Perceived overparenting and developmental outcomes among Chinese adolescents : do family structure and conflicts matter?

Abstract

“Overparenting” refers to an inappropriate parenting style in which parents intervene intrusively in their children’s development and overprotect them from difficulties and challenges. However, there is scant research on the relationship between overparenting and developmental outcomes in early adolescence. Moreover, the moderating roles of parent–child conflict, family intactness, and the adolescent’s gender on the relationship are undetermined. This study examined the associations between overparenting and developmental outcomes (indexed by egocentrism and positive youth development) of a sample of 1,735 Grade 7 students in Hong Kong (mean age = 12.63; 47.4% females). The moderating effects of parent–child conflict, family intactness, and the adolescent’s gender on these relationships were also examined. The results indicated that paternal overparenting and maternal overparenting were positively related to egocentrism and positive developmental outcomes among young Chinese adolescents. Furthermore, father–child conflict moderated the associations of maternal overparenting with egocentrism and positive youth development. At higher levels of father–child conflict, egocentrism and positive youth development increased at higher levels of maternal overparenting. Family intactness and the adolescent’s gender were also found to have moderating effects. The results provide insights into how familial conditions alter the relationship between overparenting and adolescent development. As related studies using adolescent samples are sparse, this study is pioneering in examining the impacts of overparenting on adolescents.