Relations of Chinese Mothers’ Cultural Values and Parental Control to Early Adolescents’ Self-Construals

This study examined associations between mothers’ Chinese cultural values, monitoring, and psychological control with early adolescents’ independent and interdependent self-construals (SCs). Adolescents (n = 594) and their mothers were recruited from urban areas in mainland China. Mothers reported their Chinese cultural values; adolescents reported their mothers’ monitoring and psychological control and their independent and interdependent SCs. The findings suggested that mothers’ Chinese cultural values and perceived monitoring had significant positive associations with adolescents’ independent and interdependent SCs, and mothers’ perceived monitoring had a significant mediation effect on the association between mothers’ Chinese cultural values and adolescents’ interdependent SC. Mothers’ perceived psychological control had a significant positive association with adolescents’ independent SC. The findings suggested that the sociocultural context might shape Chinese early adolescents’ SC through two interacting culture categories (i.e., societal norms and daily practices), and monitoring might have mediation effect in the relation between societal norms and interdependent SC.