Parental sacrifice, filial piety and adolescent life satisfaction in Chinese families experiencing economic disadvantage

Abstract

This study examines the relationships amongst perceived paternal and maternal sacrifice, filial piety and adolescent life satisfaction in a sample of 716 poor adolescents studying in Grade 7 and Grade 8 in Hong Kong. Based on the family capital theory and the Chinese socialization model, it was hypothesized that reciprocal filial piety and authoritarian filial piety would mediate the relationship between parental sacrifice and adolescent life satisfaction. Results based on structural equation modeling indicated that while both reciprocal and authoritarian filial piety partially mediated the relationship between paternal sacrifice and adolescent life satisfaction, the influence of maternal sacrifice on adolescent life satisfaction was fully mediated by reciprocal and authoritarian filial piety. The significant relationships were found to be stable in adolescent boys and girls. The research findings underscore the role of parental sacrifice in cultivating filial piety and life satisfaction in Chinese adolescents experiencing economic disadvantage, which provides insights for the development of Chinese family models in the context of poverty.