), 13–34. https://doi.org/10.1002/cd.20002
Kasser, T., & Ahuvia, A. (2002). Materialistic values and well-being in business students.
European Journal of Social Psychology, 32(1), 137–146. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.85
Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1993). A dark side of the American dream: correlates of financial
success as a central life aspiration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(2),
410–422.
Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1996). Further examining the American dream: Differential
correlates of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,
22(3), 280–287. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167296223006
Kasser, T., Ryan, R. M., Zax, M., & Sameroff, A. J. (1995). The relations of maternal and social
environments to late adolescents’ materialistic and prosocial values. Developmental
Psychology, 31(6), 907–914.
Keller, H., Lamm, B., Abels, M., Yovsi, R., Borke, J., Jensen, H., … Chaudhary, N. (2006).
Cultural models, socialization goals, and parenting ethnotheories: A multicultural
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 79
analysis. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 37(2), 155–172.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022105284494
Kerns, K. A., Aspelmeier, J. E., Gentzler, A. L., & Grabill, C. M. (2001). Parent–child
attachment and monitoring in middle childhood. Journal of Family Psychology, 15(1),
69–81. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.15.1.69
Kim, B. K., Li, L. C., & Ng, G. F. (2005). The Asian American values scale--multidimensional:
development, reliability, and validity. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology,
11(3), 187–201. https://doi.org/10.1037/1099-9809.11.3.187
Kim, B. S. K., Atkinson, D. R., & Yang, P. H. (1999). The Asian Values Scale: Development,
factor analysis, validation, and reliability. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 46(3), 342–
352.
Kim, S. Y., Wang, Y., Orozco-Lapray, D., Shen, Y., & Murtuza, M. (2013). Does “tiger
parenting” exist? Parenting profiles of Chinese Americans and adolescent developmental
outcomes. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 4(1), 7–18.
Kincaid, C., Jones, D. J., Sterrett, E., & McKee, L. (2012). A review of parenting and adolescent
sexual behavior: The moderating role of gender. Clinical Psychology Review, 32(3), 177–
188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2012.01.002
Koplewicz, H. S., Gurian, A., & Williams, K. (2009). The era of affluence and its discontents.
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48(11), 1053–
1055. https://doi.org/10.1097/CHI.0b013e3181b8be5c
Kraus, M. W., Piff, P. K., & Keltner, D. (2009). Social class, sense of control, and social
explanation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(6), 992–1004.
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016357
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 80
Kraus, M. W., Piff, P. K., & Keltner, D. (2011). Social class as culture: The convergence of
resources and rank in the social realm. Current Directions in Psychological Science,
20(4), 246–250. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721411414654
Kushlev, K., Dunn, E. W., & Ashton-James, C. E. (2012). Does affluence impoverish the
experience of parenting? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(6), 1381–1384.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.06.001
Kwon, K.-A., Yoo, G., & Bingham, G. E. (2015). Helicopter parenting in emerging adulthood:
Support or barrier for Korean college students’ psychological adjustment? Journal of
Child and Family Studies, 1–10.
Lam, C. S., Angell, B., Tsang, H. W. H., Shi, K., Corrigan, P. W., Jin, S., … Larson, J. E.
(2010). Chinese lay theory and mental illness stigma: Implications for research and
practices. Journal of Rehabilitation, 76(1), 35–40.
Lansford, J. E., Chang, L., Dodge, K. A., Malone, P. S., Oburu, P., Palmérus, K., … Quinn, N.
(2005). Physical discipline and children’s adjustment: Cultural normativeness as a
moderator. Child Development, 76(6), 1234–1246. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-
8624.2005.00847.x
Lareau, A. (2011). Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life. Berkeley, CA: University
of California Press.
Lau, S., Chan, D. W. K., & Lau, P. S. Y. (1999). Facets of loneliness and depression among
Chinese children and adolescents. The Journal of Social Psychology, 139(6), 713–729.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00224549909598251
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 81
Leadbeater, B. J., Blatt, S. J., & Quinlan, D. M. (1995). Gender-linked vulnerabilities to
depressive symptoms, stress, and problem behaviors in adolescents. Journal of Research
on Adolescence, 5(1), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327795jra0501_1
Leadbeater, B. J., Kuperminc, G. P., Blatt, S. J., & Hertzog, C. (1999). A multivariate model of
gender differences in adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems.
Developmental Psychology, 35(5), 1268–1282. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-
1649.35.5.1268
LeMoyne, T., & Buchanan, T. (2011). Does “hovering” matter? Helicopter parenting and its
effect on well-being. Sociological Spectrum, 31(4), 399–418.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02732173.2011.574038
Leonard, N. R., Gwadz, M. V., Ritchie, A., Linick, J. L., Cleland, C. M., Elliott, L., & Grethel,
M. (2015). A multi-method exploratory study of stress, coping, and substance use among
high school youth in private schools. Frontiers in Psychology, 6(1028).
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01028
Leung, P. W. L., Kwong, S. l., Tang, C. p., Ho, T. p., Hung, S. f., Lee, C. c., … Liu, W. s.
(2006). Test–retest reliability and criterion validity of the Chinese version of CBCL,
TRF, and YSR. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(9), 970–973.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2005.01570.x
Levine, M. (2006). The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage are
Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids. New York, NY:
HarperCollins.
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 82
LeVine, R. A. (1988). Human parental care: Universal goals, cultural strategies, individual
behavior. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 1988(40), 3–12.
https://doi.org/10.1002/cd.23219884003
Lilienfeld, S. O. (2003). Comorbidity between and within childhood externalizing and
internalizing disorders: Reflections and directions. Journal of Abnormal Child
Psychology, 31(3), 285–291.
Lipka, S. (2007). Helicopter parents help students, survey finds. Chronicle of Higher Education,
54(11), A1.
Little, R. J., & Rubin, D. B. (2014). Statistical analysis with missing data (Vol. 333). Hoboken,
New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Liu, X. C., Guo, C. Q., Liu, L. Q., & Sun, L. M. (1997). Reliability and validity of the Youth Self
Report in Chinese adolescents. Chinese Journal of Mental Health, 11, 200–203.
Lo, C. C., & Globetti, G. (2000). Gender differences in drinking patterns among Hong Kong
Chinese youth: a Pilot Study. Substance Use & Misuse, 35(9), 1297–1306.
https://doi.org/10.3109/10826080009147483
Lovejoy, M. C., Graczyk, P. A., O’Hare, E., & Neuman, G. (2000). Maternal depression and
parenting behavior: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 20(5), 561–
592. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-7358(98)00100-7
Lowinger, R. J., & Kwok, H. (2001). Parental overprotection in Asian American children: A
psychodynamic clinical perspective. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice,
Training, 38(3), 319–330. http://dx.doi.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/10.1037/0033-
3204.38.3.319
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 83
Lui, P. P., & Rollock, D. (2013). Tiger Mother: popular and psychological scientific perspectives
on Asian culture and parenting. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 83(4), 450–456.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ajop.12043
Lund, T. J., & Dearing, E. (2013). Is growing up affluent risky for adolescents or is the problem
growing up in an affluent neighborhood? Journal of Research on Adolescence, 23(2),
274–282. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2012.00829.x
Lund, T. J., Dearing, E., & Zachrisson, H. D. (2017). Is affluence a risk for adolescents in
Norway? Journal of Research on Adolescence, 27(3), 628–643.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12304
Luo, R., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., & Song, L. (2013). Chinese parents’ goals and practices in early
childhood. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28(4), 843–857.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2013.08.001
Luthar, S. S. (2003). The culture of affluence: Psychological costs of material wealth. Child
Development, 74(6), 1581–1593.
Luthar, S. S., & Barkin, S. H. (2012). Are affluent youth truly “at risk”? Vulnerability and
resilience across three diverse samples. Development and Psychopathology, 24(02), 429–
449.
Luthar, S. S., Barkin, S. H., & Crossman, E. J. (2013). “I can, therefore I must”: Fragility in the
upper-middle classes. Development and Psychopathology, 25(2013), 1529–1549.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579413000758
Luthar, S. S., & Becker, B. E. (2002). Privileged but pressured? A study of affluent youth. Child
Development, 73(5), 1593–1610.
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 84
Luthar, S. S., & D’Avanzo, K. (1999). Contextual factors in substance use: A study of suburban
and inner-city adolescents. Development and Psychopathology, 11(4), 845–867.
Luthar, S. S., & Latendresse, S. J. (2005). Comparable “risks” at the socioeconomic status
extremes: Preadolescents’ perceptions of parenting. Development and Psychopathology,
17(1), 207–230.
Lyman, E. L., & Luthar, S. S. (2014). Further evidence on the “costs of privilege”: Perfectionism
in high-achieving youth at socioeconomic extremes. Psychology in the Schools, 51(9),
913–930. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21791
Lythcott-Haims, J. (2015). How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and
