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Chinese parents exert more control over children than do American parents. The current research examined whether this is due in part to Chinese parents' feelings of worth being more contingent on children's performance. Twice over a year, 215 mothers and children (M age = 12.86 years) in China and the United States (European and African American) reported on psychologically controlling parenting. Mothers also indicated the extent to which their worth is contingent on children's performance. Psychologically controlling parenting was higher among Chinese than American mothers, particularly European (vs. African) American mothers. Chinese (vs. American) mothers' feelings of worth were more contingent on children's performance, with this contributing to their heightened psychological control relative to American mothers.

This research examined whether American and Chinese mothers' tendencies to base their worth on children's performance contributes to their affective responses to children's performance. Study 1 used daily interviews to assess mothers' warmth (vs. hostility) and children's school performance (N = 197; Mage = 12.81 years). In Study 2, such affect was observed in the laboratory following children's manipulated performance on cognitive problems (N = 128; Mage = 10.21 years). The more mothers based their worth on children's performance, the more their warmth (vs. hostility) decreased when children failed in Study 1. This pattern was evident only among Chinese mothers in Study 2. In both studies, child‐based worth did not contribute to mothers' affective responses to children's success.

Two studies investigated the effects of parents' control and autonomy support on low- and high-achieving children. In Study 1, mothers' (N = 110) involvement with children (7 to 10 years old) in the context of a challenging task was observed. During this interaction, mothers' control predicted diminished engagement and their autonomy support predicted enhanced performance for low-achieving children more than for high-achieving children. In Study 2, mothers' (N = 121) responses to children's (9 to 12 years old) failure were assessed with a daily checklist. Children's grades were obtained at this time and 6 months later. Mothers' controlling responses predicted decreased performance and their autonomy-supportive responses predicted increased performance over time for low achievers more than for high achievers.

Academic socialization by low-income immigrant mothers from Mainland China was investigated in two studies. Immigrant Chinese mothers of first graders (n = 52; Mage = 38.69) in the United States (Study 1) and kindergartners (n = 86; Mage = 36.81) in Hong Kong (Study 2) tell stories that emphasized achieving the best grade through effort more than did African American (n = 39; Mage = 31.44) and native Hong Kong (n = 76; Mage = 36.64) mothers, respectively. The emphasis on achievement was associated with mothers' heightened discussion on discrimination (Study 1) and beliefs that education promotes upward mobility (Study 2), as well as children's expectations that a story protagonist would receive maternal criticism for being nonpersistent in learning (Study 2).

Although Asian preschoolers acquire executive functions (EFs) earlier than their Western counterparts, little is known about whether this advantage persists into later childhood and adulthood. To address this gap, in the current study we gave four computerized EF tasks (providing measures of inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and planning) to a large sample (n = 1,427) of 9- to 16-year-olds and their parents. All participants lived in either the United Kingdom or Hong Kong. Our findings highlight the importance of combining developmental and cultural perspectives and show both similarities and contrasts across sites. Specifically, adults' EF performance did not differ between the two sites; age-related changes in executive function for both the children and the parents appeared to be culturally invariant, as did a modest intergenerational correlation. In contrast, school-age children and young adolescents in Hong Kong outperformed their United Kingdom counterparts on all four EF tasks, a difference consistent with previous findings from preschool children.

In Western society, there has been a history of perceiving adolescence as a time of “storm and stress,” during which youth may go through heightened negative experiences such as conflict with parents, disengagement from school, and emotional dysfunction. Despite increasing attention to positive youth development, such negative stereotypes of adolescence may be held by youth themselves, which undermine their behavioral and neural development. However, youth’s stereotypes of teen emotionality in particular (i.e., beliefs that teens typically experience greater emotionality than younger children) and the role of such stereotypes in youth’s emotional functioning have not been examined. This longitudinal study investigated the reciprocal relations between youth’s negative stereotypes of teen emotionality and their emotional functioning (i.e., emotional expressivity and emotion regulation) in Hong Kong and Mainland China, two regions in China sharing Chinese cultural traditions but differing in the extent of exposure to Western influence (N = 1269; 55% girls; M age = 12.86 years). Although youth in Hong Kong saw the teen years as a time of heightened emotionality more than did their counterparts in Mainland China, such stereotypes predicted youth’s greater emotional expressivity and less emotion regulation over the 7th grade in both regions. Moreover, in both regions, youth’s negative expressivity reciprocally predicted their stronger stereotypes of teen emotionality over time. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the role of youth’s stereotypes of teen emotionality in shaping their emotional expressivity and emotion regulation during early adolescence, and also the role of youth’s negative expressivity in reinforcing their stereotypes. Moreover, these findings highlight the relevance of the Western-popularized perception of adolescence as a time of “storm and stress” in non-Western regions in a world of increasing globalization and societal change.

Mothers' spontaneous teaching of their 4-year-olds was observed during block play in 230 dyads from low-income African American, Mexican, Dominican, and Chinese backgrounds. Blocks contained graphics that could be used to teach concepts in literacy, math, construction, or body/color. Coders noted how often mothers taught each of the concepts, and whether they taught at basic (\"This is an \"A\"\") or advanced (\"C-a-t spells cat\") levels. Additionally, mothers' negative and positive affect and feedback were coded. Ethnic differences were seen in the concepts that mothers taught, the levels of their teaching, and the amount and valence of mothers' feedback and affect towards their children. Within immigrant families, English-language use was positively associated with amount of teaching, engagement in advanced teaching, and feedback to children. The sociodemographic characteristics of families shape parents' structuring of learning opportunities for children and in turn influence children's developing skills and school readiness. (Contains 3 tables, 2 figures, and 1 footnote.)

Mothers' spontaneous teaching of their 4-year-olds was observed during block play in 230 dyads from low-income African American, Mexican, Dominican, and Chinese backgrounds. Blocks contained graphics that could be used to teach concepts in literacy, math, construction, or body/color. Coders noted how often mothers taught each of the concepts, and whether they taught at basic (“This is an ‘A’”) or advanced (“C-a-t spells cat”) levels. Additionally, mothers' negative and positive affect and feedback were coded. Ethnic differences were seen in the concepts that mothers taught, the levels of their teaching, and the amount and valence of mothers' feedback and affect towards their children. Within immigrant families, English-language use was positively associated with amount of teaching, engagement in advanced teaching, and feedback to children. The sociodemographic characteristics of families shape parents' structuring of learning opportunities for children and in turn influence children's developing skills and school readiness.