Aileen Sze Yan Tan
Emerging adulthood is a phase characterised by the concurrent life changes individuals experience as they begin to discover the responsibilities of adulthood independently. Research has shown that childhood parenting practices significantly affect emerging adult well-being and family functioning, which are essential to positive adjustment during the instability of this transition period. However, few studies have examined the effects of Asian parenting on such outcomes. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of childhood parental support and control on the well-being and family functioning of Malaysian emerging adults. Using a correlational study, 252 Malaysians, aged 18 to 25 (M = 21.36, SD = 1.92), were recruited via convenience sampling to participate in an online survey measuring experienced childhood parenting styles, well-being, and family functioning. Results showed that childhood parental support positively predicted emerging adult well-being and family functioning but found no relationship between parental control and the outcome variables or gender differences in well-being. An interesting relationship between family functioning and well-being was also found, where family functioning emerged as the only significant predictor of positive well-being when compared to parental support. These findings indicate the crucial role of a supportive family system in childhood on psychological well-being, the effects extending even to emerging adulthood.
Aileen Sze Yan Tan
Background
Emerging adulthood is the period between late teens to twenties, where individuals transition to complete independence from their parents.
As emerging adults begin to discover the responsibilities of adulthood and explore various aspects of work, love, and worldviews, they experience a significant growth in their psychosocial development.
However, the concurrent changes they experience during this phase also poses risks of psychological distress (e.g., anxiety, social isolation), which can be detrimental to one's psychiatric health.
Hence, it is essential for emerging adults to have sufficient emotional and adaptive abilities to withstand the instability of this turbulent phase.
(Arnett, 2000; Lane et al., 2017; Matud et al., 2021; Neff & McGehee, 2010)
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The Present Study
Past research has shown that childhood parental support and control significantly impacts well-being in emerging adulthood. Well-being is an indicator of optimal psychological functioning, which is essential for emerging adults to develop positively during this transition phase with minimal risks to individual mental health.
Research has also shown that childhood parenting styles is related to family functioning. According to Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory, an individual's microsystems (i.e., family, studies, work) can simultaneously affect an individual. For example, conflict at home could lead to greater difficulties in psychological functioning at work. This indicates that the positive bonds of strong family relationships may facilitate and model adaptive individual functioning for their children, resulting in better adjustment outcomes for emerging adults.
Therefore, the present study investigated the influence of childhood parental support and control on emerging adult well-being and family functioning in Malaysia, as these outcomes play an influential role in ensuring positive adjustment outcomes during this phase.
Whereas past research had mainly focused on parenting in Western European countries, we investigated the effects of childhood parenting in Malaysia as limited research is available on such effects in Asian countries, where parenting styles and family structures tend to be more strict and collectivistic compared to their Western counterparts.
(Badger et al., 2006; Bronfenbrenner, 1977; Johnson et al., 2010; McKinney & Renk, 2008; Padilla-Walker et al., 2018; Parra et al., 2018; Shen et al., 2018)
What is What?
(Terminology Cheat Sheet)
Parental Support: The affection and responsiveness a child receives from their parents.
Parental Control: Rules and guidelines implemented by parents which shapes their child's behaviour.
Well-Being: Achieving optimal psychological functioning and experience (e.g., life satisfaction)
Family Functioning: The ability of a family to maintain positive familial bonds through working with each other.
How We Did It
252 Malaysians aged 18 to 25 (49.6% male, 50.4% female) were recruited through social media to participate in an online survey.
The survey contained questionnaires which measured experienced childhood parental support and control, well-being, and family functioning (cohesion, expressiveness, conflict) of participating emerging adults.
The data collected was analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics, where quantitative calculations such as Pearson correlation and regression analyses were used to measure the relationships between the variables.
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What We Found
1. Childhood parental support significantly predicted emerging adult well-being and family functioning
2. Childhood parental control was not significantly correlated to emerging adult well-being or family functioning
3*. Childhood parental support and family functioning simultaneously predicted well-being (1), but only family functioning emerged as a significant predictor when comparing its individual effects (2)
*Further analyses upon finding an interesting correlation between well-being and family functioning
What It Means
1. Greater parental support in childhood contributes positively to emerging adult well-being and family functioning
2. Parental control in childhood is not related to emerging adult well-being or family functioning
3. When considered together, both childhood parental support and family functioning increases well-being simultaneously (1). But when directly comparing their individual effects, only family functioning significantly contributes to emerging adult well-being (2)
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So What Now?
Taken together, the findings of this research emphasises the importance of supportive parenting in childhood and cohesive family units for the well-being of emerging adults.
Such parental and familial support, even in childhood, may act as a protective factor against potential psychological distress caused by the concurrent changes the future emerging adult may experience.
Furthermore, in the Asian culture where parents tend to be more controlling, the results indicate that parental control may not significantly contribute to a child's outcomes in later life. Hence, parents could instead focus on exercising greater care towards their children, to the benefit of their future well-being.
All in all, these findings indicate that a foundational basis to achieving greater well-being lies in the family unit and that the way parents support their child from birth plays a crucial role in helping them flourish throughout their development into adulthood.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my supervisor, Ms Elaine Yong, for her guidance and support from the ideation to the finalising of this research project. Her patience, willingness, and availability to help has been of invaluable support to me.
Above all, I thank God for sustaining me thus far. And to my family and friends, I am ever grateful for their unconditional help, support, and encouragement.
References
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.55.5.469
Badger, S., Nelson, L. J., & Barry, C. M. (2006). Perceptions of the transition to adulthood among Chinese and American emerging adults. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 30(1), 84–93. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025406062128
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32(7), 513–531. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.32.7.513
Johnson, V. K., Gans, S. E., Kerr, S., & LaValle, W. (2010). Managing the transition to college: Family functioning, emotion coping, and adjustment in emerging adulthood. Journal of College Student Development, 51(6), 607–621. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2010.0022
Lane, J. A., Leibert, T. W., & Goka-Dubose, E. (2017). The impact of life transition on emerging adult attachments, social support, and well-being: A multiple-group comparison. Journal of Counseling & Development, 95(4), 378–388. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12153
Matud, M. P., Bethencourt, J. M., Ibáñez, I., Fortes, D., & Díaz, A. (2021). Gender differences in psychological well-being in emerging adulthood. Applied Research in Quality of Life. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-021-09943-5
McKinney, C., & Renk, K. (2008). Differential parenting between mothers and fathers: Implications for late adolescents. Journal of Family Issues, 29(6), 806–827. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X07311222
Neff, K. D., & McGehee, P. (2010). Self-compassion and psychological resilience among adolescents and young adults. Self and Identity, 9(3), 225–240. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860902979307
Padilla-Walker, L. M., Nelson, L. J., Fu, X., & Barry, C. M. (2018). Bidirectional relations between parenting and prosocial behavior for Asian and European-American emerging adults. Journal of Adult Development, 25(2), 107–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-017-9272-y
Parra, Á., Sánchez-Queija, I., García-Mendoza, M. d. C., Coimbra, S., Egídio Oliveira, J., & Diez, M. (2019). Perceived parenting styles and adjustment during emerging adulthood: A cross-national perspective. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(15), 2757. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16152757
Shen, J. J., Cheah, C. S. L., & Yu, J. (2018). Asian American and European American emerging adults’ perceived parenting styles and self-regulation ability. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 9(2), 140–148. https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000099
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