Prepare Your Kid for Success. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Co.
MacLeod, W. B., & Urquiola, M. (2015). Reputation and school competition. American
Economic Review, 105(11), 3471–3488. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20130332
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion,
and motivation. Psychological Review, 98(2), 224–253.
http://dx.doi.org.libproxy2.usc.edu/10.1037/0033-295X.98.2.224
McConaughy, S. H., & Skiba, R. J. (1993). Comorbidity of externalizing and internalizing
problems. School Psychology Review, 22(3), 421–436.
McLeod, B. D., Weisz, J. R., & Wood, J. J. (2007). Examining the association between parenting
and childhood depression: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 27(8), 986–
1003.
McLeod, B. D., Wood, J. J., & Weisz, J. R. (2007). Examining the association between parenting
and childhood anxiety: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 27(2), 155–172.
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 85
McLeod, J. D., & Nonnemaker, J. M. (2000). Poverty and child emotional and behavioral
problems: Racial/ethnic differences in processes and effects. Journal of Health and
Social Behavior, 41(2), 137–161. https://doi.org/10.2307/2676302
McLoyd, V. C. (1998). Socioeconomic disadvantage and child development. The American
Psychologist, 53(2), 185–204.
Morris, M. (2013, November 5). Why children as young as three are sent to boarding school in
China. Retrieved February 25, 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-
24624427
Nelson, D. A., Hart, C. H., Yang, C., Olsen, J. A., & Jin, S. (2006). Aversive parenting in China:
Associations with child physical and relational aggression. Child Development, 77(3),
554–572.
Nelson, L. J., Hart, C. H., Wu, B., Yang, C., Roper, S. O., & Jin, S. (2006). Relations between
Chinese mothers’ parenting practices and social withdrawal in early childhood.
International Journal of Behavioral Development, 30(3), 261–271.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025406066761
Nelson, L. J., Padilla-Walker, L. M., & Nielson, M. G. (2015). Is hovering smothering or loving?
An examination of parental warmth as a moderator of relations between helicopter
parenting and emerging adults’ indices of adjustment. Emerging Adulthood, 3(4), 282–
285. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696815576458
Ng, T. W. H., & Feldman, D. C. (2008). Long work hours: A social identity perspective on meta-
analysis data. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29(7), 853–880.
Niemiec, C. P., Lynch, M. F., Vansteenkiste, M., Bernstein, J., Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M.
(2006). The antecedents and consequences of autonomous self-regulation for college: A
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 86
self-determination theory perspective on socialization. Journal of Adolescence, 29(5),
761–775.
Niu, L., Jin, S., Li, L., & French, D. C. (2015). Popularity and social preference in Chinese
adolescents: Associations with Social and Behavioral Adjustment. Social Development,
25(4), 828–845. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12172
Oyserman, D., Coon, H. M., & Kemmelmeier, M. (2002). Rethinking individualism and
collectivism: evaluation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analyses. Psychological
Bulletin, 128(1), 3–72.
Padilla-Walker, L. M., & Nelson, L. J. (2012). Black hawk down? establishing helicopter
parenting as a distinct construct from other forms of parental control during emerging
adulthood. Journal of Adolescence, 35(5), 1177–1190.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.03.007
Peng, S. S., & Wright, D. (1994). Explanation of academic achievement of Asian American
students. The Journal of Educational Research, 87(6), 346–352.
Pettit, G. S., & Arsiwalla, D. D. (2008). Commentary on Special Section on “Bidirectional
parent–child relationships”: The continuing evolution of dynamic, transactional models
of parenting and youth behavior problems. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36(5),
711. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-008-9242-8
Piff, P. K. (2014). Wealth and the inflated self class, entitlement, and narcissism. Personality and
Social Psychology Bulletin, 40(1), 34–43. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167213501699
Pollak, J. M., & Schaffer, S. (1985). The mental health clinician in the affluent public school
setting. Clinical Social Work Journal, 13(4), 341–355.
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 87
Pursell, G. R., Laursen, B., Rubin, K. H., Booth-LaForce, C., & Rose-Krasnor, L. (2008).
Gender differences in patterns of association between prosocial behavior, personality, and
externalizing problems. Journal of Research in Personality, 42(2), 472–481.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2007.06.003
Ramey, G., & Ramey, V. A. (2009). The Rug Rat Race (Working Paper No. 15284). National
Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/papers/w15284
Randall, E. T., Bohnert, A. M., & Travers, L. V. (2015). Understanding affluent adolescent
adjustment: The interplay of parental perfectionism, perceived parental pressure, and
organized activity involvement. Journal of Adolescence, 41, 56–66.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.03.005
Robbins, R. J. (1994). An assessment of perceptions of parental autonomy support and control:
Child and parent correlates (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Department of
Psychology, University of Rochester.
Rohner, R. P., & Pettengill, S. M. (1985). Perceived parental acceptance-rejection and parental
control among Korean adolescents. Child Development, 56(2), 524–528.
https://doi.org/10.2307/1129739
Rosen, R. J. (2015, November 21). Why affluent parents put so much pressure on their kids. The
Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/11/pressure-
affluent-parents/417045/
Roth, G., Assor, A., Niemiec, C. P., Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2009). The emotional and
academic consequences of parental conditional regard: Comparing conditional positive
regard, conditional negative regard, and autonomy support as parenting practices.
Developmental Psychology, 45(4), 1119–1142.
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 88
Rousseau, S., & Scharf, M. (2015). “I will guide you” The indirect link between overparenting
and young adults’ adjustment. Psychiatry Research, 228(3), 826–834.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2015.05.016
Ryan, R. M. (1995). Psychological needs and the facilitation of integrative processes. Journal of
Personality, 63(3), 397–427. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1995.tb00501.x
Ryan, R. M., & Connell, J. P. (1989). Perceived locus of causality and internalization:
Examining reasons for acting in two domains. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 57(5), 749–761. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.5.749
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic
motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.
Scelfo, J. (2015, July 27). Suicide on campus and the pressure of perfection. The New York
Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/02/education/edlife/stress-
social-media-and-suicide-on-campus.html
Schafer, J. L. (1997). Analysis of Incomplete Multivariate Data. New York, NY: Chapman &
Hall/CRC Press.
Schafer, J. L., & Graham, J. W. (2002). Missing data: our view of the state of the art.
Psychological Methods, 7(2), 147–177.
Schiffrin, H. H., Liss, M., Miles-McLean, H., Geary, K. A., Erchull, M. J., & Tashner, T. (2013).
Helping or hovering? The effects of helicopter parenting on college students’ well-being.
Journal of Child and Family Studies, 23(3), 548–557. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-
013-9716-3
Schwartz, B. (2000). Self-determination: The tyranny of freedom. American Psychologist, 55(1),
79–88.
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 89
Schwartz, D., Chang, L., & Farver, J. M. (2001). Correlates of victimization in Chinese
children’s peer groups. Developmental Psychology, 37(4), 520–532.
Schwartz, D., Farver, J. M., Chang, L., & Lee-Shin, Y. (2002). Victimization in South Korean
children’s peer groups. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30(2), 113–125.
Schwartz, S. J., Weisskirch, R. S., Hurley, E. A., Zamboanga, B. L., Park, I. J. K., Kim, S. Y., …
Greene, A. D. (2010). Communalism, familism, and filial piety: Are they birds of a
collectivist feather? Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 16(4), 548–560.
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021370
Segrin, C., Givertz, M., Swaitkowski, P., & Montgomery, N. (2013). Overparenting is associated
with child problems and a critical family environment. Journal of Child and Family
Studies, 24(2), 470–479. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9858-3
Segrin, C., Woszidlo, A., Givertz, M., Bauer, A., & Taylor Murphy, M. (2012). The association
between overparenting, parent-child communication, and entitlement and adaptive traits
in adult children. Family Relations, 61(2), 237–252. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-
3729.2011.00689.x
Segrin, C., Woszidlo, A., Givertz, M., & Montgomery, N. (2013). Parent and child traits
associated with overparenting. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 32(6), 569–
595. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2013.32.6.569
Shek, D., & Ma, C. (2017). Moral development and psychosocial adjustment of Hong Kong
secondary school students. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU).
Retrieved from
https://www.polyu.edu.hk/web/filemanager/common/mediarelease/20171221/report.pdf
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 90
Shek, D. T., & Chan, L. K. (1999). Hong Kong Chinese parents’ perceptions of the ideal child.
The Journal of Psychology, 133(3), 291–302.
Sherman, R. (2017). Uneasy Street: The Anxieties of Affluence. New Jersey: Princeton University
Press.
Shih, S.-S. (2009). An examination of factors related to Taiwanese adolescents’ reports of
avoidance strategies. The Journal of Educational Research, 102(5), 377–388.
Shoup, R., Gonyea, R. M., & Kuh, G. D. (2009). Helicopter parents: Examining the impact of
