Parent and Adolescent Contributors to Teenage Misconduct in Western and Asian High School Students in Hong Kong

Abstract

This study examined relations among teenagers’ and their mothers’ reports of values and autonomy expectations in relation to school misconduct in 58 Caucasian and 66 Asian high school students attending an international school in Hong Kong. Caucasian students were reported to exhibit more misconduct than did Asian students. Across cultures, teenagers’ endorsements of the values related to Openness to Change, and early autonomy expectations correlated positively whereas values related to Conservation correlated negatively with misconduct measures. Valuing tradition and conformity correlated negatively with disciplinary violations. Differences between teenagers’ and their mothers’ values significantly predicted disciplinary violations, providing evidence for the influence of parent/teenager interaction effects within families. The mediating role of values and autonomy expectations in explaining the link between culture and disciplinary violations is discussed in the light of these findings.

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