Parenting in contemporary Hong Kong : observations and reflections

Abstract

Parenting in Hong Kong is shaped by traditional Chinese collectivistic values and contemporary Western individualistic influences. In this paper, we focus on parenting phenomena in Hong Kong. While traditional Chinese parenting goals are still dominant, there are gradual changes in parenting in Hong Kong. The traditional pattern of "strict fathers, kind mothers" has changed to "kind fathers, strict mothers" and "detached fathers, involved mothers." Consistent with the Western literature, parenting is related to different child developmental outcomes, although the influences of paternal and maternal parenting lead to different outcomes. Relative to families without risk, financially poor and non-intact families show poorer parenting quality. Parenting is also related to other family processes, including family functioning and dyadic family processes such as parent-child relational qualities. The unanswered questions and future research directions are also highlighted.