highly involved parents on student engagement and educational outcomes (Vol. 2009).
Presented at the 49th Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research,
Atlanta, Georgia. Retrieved from http://cpr. iub. edu/uploads/AIR
Soenens, B., Elliot, A. J., Goossens, L., Vansteenkiste, M., Luyten, P., & Duriez, B. (2005). The
intergenerational transmission of perfectionism: Parents’ psychological control as an
intervening variable. Journal of Family Psychology, 19(3), 358–366.
Soenens, B., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2010). A theoretical upgrade of the concept of parental
psychological control: Proposing new insights on the basis of self-determination theory.
Developmental Review, 30(1), 74–99.
Sorkhabi, N. (2005). Applicability of Baumrind’s parent typology to collective cultures: Analysis
of cultural explanations of parent socialization effects. International Journal of
Behavioral Development, 29(6), 552–563.
Spencer, R., Walsh, J., Liang, B., Mousseau, A. M. D., & Lund, T. J. (2016). Having it all? A
qualitative examination of affluent adolescent girls’ perceptions of stress and their quests
for success. Journal of Adolescent Research, 33(1), 3–33.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558416670990
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 91
Spera, C. (2005). A review of the relationship among parenting practices, parenting styles, and
adolescent school achievement. Educational Psychology Review, 17(2), 125–146.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-005-3950-1
Stewart, S. M., Betson, C. L., Lam, T. H., Chung, S. F., Ho, H. H., & Chung, T. C. F. (1999).
The correlates of depressed mood in adolescents in Hong Kong. Journal of Adolescent
Health, 25(1), 27–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1054-139X(98)00018-4
Stoeber, J., Hutchfield, J., & Wood, K. V. (2008). Perfectionism, self-efficacy, and aspiration
level: differential effects of perfectionistic striving and self-criticism after success and
failure. Personality and Individual Differences, 45(4), 323–327.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.04.021
Suh, H. N., Yuen, M., Wang, K. T., Fu, C.-C., & Trotter, R. H. (2014). Comparing perfectionist
types on family environment and well-being among Hong Kong adolescents. Personality
and Individual Differences, 70, 111–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.06.023
Sun, J., Dunne, M. P., Hou, X., & Xu, A. (2013). Educational stress among Chinese adolescents:
individual, family, school and peer influences. Educational Review, 65(3), 284–302.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2012.659657
Super, C. M., & Harkness, S. (1986). The developmental niche: A conceptualization at the
interface of child and culture. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 9(4),
545–569. https://doi.org/10.1177/016502548600900409
Szalavitz, M. (2014, January 6). The value of “Affluenza,” addiction and parental neglect as get
out of jail defenses. Retrieved March 23, 2016, from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/06/affluenza-get-out-of-jail-addiction-ethan-
couch_n_4549524.html
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 92
Tam, V. C. W. (2001). A family ecological analysis of child care use in Hong Kong. Children &
Society, 15(3), 181–192. https://doi.org/10.1002/chi.639
Tang, T. N., & Tang, C. S. (2001). Gender Role Internalization, Multiple Roles, and Chinese
Women’s Mental Health. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 25(3), 181–196.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-6402.00020
Taylor, A. (2014, January 6). A candid account of what it’s like to be a Western nanny for a
super rich Chinese family. Retrieved February 25, 2016, from
http://www.businessinsider.com/i-was-a-western-nanny-for-a-superrich-chinese-family-
2014-1
Triandis, H. C. (1995). Individualism & Collectivism. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
van Ingen, D. J., Freiheit, S. R., Steinfeldt, J. A., Moore, L. L., Wimer, D. J., Knutt, A. D., …
Roberts, A. (2015). Helicopter parenting: The effect of an overbearing caregiving style
on peer attachment and self-efficacy. Journal of College Counseling, 18(1), 7–20.
https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1882.2015.00065.x
Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., & Deci, E. L. (2006). Intrinsic versus extrinsic goal contents in
self-determination theory: Another look at the quality of academic motivation.
Educational Psychologist, 41(1), 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep4101_4
Wallace, K. (2016, January 9). “Affluenza”: The challenges of growing up wealthy. Retrieved
February 3, 2016, from http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/08/health/affluenza-parenting-
challenges-wealthy-households/index.html
Wang, Q., & Leichtman, M. D. (2003). Same beginnings, different stories: A comparison of
American and Chinese children’s narratives. Child Development, 71(5), 1329–1346.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00231
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 93
Wang, Z., Deater-Deckard, K., Petrill, S. A., & Thompson, L. A. (2012). Externalizing problems,
attention regulation, and household chaos: a longitudinal behavioral genetic study.
Development and Psychopathology, 24(3), 755–769.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579412000351
Webster-Stratton, C. (1990). Stress: A potential disruptor of parent perceptions and family
interactions. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 19(4), 302–312.
https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp1904_2
Weisner, T. S. (1998). Human development, child well‐being, and the cultural project of
development. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 1998(80), 69–85.
Weisner, T. S. (2002). Ecocultural pathways, family values, and parenting. Parenting, 2(3), 325–
334. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327922PAR0203_06
Weisz, J. R., Suwanlert, S., Chaiyasit, W., & Walter, B. R. (1987). Over- and undercontrolled
referral problems among children and adolescents from Thailand and the United States:
The wat and wai of cultural differences. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
55(5), 719–726. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.55.5.719
Wilson, S., & Durbin, C. E. (2010). Effects of paternal depression on fathers’ parenting
behaviors: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(2), 167–180.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2009.10.007
Wolfe, J. L., & Fodor, I. G. (1996). The poverty of privilege: Women & Therapy, 18(3–4),
Women’s Commission. (2011). “What do women and men in Hong Kong think about the status
of women at home, work and in social environments?”: Highlights of survey findings.
Retrieved August 6, 2018, from
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 94
https://www.women.gov.hk/download/research/WoC_survey_highlights_110928(eng).pd
f
Wu, D. Y. (1996). Parental control: Psychocultural interpretations of Chinese patterns of
socialization. Growing up the Chinese Way: Chinese Child and Adolescent Development,
1–28.
Wu, P., Robinson, C. C., Yang, C., Hart, C. H., Olsen, S. F., Porter, C. L., … Wu, X. (2002).
Similarities and differences in mothers’ parenting of preschoolers in China and the
United States. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26(6), 481–491.
Xu, Y., Farver, J. A. M., Chang, L., Yu, L., & Zhang, Z. (2006). Culture, family contexts, and
children’s coping strategies in peer interactions. In B. H. Schneider, D. C. French, & X.
Chen (Eds.), Peer Relationships in Cultural Context (pp. 264–280). Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511499739.012
Xu, Y., Farver, J. A. M., Yang, Y., & Zeng, Q. (2008). Chinese children’s conceptions of
shyness: A prototype approach. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 54(4), 515–544.
Xu, Y., Farver, J. A. M., Yu, L., & Zhang, Z. (2009). Three types of shyness in Chinese children
and the relation to effortful control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(6),
1061–1073. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016576
Xu, Y., Farver, J. A. M., Zhang, Z., Zeng, Q., Yu, L., & Cai, B. (2005). Mainland Chinese
parenting styles and parent–child interaction. International Journal of Behavioral
Development, 29(6), 524–531. https://doi.org/10.1177/01650250500147121
Yang, K. (2013, September 30). In China, it’s the grandparents who “Lean In.” The Atlantic.
Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/09/in-china-its-the-
grandparents-who-lean-in/280097/
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 95
Yang, Y., Li, H., Zhang, Y., Tein, J.-Y., & Liu, X. (2008). Age and gender differences in
behavioral problems in Chinese children: Parent and teacher reports. Asian Journal of
Psychiatry, 1(2), 42–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2008.09.005
Yeh, C.-H., Chen, M.-L., Li, W., & Chuang, H.-L. (2001). The Chinese version of the Parenting
Stress Index: a psychometric study. Acta Pædiatrica, 90(12), 1470–1477.
Yeung, W. J., Linver, M. R., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2002). How money matters for young
children’s development: parental investment and family processes. Child Development,
73(6), 1861–1879.
Yoon, J., & Lau, A. S. (2008). Maladaptive perfectionism and depressive symptoms among
Asian American college students: contributions of interdependence and parental relations.
Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 14(2), 92–101.
Zhan, M. (2006). Assets, parental expectations and involvement, and children’s educational
performance. Children and Youth Services Review, 28(8), 961–975.
Zhang, J. W. (2018). Asian Americans and materialism: Exploring the phenomenon and its why
and when. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 24(3), 334–345.
https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000191
Zhang, X., Klassen, R. M., & Wang, Y. (2013). Academic burnout and motivation of Chinese
secondary students. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 3(2), 134–
138.
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 96
Table 1. Means and Standard Deviations for the Key Variables by Overall Sample and Gender (N = 153)
Overall
(n = 153)
Males
(n = 60)
Females
(n = 93)

