Self-concept And Parenting Rearing Patterns Among Shanghai Young Adults: A Correlation Study

Self-concept accounts for much of people's behavior and parenting style has much to do with the formation of self-concept. Unveiling the correlation between the two could explain the significant aspects in parenting styles. This thesis investigates this question from the cultural perspective while employing Hofstede's cultural dimensions. After a brief review of literatures on the subject and related concepts, methods of research are given and statistical research is carried out to confirm or disconfirm the propositions. In order to investigate the relationship between aspects of child rearing practices and adult self-concept, 196 males and females aged between 20 and 40 completed TSCS (The Tennessee Self-concept originally designed by Fitts, 1965, revised by Lin Bangjie,1978 ) and Chinese Version of EMBU (My memories of upbringing). Correlations between the different dimension of the perceived Parenting rearing patterns and the various self-concept subscores were obvious. The analyses of data by SPSS (14.0) indicated that emotional warmth in parenting style is a positive factor in the formation of children's positive self-concept while punishment and objection are negative factors that may hinder the formation of positive self-concept; second, age, gender, single-childhood, and parents'educational level all exert influence upon self-concept. The results support the contention that optimal self-concept development takes place in an atmosphere of warmth and acceptance that allows the adolescent autonomy and the opportunity to learn competencies.