Range Mean (SD) Range Mean (SD) Range Mean (SD) t
Youth Reports
Internalizing
Problems (YSR)

0.00 – 48.00 19.63 (10.52) 3.00 – 44.00 15.68 (9.66) 0.00 – 48.00 22.17 (10.31) -3.89
**

Externalizing
Problems (YSR)

1.00 – 42.00 12.17 (7.27) 2.00 – 30.00 11.98 (6.62) 1.00 – 42.00 12.29 (7.68) -.25
Total Problems
(YSR)
1

25.00 – 146.00 74.95 (25.98) 28.00 – 120.00 68.53 (23.53) 25.00 – 146.00 79.10 (26.75) -2.50
*

Academic
Performance
2

-4.02 – 3.69 .00 (1.70) -4.02 – 3.69 .11 (1.65) -4.02 – 3.69 -.07 (1.73) -.49
Academic
Engagement

-65.00 – 37.00 -23.69 (17.79) -61.00 – 37.00 -.19.30 (19.10) -65.00 – 15.00 -26.53 (16.37) 2.49
*

Parent Achievement
Expectations

5.00 – 25.00 15.25 (4.35) 8.00 – 25.00 14.48 (4.01) 5.00 – 25.00 15.75 (4.50) -1.78
†

Over-parenting

6.00 – 30.00 16.10 (4.91) 6.00 – 26.00 15.67 (4.92) 7.00 – 42.00 16.58 (4.91) -.87
Parent Criticism

4.00 – 20.00 9.84 (3.88) 4.00 – 20.00 8.93 (3.83) -2.73 – 0.03 10.43 (3.82) -2.36
*

Parent-Child
Engagement

7.00 – 42.00 31.24 (7.98) 12.00 – 42.00 32.40 (6.43) 6.00 – 25.00 30.49 (8.78) 1.55
Youth Cultural
Orientation

14.57 – 29.40 19.69 (2.61) 14.67 – 25.59 19.71 (2.38) 14.57 – 29.40 19.67 (2.76) -.10
Parent Reports
Family Income

1.00 – 6.00 4.78 (1.30) 2.00 – 6.00 4.90 (1.32) 1.00 – 6.00 4.71 (1.28) .89
Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 97

Parents’ Education

7.00 – 20.00 14.77 (2.85) 7.00 – 2.00 14.65 (2.52) 7.00 – 20.00 14.85 (3.06) -.42
Youth Internalizing
Problems (CBCL)

0.00 – 38.00 6.67 (7.06) 0.00 – -24.00 5.05 (5.16) 0.00 – 38.00 7.72 (7.90) -2.53
*

Youth Externalizing
Problems (CBCL)

0.00 – 28.00 4.29 (4.38) 0.00 – 15.00 3.83 (3.83) 0.00 – 28.00 4.55 (4.70) -3.75
**

Materialistic
Orientation

-2.73 – .03 -1.28 (.62) -2.50 – -0.27 -1.32 (.50) -2.73 – 0.03 -1.25 (.63) -.71
Social Comparisons

6.00 – 25.00 15.48 (4.37) 6.00 – 23.00 15.20 (4.29) 6.00 – 25.00 15.66 (4.50) -.63
Parent Distress

12.00 – 48.00 24.74 (7.66) 12.00 – 48.00 23.97 (7.10) 12.00 – 42.00 25.24 (7.99) -1.00
Parent Cultural
Orientation

12.04 – 25.40 19.68 (2.55) 13.15 – 24.60 19.87 (2.56) 12.04 – 25.40 19.57 (2.55) .71
†
p ≤.10 (2-tailed),
*
p ≤.05 (2-tailed),
**
p ≤.01 (2-tailed).
1
YSR & CBCL Internalizing and Externalizing Problems were used in the analyses for Aims 1 - 3;
YSR Total Problems was used in the analysis for Aim 4 only.
2
Combined parent and youth report of academic performance

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 98
Table 2. Correlations Among the Variables for Parent-Child Dyads – Overall Sample (N = 153)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
1. Youth Gender
(males=0)
-
2. Income -.07
3. Parent
Education

.03 .20
*

4. YSR
Internalizing
.30
**
.08 .05
5. YSR
Externalizing
.02 .03 -.06 .48
**

6. CBCL
Internalizing
.19
*
.03 .04 .55
**
.31
**

7. CBCL
Externalizing
.08 -.02 .01 .34
**
.44
**
.67
**

8. YSR Total .20
**
.07 .01 .88
**
.78
**
.49
**
.41
**

9. Academic
Performance
-.05 .09 .16
*
-.14 -.18
*
-.13 -.26
**
-.20
*

10. Academic
Engagement
-.20
*
-.13 -.07 -.27
**
-.20
*
-.10 -.12 -.24
**
.28
**

11. Parents’
Achievement
Expectations
.14 .09 .15 .32
**
.24
**
.15 .12 .32
**
-.03 -.24
**

12. Over-parenting .07 .04 .03 .41
**
.30
**
.20
*
.13 .43
**
-.15 -.17
*
.40
**

13. Parent Criticism .19
*
-.02 .00 .57
**
.33
**
.31
**
.28
**
.52
**
-.20
*
-.29
**
.61
**
.44
**

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 99
14. Parent-Child
Engagement
-.12 .04 .03 -.47
**
-.46
**
-.34
**
-.37
**
-.48
**
.16 .17
*
-.30
**
-.30
**
-.61
**

15. Parent
Materialistic
Orientation
.06 -.08 -.26
**
.22
**
.19
*
.15 .14 .21
*
-.07 -.05 .18
*
.07 .17
*
-.25
**

16. Parent Social
Comparison
.05 .03 -.05 .10 .21
**
-.01 .12 .15 -.09 -.14 .16
*
.00 .11 -.11 .35
**

17. Parent Distress .08 -.15 -.15 .20
*
.26
**
.30
**
.33
**
.25
**
-.06 .13 .08 .16 .12 -.18
*
.37
**
.30
**

18. Youth Cultural
Orientation
-.01 .01 -.02 .10 .04 .11 -.04 .07 -.01 -.12 .14 .15 -.02 .09 .16
*
.02 -.03
19. Parent Cultural
Orientation
-.06 .02 -.12 -.04 .04 -.02 .10 .00 -.19
*
-.07 .19
*
.06 .11 -.19
*
.18
*
.29
**
.21
**
-.01 -
†
p ≤.10 (2-tailed),
*
p ≤.05 (2-tailed),
**
p ≤.01 (2-tailed). Higher values of youth and parent cultural orientation denote more adherence to Chinese
cultural values.

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 100
Table 3. Correlations Among the Variables for Males (N = 60)

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18
1. Income -
2. Parent Education .06
3. YSR
Internalizing
.05 -.05
4. YSR
Externalizing
.14 -.13 .33
**

5. CBCL
Internalizing
.05 -.12 .45
**
.23
6. CBCL
Externalizing
-.02 -.01 .15 .31
*
.66
**

7. YSR Total
Problems
.12 -.10 .83
**
.71
**
.42
**
.29
**

8. Academic
Performance
.10 .12 -.15 -.13 -.45
**
-.37
**
-.17
9. Academic
Engagement
-.19 -.21 -.27
*
-.34
**
-.17 -.26
*
-.29 .26
*

10. Parents’
Achievement
Expectations
.10 .20 .25 .21 .11 .21 .23 -.06 -.40
**

11. Over-parenting .01 -.16 .37
**
.42
**
.24
†
.21 .45
**
.16 -.40
**
.40
**

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 101
12. Parent Criticism .07 .03 .46
**
.06 .13 .17 .32
*
-.22 -.40
**
.45
**
.27
*

13. Parent-Child
Engagement
-.11 -.03 -.37
**
.28
*
-.13 -.22
†
-.30
*
.24
†
-.44
**
-.38
**
-.33
**
-.62
**

14. Parent
Materialistic
Orientation
-.11 -.19 .26
*
.10 .14 .02 .14 -.17 .02 .26
*
.13 .10 -.24
15. Parent Social
Comparison
-.06 -.01 .14 .25 .06 .07 .20 -.11 -.13 .36
*
.02 .20 -.20 .30
*

16. Parent Distress -.08 -.35
**
.22 .27
*
.30
*
.43
*
.27
*
-.12 .13 .03 .15 .11 -.21 .41
*
.22
17. Youth Cultural
Orientation
-.12 -.07 .00 -.09 .12 -.11 -.10 .08 .07 .16 .07 -.13 .12 .09 -.13 .00
18. Parent Cultural
Orientation
.11 -.27
*
-.04 -.13 .12 .17 -.08 -.18 -.08 .15 .05 .07 -.01 .19 .14 .15 -.01 -
†
p ≤.10 (2-tailed),
*
p ≤.05 (2-tailed),
**
p ≤.01 (2-tailed). Higher values of youth and parent cultural orientation denote more adherence to Chinese
cultural values.

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 102
Table 4. Correlations Among the Variables for Females (N = 93)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
1. Income -
2. Parent Education .28
**

3. YSR
Internalizing
.15 .09
4. YSR
Externalizing
-.03 -.03 .58
**

5. CBCL
Internalizing
.05 .09 .57
**
.34
**

6. CBCL
Externalizing
-.01 .01 .42
**
.50
**
.68
**

7. YSR Total .07 .06 .90
**
.82
**
.49
**
.46
**

8. Academic
Performance
.08 .19 -.12 -.21
*
.01 -.19 .21
*

9. Academic
Engagement
-.12 .02 .19 -.11 -.01 -.02 -.17 .29
**

10. Parents’
Achievement
Expectations
.11 .12 .32
**
.25
*
.13 .07 .33
**
-.01 -.10
11. Over-parenting .07 .13 .43
**
.23
*
.18 .09 .41
**
-.14 .02 .40
**

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 103
12. Parent Criticism -.06 -.03 .59
**
.48
**
.36
**
.33
**
.60
**
-.18 -.15 .68
**
.54
**

13. Parent-Child
Engagement
.11 .06 -.51
**
-.54
**
-.39
**
-.42
**
-.54
**
.13 .00 -.31
**
-.27
**
-.60
**

14. Parent
Materialistic
Orientation
-.05 -.29
**
.19 .24
*
.15 .20 .23
*
-.01 -.08 .12 .03 .20 -.26
*

15. Parent Social
Comparison
.09 -.08 .06 .19 -.05 .13 .11 -.08 -.14 .05 -.01 .04 -.06 .37
**

16. Parent Distress -.18 -.06 .17 .25
*
.29
**
.29
**
.22
*
-.03 .16 .09 .15 .11 -.16 .34
**
.34
**

17. Youth Cultural
Orientation
.08 .01 .16 .10 .11 -.01 .16 -.06 -.25
*
.13 .20
†
.05 .08 .20 .09 -.04
18. Parent Cultural
Orientation
-.05 -.04 -.01 .13 -.06 .08 .70 -.20
†
-.10 .23
*
.08 .16 -.29
**
.18 .38
**
.25
*
-.02 -
†
p ≤.10 (2-tailed),
*
p ≤.05 (2-tailed),
**
p ≤.01 (2-tailed). Higher values of youth and parent cultural orientation denote more adherence to Chinese
cultural values.

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 104
Table 5. Comparison of self-reported problem behaviors among Chinese youth who are raised in affluent Hong Kong families to Hong Kong
national norms
1
(N = 153)

Youth Self-Report Hong Kong
Normative
Sample:
Boys
Affluent
Sample:
Chinese Boys
(n = 60)
Hong Kong
Normative
Sample:
Girls
Affluent
Sample:
Chinese Girls
(n = 93)
Internalizing Problems Raw Mean Score 13.10 (7.70) 15.68 (9.66)
*
16.80 (8.70) 22.17 (10.31)
**

Borderline Cut-off (≥ 86%ile) 20 22
% of sample above cut-off 30.00% 52.68%
Clinical Cut-off (≥ 98%ile) 24 27
% of sample above cut-off 16.67% 33.33%

Anxious-Depressed Raw Mean Score (SD) 6.10 (3.90) 7.70 (5.08)
*
8.10 (4.40) 11.01 (5.25)
**

Borderline Cut-off (≥ 86%ile) 13 15
% of sample above cut-off 15.00% 26.88%
Clinical Cut-off (≥ 98%ile) 15 18
% of sample above cut-off 10.00% 12.90%

Withdrawn-Depressed Raw Mean Score 4.20 (3.10) 5.05 (2.73)
*
4.70 (3.10) 6.19 (2.94)
**

Borderline Cut-off (≥ 86%ile) 10 10
% of sample above cut-off 8.33% 10.75%
Clinical Cut-off (≥ 98%ile) 11 12
% of sample above cut-off 3.33% 2.15%

Somatic Complaints Raw Mean Score 2.80 (2.50) 2.93 (3.29) 4.00 (3.00) 4.97 (3.73)
*

Borderline Cut-off (≥ 86%ile) 7 9
% of sample above cut-off 11.67% 18.28%
Clinical Cut-off (≥ 98%ile) 10 12
% of sample above cut-off 8.33% 4.30%

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 105
Externalizing Problems Raw Mean Score 15.00 (9.80) 11.98 (6.62)
**
13.30 (8.30) 12.29 (7.68)
Borderline Cut-off (≥ 86%ile) 23 21
% of sample above cut-off 5.00% 12.90%
Clinical Cut-off (≥ 98%ile) 31 26
% of sample above cut-off 0.00% 6.45%

Rule-Breaking Behavior Raw Mean Score 6.10 (5.30) 4.48 (2.60)
**
4.50 (4.30) 4.37 (3.39)
Borderline Cut-off (≥ 86%ile) 16 16
% of sample above cut-off 0.00% 0.00%
Clinical Cut-off (≥ 98%ile) 21 21
% of sample above cut-off 0.00% 0.00%

Aggressive Behavior Raw Mean Score 8.80 (5.40) 7.50 (4.96)
*
8.80 (4.90) 7.91 (5.03)
†

Borderline Cut-off (≥ 86%ile) 17 17
% of sample above cut-off 5.00% 4.30%
Clinical Cut-off (≥ 98%ile) 22 20
% of sample above cut-off 1.67% 2.15%
†
p ≤.10 (2-tailed),
*
p ≤.05 (2-tailed),
**
p ≤.01 (2-tailed)
1
Group 3 of the ASEBA Multicultural Normative Samples in Achenbach & Rescorla
(2007).

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 106
Table 6. Comparison of parent-reported problem behaviors among Chinese youth who are raised in affluent Hong Kong families to Hong Kong
national norms
1
(N = 153)
Child Behavior Checklist Hong Kong
Normative
Sample:
Boys
Affluent
Sample:
Chinese Boys
(n = 60)
Hong Kong
Normative
Sample:
Girls
Affluent
Sample:
Chinese Girls
(n = 93)

Internalizing Problems Raw Mean Score 5.60 (5.30) 5.05 (5.16) 6.50 (5.70) 7.72 (7.90)
Borderline Cut-off (≥ 86%ile) 11 12
% of sample above cut-off 11.67% 23.66%
Clinical Cut-off (≥ 98%ile) 14 15
% of sample above cut-off 8.33% 19.36%

Anxious-Depressed Raw Mean Score (SD) 2.60 (2.70) 2.25 (2.63) 3.20 (3.10) 3.40 (3.79)
Borderline Cut-off (≥ 86%ile) 7 8
% of sample above cut-off 10.00% 15.05%
Clinical Cut-off (≥ 98%ile) 10 11
% of sample above cut-off 1.67% 6.45%

Withdrawn-Depressed Raw Mean Score 1.90 (2.20) 1.93 (2.22) 1.90 (2.10) 2.14 (2.47)
Borderline Cut-off (≥ 86%ile) 6 6
% of sample above cut-off 8.33% 12.90%
Clinical Cut-off (≥ 98%ile) 8 8
% of sample above cut-off 1.67% 3.23%

Somatic Complaints Raw Mean Score 1.10 (1.80) 0.87 (1.35) 1.40 (1.90) 2.18 (2.82)
**

Borderline Cut-off (≥ 86%ile) 5 5
% of sample above cut-off 1.67% 18.28%
Clinical Cut-off (≥ 98%ile) 6 7
% of sample above cut-off 1.67% 11.83%

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 107
Externalizing Problems Raw Mean Score 7.50 (7.50) 3.83 (3.83)
**
6.60 (7.00) 4.55 (4.70)
**

Borderline Cut-off (≥ 86%ile) 14 12
% of sample above cut-off 1.67% 6.45%
Clinical Cut-off (≥ 98%ile) 19 16
% of sample above cut-off 0.00% 3.23%

Rule-Breaking Behavior Raw Mean Score 2.80 (3.40) 1.50 (1.72)
**
2.20 (3.00) 1.47 (1.93)
**

Borderline Cut-off (≥ 86%ile) 9 7
% of sample above cut-off 1.67% 2.15%
Clinical Cut-off (≥ 98%ile) 13 11
% of sample above cut-off 0.00% 0.00%

Aggressive Behavior Raw Mean Score 4.70 (4.80) 2.33 (2.55)
**
4.40 (4.70) 3.08 (3.15)
**

Borderline Cut-off (≥ 86%ile) 13 12
% of sample above cut-off 0.00% 2.15%
Clinical Cut-off (≥ 98%ile) 17 17
% of sample above cut-off 0.00% 1.08%
†
p ≤.10 (2-tailed),
*
p ≤.05 (2-tailed),
**
p ≤.01 (2-tailed)
1
Group 2 of the ASEBA Multicultural Normative Samples in Achenbach & Rescorla
(2007).

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 108
Table 7. Results from Hierarchical Regression Testing Cultural Orientation as Moderator of the Relations among Parenting Behaviors and
Youth-reported Problem Behaviors for Males (n = 60)
Internalizing (Youth) Externalizing (Youth)
β β
Predictors Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
Achievement Expectations -.05 - - .07 - -
Overparenting .26
*
- - .36
**
- -
Parent Criticism .37
*
- - -.25 - -
Parent-Child Engagement -.07 - - -.29
†
- -
Cultural Orientation - - - -
Achievement Expectations x
Cultural Orientation
- -
Overparenting x Cultural
Orientation
- -
Parent Criticism x Cultural
Orientation
- -
Parent-Child Engagement x
Cultural Orientation
- -
R
2
,

F .28, 5.34
**
- - .23, 4.14
**
- -
∆R
2
, ∆F - - - -
†
p ≤.10 (2-tailed),
*
p ≤.05 (2-tailed),
**
p ≤.01 (2-tailed)

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 109
Table 8. Results from Hierarchical Regression Testing Cultural Orientation as Moderator of the Relations among Parenting Behaviors and
Youth-reported Problem Behaviors for Females (n = 93)
Internalizing (Youth) Externalizing (Youth)
β β
Predictors Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
Achievement Expectations -.13 -.11 -.14 -.07 -.09 -.09
Overparenting .18
†
.15 .15 .00 -.04 -.04
Parent Criticism .45
**
.46
**
.45
**
.30
†
.31
*
.32
†

Parent-Child Engagement -.23
*
-.25
*
-.25
*
-.38
**
-.40
**
-.39
**

Cultural Orientation .14
†
.15
†
.14 .15
Achievement Expectations x
Cultural Orientation
- .08
Overparenting x Cultural
Orientation
- -.05
Parent Criticism x Cultural
Orientation
- -.05
Parent-Child Engagement x
Cultural Orientation
.05 -.02
R
2
,

F .42, 15.68
**
.44, 13.40
**
.44, 11.15
**
.33, 10.75
**
.35, 9.21
**
.35, 4.96
**

∆R
2
, ∆F .02, 2.90
†
.00, .37 .02, 2.38 .00, .11
†
p ≤.10 (2-tailed),
*
p ≤.05 (2-tailed),
**
p ≤.01 (2-tailed)

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 110
Table 9. Results from Hierarchical Regression Testing Cultural Orientation as Moderator of the Relations among Parenting Behaviors and
Parent-reported Problem Behaviors for Males (n = 60)
Internalizing (Parent) Externalizing (Parent)
β β
Predictors Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
Achievement Expectations -.02 -.05 .04 .10 .14 .20
Overparenting .22 .21 .24
†
.13 .13 .15
Parent Criticism .06 .09 .03 .01 -.02 -.06
Parent-Child Engagement -.02 -.04 -.13 -.13 -.12 -.18
Cultural Orientation .13 .23
†
-.13 -.07
Achievement Expectations x
Cultural Orientation
- -
Overparenting x Cultural
Orientation
.53
**
.35
**

Parent Criticism x Cultural
Orientation
- -
Parent-Child Engagement x
Cultural Orientation
- -
R
2
,

F .06, .91 .08, .90 .33, 4.27
**
.08, 1.16 .09, 1.12 .21, 2.28
*

∆R
2
, ∆F .02, .87 .25, 19.57
**
.02, .96 .11, 7.41
*

†
p ≤.10 (2-tailed),
*
p ≤.05 (2-tailed),
**
p ≤.01 (2-tailed)

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 111
Table 10. Results from Hierarchical Regression Testing Cultural Orientation as Moderator of the Relations among Parenting Behaviors and
Parent-reported Problem Behaviors for Females (n = 93)
Internalizing (Parent) Externalizing (Parent)
β β
Predictors Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
Achievement Expectations -.16 -.18 -.16 -.23
†
-.23
†
-.22
†

Overparenting .01 -.02 -.03 -.10 -.11 -.11
Parent Criticism .31
†
.32
†
.34
*
.35
*
.36
*
.38
*

Parent-Child Engagement -.26
*
-.27
*
-.24
†
-.30
*
-.31
*
-.29
*

Cultural Orientation .15 .17
†
.05 .10
Achievement Expectations x
Cultural Orientation
.33
*
.27
†

Overparenting x Cultural
Orientation
- -.15
Parent Criticism x Cultural
Orientation
-.37
*
-.24
Parent-Child Engagement x
Cultural Orientation
- -.06
R
2
,

F .19, 5.21
**
.21, 4.68
**
.27, 4.49
**
.22, 6.24
**
.22, 5.00
**
.27, 3.36
**

∆R
2
, ∆F .02, 2.27 .06, 3.37
*
.00, .26 .04, 1.23
†
p ≤.10 (2-tailed),
*
p ≤.05 (2-tailed),
**
p ≤.01 (2-tailed)

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 112
Table 11. Results from Hierarchical Regression Testing Cultural Orientation as Moderator of the Relations among Parenting Behaviors and
Academic Competence for Males (n = 60)
Academic Performance (Combined) Academic Engagement
β β
Predictors Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
Achievement Expectations .10 .094 .00 -.18 -.20 -.21
Overparenting -.12 -.120 -.10 -.22
†
-.23
†
-.22
Parent Criticism -.13 -.127 -.12 -.12 -.10 -.09
Parent-Child Engagement .15 .150 .17 .22 .21 .22
Cultural Orientation .033 -.04 .08 .10
Achievement Expectations x
Cultural Orientation
- .08
Overparenting x Cultural
Orientation
-.38
**
.00
Parent Criticism x Cultural
Orientation
- -.10
Parent-Child Engagement x
Cultural Orientation
- -.03
R
2
,

F .08, 1.16 .08, .93 .16, 1.74 .31, 6.05
**
.31, 4.89
**
.32, 2.57
*

∆R
2
, ∆F .00, .06 .09, 5.40
*
.01, .48 .01, .09
†
p ≤.10 (2-tailed),
*
p ≤.05 (2-tailed),
**
p ≤.01 (2-tailed)

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 113
Table 12. Results from Hierarchical Regression Testing Cultural Orientation as Moderator of the Relations among Parenting Behaviors and
Academic Competence for Females (n = 93)
Academic Performance (Combined) Academic Engagement
β β
Predictors Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
Achievement Expectations .23 .24 .24
†
.03 .07 .05
Overparenting -.07 -.06 -.06 .16 .22
†
.21
†

Parent Criticism -.30 -.31
†
-.33
†
-.36
†
-.38
*
-.30
*

Parent-Child Engagement .00 .00 -.01 -.16 -.13 -.07
Cultural Orientation -.06 -.03 -.27
*
-.35
**

Achievement Expectations x
Cultural Orientation
- -.02
Overparenting x Cultural
Orientation
- .21
Parent Criticism x Cultural
Orientation
- -.24
Parent-Child Engagement x
Cultural Orientation
.130 -.23
R
2
,

F .06, 1.50 .07, 1.25 .08, 1.29 .06, 1.30 .12, 2.46
*
.17, 1.92
†

∆R
2
, ∆F .00, .32 .02, 1.47 .07, 6.74
*
.05, 1.22
†
p ≤.10 (2-tailed),
*
p ≤.05 (2-tailed),
**
p ≤.01 (2-tailed)

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 114
Table 14. The Relations Among Family Socioeconomic Context, Parents’ Cultural Orientation, and Materialistic and Social Comparison
Concerns, and Youth-Reported Parenting Behaviors Controlling for Youth Problem Behaviors and Parent Distress (N = 153)
Parenting Behaviors
Achievement
Expectations
Overparenting Parent Criticism Parent-Child
Engagement
β β β β
Predictors Model 1 Model 2 Model 1 Model 2 Model 1 Model 2 Model 1 Model 2
Youth Total Problems .13
**
.10
**
.17
*
.17
**
.33
**
.32
**
-.38
**
-.36
**

Parent Distress .03 -.05 .10 .11 .01 -.05 -.05 .04
Parent Educational Level .21
*
.05 .03 -.02
Parent Materialistic
Orientation
.18
†
.03 .11 -.18
*

Parent Social
Comparisons
.07 -.06 .04 .02
Parent Cultural
Orientation
.16
*
.05 .08 -.14
†

R
2
,

F .02, 1.57 .12, 3.17
**
.05, 4.05
*
.20, 1.48 .11, 9.22
**
.13, 3.64
**
.16, 14.00
**
.21, 6.38
**

∆R
2
, ∆F .10, 3.91
**
.01, .24 .02, .86 .05, 2.32
*

†
p ≤.10 (2-tailed),
*
p ≤.05 (2-tailed),
**
p ≤.01 (2-tailed)

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 115
Figure 1. Effects of over-parenting and youth adherence to Chinese cultural values on parent-reported internalizing behaviors for males

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 116
Figure 2. Effects of over-parenting and youth adherence to Chinese cultural values on parent-reported externalizing behaviors for males

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 117
Figure 3. Effects of parent achievement expectations and youth adherence to Chinese cultural values on parent-reported internalizing problems
for females

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 118
Figure 4. Effects of parent criticism and youth adherence to Chinese cultural values on parent-reported internalizing problems for females

Running Head: AFFLUENZA IN HONG KONG CHINESE FAMILIES 119
Figure 5. Effects of over-parenting and youth adherence to Chinese cultural values on academic performance for males.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Popular media suggests that adolescents who are raised in affluent families are at elevated risk for poor psychological outcomes because the parenting behaviors characteristic of wealthy parents negatively impact their psychological well-being. However, empirical evidence supporting this theory is scarce and limited to affluent Caucasian families in the United States and Norway. The current study examined whether affluent Hong Kong Chinese adolescents show a similar pattern of elevated risk for psychological maladjustment and how their parents’ behaviors and youth cultural orientation were associated with their academic competence and psychological adjustment. The participants were 153 Chinese adolescents (60 males, 93 females

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

Culture, causal attribution, and social support-seeking in Asian college students

PDF

Dynamics of victimization, aggression, and popularity in adolescence

PDF

Heterogeneity among adolescents with elevated depressive symptoms: distinct patterns of social and academic attributes

PDF

Mediators and moderators in the link between maternal psychological control and peer victimization for Hong Kong Chinese boys

PDF

The link between maternal depression and adolescent daughters' risk behavior: the mediating and moderating role of family

PDF

Peer Coach Training for disruptive youth

PDF

Not just talk: observed communication in adolescent friendship and its implications for health risk behavior

PDF

Mental health advocacy and navigation partnerships: the case for a community collaborative approach

PDF

The role of social status and gender in the composition of bully-victim dyads in early adolescence

PDF

Cultural influences on mental health stigma in Asian and European American college students

PDF

A neuropsychological exploration of low-SES adolescents’ life goals and their motives

PDF

Popularity as a predictor of friendship affiliation in adolescence

PDF

Examining the longitudinal relationships between community violence exposure and aggressive behavior among a sample of maltreated and non-maltreated adolescents

PDF

Goals and weight: the interplay of goal perceptions in weight management

PDF

A penta-dimensional longitudinal analysis of the predictors of compulsive internet use among adolescents using linear mixed model (LMM)

PDF

Reducing gang involvement through employment: a pilot intervention

PDF

Cumulative risk as a moderator of multisystemic therapy effects for juvenile offenders

PDF

The egocentric social networks of Black adolescents and sources of racial socialization messages

PDF

Identity, perceived discrimination, and attenuated positive psychotic symptoms among college students

PDF

Depression and anxiety symptom outcomes in adolescent users of smoked, vaporized, edible and blunt cannabis

Asset Metadata

Creator Tilley, Jacqueline Lee (author)

Core Title Is affluence a developmental risk for Hong Kong Chinese adolescents?

School College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Psychology

Publication Date 04/26/2021

Defense Date 11/15/2018

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag academic adjustment,Adolescent,affluence,Asian,Chinese,culture,Hong Kong,Mental Health,OAI-PMH Harvest,Parenting,socioeconomic status,Youth

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Farver, JoAnn (committee chair), Huey, Stanley (committee member), Lopez, Steven (committee member), Patall, Erika (committee member), Schwartz, David (committee member)

Creator Email jmltilley@gmail.com,mannhual@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-152249

Unique identifier UC11661515

Identifier etd-TilleyJacq-7323.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-152249 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-TilleyJacq-7323.pdf

Dmrecord 152249

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Tilley, Jacqueline Lee

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA