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1417733Chan and ChanYouth & Society

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Youth & Society

Adolescents’ 45(2) 286­–302

© The Author(s) 2011
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DOI: 10.1177/0044118X11417733
Pressure: Relations to yas.sagepub.com

Parent–Adolescent
Relationship and
Adolescents’ Emotional
Autonomy From Parents

Siu Mui Chan1 and Kwok-Wai Chan1

Abstract
Studies on factors affecting susceptibility to peer pressure are not plentiful
although this susceptibility has been found to be associated with youth prob-
lems such as substance use and risky sexual behavior. The present study
examined how adolescents’ susceptibility to peer pressure is related to
their relationships with mothers and emotional autonomy from parents.
Data were collected from 550 Hong Kong secondary school students using
questionnaires. Structural equation modeling results showed that mothers’
behavioral control and psychological control predicted adolescents’ sus-
ceptibility to peer pressure in negative and positive directions respectively.
A mediation model is established in which maternal warmth was a negative
predictor of adolescents’ susceptibility to peer pressure in the areas of peer
activities, family activities, school activities, and misconduct behaviors and its
effects were mediated by adolescents’ emotional autonomy from parents.
Implications for parenting programs are discussed.

1
Hong Kong Institute of Education, New Territories, Hong Kong

Corresponding Author:
Siu Mui Chan, Hong Kong Institute of Education, 10 Lo Ping Road,
Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong.
Email: smho@ied.edu.hk
Chan and Chan 287

Keywords
susceptibility to peer pressure, parental bonding instrument, parental warmth,
behavioral control, psychological control, emotional autonomy

There is a Chinese saying “He who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and
he who stays near ink gets stained black” to explain the influence of peers and
the harmful effects of “falling into the wrong crowd.” The influences of peer
pressure and especially bad companions are concerns for parents with adoles-
cent children.
Peer pressure susceptibility has been found to be related to youth prob-
lems such as substance use and alcohol drinking (Abbey, Jacques, Hayman,
& Sobeck, 2006). It has been found also to be predictive of declining popular-
ity and increasing depressive symptoms in early teens (Allen, Porter, &
McFarland, 2006). Despite the robust literature on the potential adverse
effects of susceptibility to peer pressure, studies on factors affecting peer
pressure susceptibility are limited in number. It is the objective of this study
to examine factors related to adolescents’ susceptibility to peer pressure.
Growing into adolescence, children spend more and more time with peers
without parent or adult supervision and peer groups become the adolescents’
main reference group. Erikson (1968) refers to this as searching for identity.
To achieve identity, teenagers strive to be independent from parental control,
influences, and protection. However, this brings a sense of uncertainty, which
pushes them to seek peer support and acceptance as a kind of assurance for
their identity (Erikson, 1968). When adolescents have more and closer inter-
actions with peers, they are, at the same time, more subject to peer pres-
sure and are more likely to be exposed to the problematic behavior of their
peers. When nondeviant and deviant adolescents interact, the direction of
influence is affected by the degree of susceptibility to peer pressure. Peer
pressure has been identified as a marker for many youth behavioral problems
(Allen et al., 2006).
Studies have shown that adolescents’ susceptibility to peer pressure is
related to parent–child relationship (B’amaca & Umana-Taylor, 2006) as well
as adolescents’ emotional autonomy from parents (Steinberg & Silverberg,
1986). Furthermore, the literature demonstrates that parent–child relation-
ships affect the development of emotional autonomy from parents (Lamborn
& Steinberg, 1993). Therefore, the current study examined the mediating role
of adolescent emotional autonomy from their parents on the relation between
parent–adolescent relationship and adolescents’ susceptibility to peer pressure.
288 Youth & Society 45(2)

Parent–child relationship is characterized by warmth and control (Maccoby

& Martin, 1983). The significant influence of parental warmth on child devel-
opment is widely accepted. It is regarded as an indication of parental accep-
tance and support (Maccoby & Martin). In general, the research findings
indicate that adolescents’ problem behavior is related negatively to parental
warmth (Crouter & Head, 2002). Although it appears no studies have researched
directly how parental warmth is related to adolescents’ susceptibility to peer
pressure, it is reasonable to assume that parental warmth is conducive to close
parent–child relationship under which adolescents are more receptive to
parental guidance and less susceptible to peer pressure.
Adolescents with warm and supportive parents probably perceive that their
parents care about their well-being and are more likely to internalize their
parents’ teachings (Dekovic, Wissink, & Meijer, 2004). Dekovic and col-
leagues (2004) asserted that adolescents of warm parents are more willing to
talk to their parents about their daily activities, feelings, and thoughts. As a
consequence, such adolescents tend to seek advice and guidance from their
parents rather than their peers.
In the Chinese context, maternal warmth has been found to be related to
children’s emotional adjustment (Chen, Liu, & Li, 2000) with the researchers
concluding that maternal warmth is the primary resource for children in cop-
ing with emotional problems. Parental warmth is also related to family harmony
in Hong Kong families (Lau, Lew, Hau, Cheung, & Berndt, 2003). It is likely
that parental warmth helps create an emotionally secure family climate, which
encourages the adolescent to turn to parents for emotional support when he or
she is in distress. Consequently, we hypothesized that parental warmth would
be related negatively to peer pressure susceptibility.
Another parenting dimension is parental control, which is examined as a
unidimensional construct in many studies (e.g., Lai & McBride-Chang, 2001).
However, parents may exercise control through different means and the effects
of behavioral control and psychological control need to be distinguished
(Barber & Harmon, 2002).
Parental behavioral control is emphasized in studies on parenting and ado-
lescent development (e.g., Maccoby & Martin, 1983). Parental behavioral con-
trol is usually exercised through setting limits on adolescent’s behavior
(Pomerantz & Eaton, 2000). It has been found to be negatively and directly
associated with delinquent behavior as well as indirectly through deviant peer
involvement (Brody, 2003). In addition, adolescents whose parents are per-
missive and neglectful tended not to seek guidance and advice from their par-
ents and are more subject to peer influence (Steinberg, 1987).
Chan and Chan 289

Behavioral control is related to parental demands. Parental control over

the adolescent’s behavior implies that the parent sets demands for the adoles-
cent to follow by providing structure or parameters for his or her behavior.
Here the underlying parental goal is to inculcate into the adolescent a set of
parental or societal standards (Pettit, Laird, Dodge, Bates, & Criss, 2001),
which promote the adolescent’s behavioral competence and self-regulating
abilities. Hypothetically then, it might be expected that adolescents whose
parents exercise behavioral control over them would be less susceptible to
peer pressure.
Studies have reported that Chinese parents tend to control their children
by psychological means (Chan, Bowes, & Wyver, 2009). In contrast to
behavioral control, psychological control refers to control attempts that
intrude into the psychological and emotional world of the adolescent (Barber
& Harmon, 2002) and inhibit the development of independence or self-direction
(Pettit et al., 2001). This kind of parenting is characterized by excessive pro-
tective personal control and infantilization, meaning that parents try to take
care and protect the adolescent as if he or she were an infant. Studies have found
that parental use of psychological control is linked with negative developmental
outcomes such as low self-confidence, low self-esteem, and low self-
reliance (e.g., Garber, Robinson, & Valentiner, 1997). In other words, adoles-
cents with psychologically controlling parents tend to be comparatively
immature, emotionally dependent, and lacking in self-competence. At the
same time, psychological control has been shown to be associated with neg-
ative parent–child relationships (Shek, 2006). Adolescents whose parents
exercise psychological control are likely to turn to their peers rather than
parents for the support and advice they need. We expected that psychologi-
cal control would be associated positively with peer pressure susceptibility.
While peer pressure susceptibility is related to parent–child relationship,
it is also related to adolescents’ emotional autonomy from parents (EAP),
which in turn has been found to be related to parent–child relationships
(Lamborn & Steinberg, 1993). EAP has been reported to be related negatively
to adolescents’ resistance to peer influence and deviant behaviors (B’amaca
& Umana-Taylor, 2006) and willingness to seek assistance or advice from
parents (Ryan & Lynch, 1989). Furthermore, adolescents high on EAP reported
less secure feelings in the family and perceived their parents as less support-
ive and understanding leading Ryan and Lynch (1989) to conclude that EAP
reflects adolescents’ emotional detachment rather than independence from
parents. In other studies, EAP has been related to difficult family relationship
in Spanish adolescents (Parra & Oliva, 2009) and in Hong Kong, EAP has
been related negatively to authoritative parenting style, which is characterized
290 Youth & Society 45(2)

by warm parent–child relationship (Chan & Chan, 2009). Therefore, EAP

may be seen as an indicator of detachment from parents. Since EAP is related
to both parent–child relationship and peer pressure susceptibility, it satisfies
a condition for a mediation model, and consequently we propose that EAP
mediates the influences of parent–child relationship on susceptibility to peer
pressure.
In the Chinese society, the mother is usually the primary caretaker in the
family (Shek, 1998). Therefore, the present study focused on maternal
warmth, behavioral control, and psychological control and the mediating
variable of EAP and their relationships with peer pressure susceptibility.

Research Hypotheses
Hypothesis 1: Peer pressure susceptibility is predicted by maternal
warmth and behavioral control in the negative direction and is pre-
dicted by psychological control in the positive direction.
Hypothesis 2: EAP mediates the influences of maternal warmth, behav-
ioral control, and psychological control on peer pressure susceptibility.

Method
Data were collected through a survey. Information sheets were sent to parents
and parental consent was obtained through the school principals. Students
who agreed to participate were administrated a questionnaire consisting of
three scales in class time to measure adolescents’ susceptibility to peer pressure,
emotional autonomy, and mother–child relationship and some demographic
data. The survey was conducted in the classroom and the time for completion
was approximately 15 minutes.

Participants
The participants were 550 students recruited from three secondary schools
(180, 183, and 187 respectively). In terms of banding of schools, 367 students
(66.7%) were from two Band 1 schools and 183 (33.3%), from a Band 3 school.
In Hong Kong, secondary schools are categorized into Band 1, 2, and 3 based
on the academic achievement of the students, with Band 1 referring to those
of highest academic achievement. Participants’ ages ranged from 12 (52, 9.5%)
to 20 (3, .5%) and there were 9 missing cases. Many students were at the age
of 15 (139, 25.4%) and 14 (101, 18.4%). The mean age was 14.86 and the
standard deviation was 1.82. The age range of the participants corresponds
Chan and Chan 291

to their study level from Secondary 1 to Secondary 4 and 6. There were no

Secondary 5 and Secondary 7 students because they were concentrating on
their studies, preparing for the public examinations. Excluding 9 missing
cases, 270 were male (49.5%) and 276 were female (50.5%). Regarding the
education level of father, excluding 9 missing cases, 119 (24.5%) were at
primary level or below, 318 (65.6%) were at secondary level and 48 (9.9%)
were at university level or above. For the education level of mother, excluding
9 missing cases, 127 (26.2%) were at primary level or below, 329 (68.0%)
were at secondary level and 28 (5.8%) were at university level or above.

Instruments
Susceptibility to Peer Pressure (SPP). The Susceptibility to Peer Pressure Scale
(Sim & Koh, 2003), which consists of 25 items was adopted to measure SPP
(the tendency to follow in an activity directed by peers) in five domains, namely,
peer involvement, school involvement, family involvement, peer norm, and
misconduct. The items were rated on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 (definitely
not) to 4 (definitely yes). Sample items are “Your friends are going to a party
and they ask you to join them. You don’t really like parties, but they tell you
to go anyway. Would you go to the party?” (peer involvement) and “You and
your friends plan to go out after school. However, your teacher gives all of
you a lot of homework to do. Your friends decide to go home and do home-
work instead. You would rather not, but your friends tell you to go home and
do your homework. Would you go home and do your homework?” (school
involvement). Cronbach alpha of the whole scale was .78 and those of the
subscales ranged from .51 to .60. The subscales were also validated by confir-
matory factor analysis with Lisrel 8.5 for Windows. The goodness-of-fit indices
(GFI) show that the subscales have strong construct validity with comparative
fit index (CFI), GFI, and adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI) ranging from
.92 to 1.00, and the RMSEA ranged from .00 to .12.
Emotional autonomy from parents (EAP). Adolescents’ emotional autonomy
from parents was measured by the Emotional Autonomy Scale, which was
developed by Steinberg and Silverberg (1986). The scale has been used in
many empirical studies and is often cited in the research literature. It consists
of 20 items (e.g., “When I become a parent, I’m not going to treat my chil-
dren exactly the same way that my parents have treated me”; “I might be
surprised to see how my parents act at a party”). The items were rated on a
4-point scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). The Cronbach
alpha of the whole scale was .73.
292 Youth & Society 45(2)

Parent–adolescent relationship: maternal warmth, behavioral and psychological

control. Adolescents’ relationship with their mothers was measured in terms
of maternal warmth and mothers’ adoption of behavioral control and psycho-
logical control with the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI; Parker, Tupling,
& Brown, 1979). PBI was first proposed to measure parental warmth and
parental control but was found to measure three factors corresponding to
warmth, behavioral control, and psychological control in a few studies with
non-English-speaking participants (e.g., Reti et al., 2002). In the present study,
the three-factor structure was supported by results of a Principal Components
analysis with Direct Oblimin Rotation (see Table 1).
PBI consists of 25 items. The warmth subscale (13 items) measures the
extent to which the mother is caring versus being indifferent or rejecting
(e.g., “Enjoy talking things over with me”). The behavioral control subscale
(6 items) measures the extent to which the mother exercised control over the
adolescent’s behavior (e.g., “Give me as much freedom as I want”; reverse
coded). The psychological control subscale (6 items) measures the extent to
which the mother is intrusive (e.g., “Try to make me dependent on her or
him”). The participants rated whether behaviors described in each item were
similar to the behaviors of their mothers from 1 (very dissimilar) to 4 (very
similar). In the present study, the Cronbach alphas were .84 for the maternal
warmth subscale, .83 for the maternal control subscale, and .71 for the psy-
chological control subscale.
As the scales used in the study were originally in English, they were first
translated into Chinese by an educational psychology lecturer and then were
moderated by a panel of two educational psychology lecturers. All the three
lecturers are Chinese native speakers and are experienced in teaching psy-
chology in both English and Chinese at university level. Discussion and
agreement within the panel were sought to establish face validity of the con-
tent items of the scales.

Results
The means and standard deviations of subscales of SPP, maternal warmth,
behavioral control, psychological control, and EAP and correlational analy-
ses results are shown in Table 2. The t test analyses showed that, at the sig-
nificant level of .001, students were most susceptible to peer pressure in
domains of peer involvement, followed by family involvement, peer norms,
and then school involvement and they were least susceptible to peer pressure
in the domain of misconduct.
Chan and Chan 293

Table 1. Factor Loadings for Items of the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI).

Factor loadings

Items  F1 F2 F3
Item 6 .80  
Item 12 .80  
Item 1 .77  
Item 11 .74  
Item 17 .69  
Item 4a −.67  
Item 18a −.66  
Item 5 .64  
Item 24a −.63  
Item 16a −.61  
Item 14a −.56  
Item 2a −.41  
Item 10 −.37  
Item 22a −.82  
Item 21a −.80  
Item 25a −.67  
Item 7a −.63  
Item 15a −.62  
Item 3a .32 −.61  
Item 19 .71
Item 13 .70
Item 23 .66
Item8 .62
Item 20 .31 .44
Item 9 −.36 .40

Note: Principal-components method of extraction with Direct Oblimin rotation was used to
obtain the factor loadings. F1 corresponds to parental warmth; F2 corresponds to behavioral
control; F3 corresponds to psychological control. Loadings smaller than .30 are not shown.
a. reversed items.

With regard to mother–adolescent relationship, the means of both warmth

(M = 2.78, SD = .52) and behavioral control (M = 2.37, SD = .63) were slightly
above the midpoint, whereas the mean of psychological control (M = 2.03,
SD = .53) was below the midpoint on the 4-point scale. The mean value of
EAP was 2.69 (SD = .29) which was slightly higher than the midpoint of the
294 Youth & Society 45(2)

Table 2. Means, Standard Deviations and Correlations Among Variables.

Variables M SD 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1. SPP-PI 2.48 .41 .14** .21*** .21*** .42*** −.04 .00 .08 .16***
2. SPP-SI 2.05 .40 .48*** .48*** .25*** −.21*** .05 .13** .23***
3. SPP-M 1.89 .46 .45*** .22*** −.25*** .12** .20*** .30***
4. SPP-FI 2.17 .45 .18*** −.35*** .02 .11* .40***
5. SPP-PN 2.14 .36 −.02 −.03 .11* −.02
6. Parental 2.78 .52 −.41*** −.34*** −.50***
warmth
7. Behavioral 2.37 .63 .42*** .21***
control
8. Psychological 2.03 .53 .19***
control
9. EAP 2.69 .29  

Note: SPP-PI = susceptibility to peer pressure in domain of peer involvement; SPP-SI = sus-
ceptibility to peer pressure in domain of school involvement; SPP-M = susceptibility to peer
pressure in domain of misconduct; SPP-FI = susceptibility to peer pressure in domain of family
involvement; SPP-PN = susceptibility to peer pressure in domain of peer norm.
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

4-point scale, indicating that participants were not high in emotional auton-
omy from parents.
With reference to the first research hypothesis, structural equal modeling
(SEM) was conducted with LISREL 8.5 to test whether maternal warmth,
behavior control, and psychological control had direct effects on peer pres-
sure susceptibility (Model 1). The indices of goodness of fit are χ2 = 2548.36,
df = 1109, p < .001; CFI = .92; NNFI = .92; RMSEA = .053. The indices
indicated a good fit model (Hair, Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2010). As pre-
dicted, behavioral control and psychological control had significant nega-
tive and positive direct effects respectively on susceptibility in all domains.
With regard to maternal warmth, the SEM results indicated that it had mar-
ginally significant positive effects on peer norms, β = .49, p = .05. Thus the
first hypothesis was only partially confirmed. Results of Model 1 are depicted
in Figure 1.
To test the second research hypothesis, structural equal modeling was con-
ducted again with EAP added as the mediator (Model 2). Multiple fit indices
support that the model had a good fit, χ2 = 4850.26, df =2266, p < .001; CFI =
.91; NNFI= .90; RMSEA= .050 (Hair et al., 2010). The mediation model
showed that EAP mediated only the effects of maternal warmth, but not
Chan and Chan 295

Peer
.30 involvement
Maternal -1.83**
warmth 2.15**
.30 School
involvement
-2.95**
3.33**
Maternal - .08 Family
control - -2.60** involvement
2.77**
.49*
-2.80**
Peer norms
Psychological 2.45**
control -2.63** .29
3.14**
Misconduct

Figure 1. Model 1 with warmth, maternal control, and psychological control

predicting susceptibility to peer pressure.

behavioral control and psychology control, on susceptibility. Therefore, the

second research hypothesis was also only partly confirmed. In the mediation
model, maternal warmth predicted EAP in the negative direction, β = –.67, p <
.001and EAP predicted susceptibility in peer involvement, β = .34, p < .01,
school involvement, β = .55, p < .01, family involvement, β = .78, p < .001, and
misconduct, β = .59, p < .01, all in the positive direction (see Figure 2).

Discussion
The present study examined susceptibility to peer pressure as related to
parent–adolescent relationship within a Chinese sample. It was found that the
adolescents in the present study were not highly susceptible to peer pressure.
Results showed that adolescents’ emotional autonomy from parents mediated
the relationships between maternal warmth and adolescents’ susceptibility to
peer pressure in all domains except peer norms. Behavioral control and psy-
chological control had direct but opposite effects on adolescents’ susceptibil-
ity to peer pressure.
Adolescents in the present study reported that their susceptibility to peer
pressure was not high. Among different domains of activities, they were more
susceptible to peer influences in peer activities, peer norms, and family
296 Youth & Society 45(2)

Maternal Peer
warmth involvement
-.67*** .34**

School
.55** involvement

Maternal -.12
Emotional autonomy
control from parents
.78***
(EAP) Family
involvement
.10
.01
Peer norms
Psychological .59**
control

Misconduct

Figure 2. Model 2 with EAP mediating the effects of warmth, maternal control, and
psychological control on susceptibility to peer pressure.

activities but were less susceptible to peer influences in the areas of miscon-
duct and school activities.
Regarding the influences of parent–adolescent relationship, the effects of
parental control on adolescent development have been widely researched.
However, in many of these studies, the effects of behavioral and psychologi-
cal control are not differentiated (e.g., Lai & McBride-Chang, 2001). The
present study helps to clarify the effects of the two types of parental control
and confirms that although both types of control had direct effects on adoles-
cents’ conformity to peer pressure, their effects were in opposite directions.
The results of Model 1 showed that both behavioral and psychological
control affected SPP directly rather than through EAP. When the mother exer-
cised more behavioral control on the adolescent, the adolescent was less sus-
ceptible to peer influences in matters involving peers, family and school
activities, peer norms, as well as misconducts. The opposite was true for ado-
lescents whose mother tried to control them with psychological means,
including induction of anxiety and guilt, infantilization, and overprotection.
It seems that the more the mother exercised psychological control, the more
she pushed her adolescent to his or her peers for reference and assurance of
values and behavioral standards. As noted earlier, adolescence is a stage of
Chan and Chan 297

psychosocial moratorium during which the individual searches for an identity

through experimentation and experiencing (Erikson, 1968). Since psychologi-
cally controlling parents tend to “inhibit the child’s discovery and expression
of self” (Barber & Harmon, 2002, p. 21), their behaviors could deter the identity-
forming process. In such cases, the adolescent fails to develop abilities of mak-
ing independent judgment and decision, and turns to their peers as a source of
assurance and reference group.
In the mediation model (Model 2), EAP mediated only the influence of
maternal warmth on SPP in the domains of peer involvement, school involve-
ment, family involvement, and misconduct but not peer norms. This indicates
when the adolescent perceived the mother as low in warmth, he or she reported
a more detached relationship with their mother which, in turn, predicted higher
susceptibility to peer pressure in these domains. It is natural that when the
mother is warm and the relationship to their offspring is close, the mother is
more influential in family activities. Concerning peer activities such as going
to karaoke or sleeping outside with friends, the adolescent might be willing
to take the warm mother’s advice because these activities are related to influ-
ences of bad companions and personal safety. Regarding school involvement
and misconduct, both are considered as something of great consequences
because academic achievement is highly regarded in Chinese culture (Lin &
Fu, 1990) and misconduct is related to regulations, laws, and moral standards.
However, when it comes to the domain of peer norms, even the warm mother
who maintained close relationship with the adolescent could not exercise
greater influence than the adolescent’s peers. Adolescents have different atti-
tudes toward parents’ influences in personal domains and conventional or pru-
dential issues (Nucci, 1996) and it is likely that adolescents in the present
study perceived studying, moral rules and laws as prudential/conventional in
nature (Hasebe, Nucci, & Nucci, 2004) and were more willing to follow the
warm mother’s guidance in these areas. In contrast, they might regard peer
norms related to hairstyle, music, or idols as matters of personal choice and
preference and did not want their mother to intervene. Adolescents’ resis-
tance to mothers’ control over their personal domains reflects that they strive
to establish the boundaries between the self and others, which is part of their
process of searching for an identity (Nucci, 1996). They would likely per-
ceive parent’s attempts to control in the personal sphere as intrusion rather
than guidance (Hasebe et al., 2004).
One finding worthy of discussion is that adolescents’ perception of behav-
ioral and psychological control exercised by their mothers was correlated
negatively with maternal warmth but positively with EAP. It is not surprising
that adolescents would perceive their mothers as low in warmth and feel
298 Youth & Society 45(2)

detached from their parents when they perceive them as overprotective and
intrusive. Previous studies have reported that psychological control leads to
negative parent–child relationship (e.g., Shek, 2006). The negative relation-
ship between behavioral control and mother–adolescent relationship indi-
cates that it is difficult for parents, particularly mothers, to seek a balance
between maintaining good relationships with their teenagers and monitoring
their behaviors.
Stattin and Kerr (2000) reported that parents’ monitoring efforts help to
keep youths away from deviant peers only when they voluntarily disclose to
their parents information concerning their peers and activities and suggested
that parent–adolescent communication rather than parental monitoring helps
prevent adolescents’ deviant behaviors. Western studies show that adoles-
cents of warm parents are more willing to communicate with their parents
about their daily activities, feelings, and thinking and less willing to do any-
thing that may compromise the good relationship with their parents (Dekovic
et al., 2004; Stattin & Kerr, 2000). It implies that quality parental influence is
exerted through maintaining warm relationship and hinges on good communi-
cation with the developing adolescent. However, in the present study, although
behavioral control was related positively to EAP, it had negative direct pre-
dictive power over peer pressure susceptibility. One possible explanation is
that Chinese highly value filial piety and Chinese adolescents are willing to
follow the guidance of their mothers who make effort to set rules and regula-
tions for them. It is also suggested that further research should be conducted
to examine, with Chinese adolescents, whether the effects of parental behav-
ioral control would be moderated by parent–child communication.
We acknowledge that there are some limitations of the study. First of all,
the self-reported and cross-sectional nature of the data do not allow causal
conclusion. Future studies should collect data from multisources. For example,
parent–adolescent relationship could be reported by both parents and chil-
dren and peer pressure susceptibility could be collected from both adoles-
cents and their peers. To gain more support for causal inference, it is also
suggested that future studies should adopt a longitudinal design, which allows
investigation into the developmental trend in the nature of parent–adolescent
relationships, emotional autonomy from parents, and peer pressure suscepti-
bility from early to late adolescence.
Another limitation of the present study is that only perceptions of maternal
parenting practices were examined. Studies have shown that paternal and
maternal parenting have different effects on development (e.g., Chang,
Schwartz, Dodge, & McBride-Chang, 2003). It is therefore possible that the
parenting practices that were proposed to predict susceptibility to peer pressure
Chan and Chan 299

were not fully captured. However, since the mother is usually the primary
caretaker in Chinese families, the present study still contributes further
knowledge to the area of susceptibility to peer pressure.
Despite the limitations discussed above, the current study has contributed
both insights to future research and implications for parenting programs. The
present findings suggest that when examining the effects of parental control
on adolescent development, it is important to make the distinction between
behavioral control and psychological control. Regarding the former, research-
ers should look into the separate and joint effects of parental monitoring and
parent–adolescent communication on peer pressure susceptibility. Another
suggestion is related to the EAP construct. The descriptive statistics of the
scale suggest that further research is needed to clarify the meaning of the
construct in the Chinese cultural context. The small standard deviation (0.29)
suggests that there is little variation of this construct within the current sam-
ple of Chinese adolescents. Since Chinese culture value intergeneration
dependence and filial piety and Chinese parents believe that they should devote
themselves to the well-being of their children (Chan et al., 2009), the concept
of emotional autonomy from parents may denote different meaning in the
Chinese culture. Further studies would help to shed light on the meaning of this
construct in Chinese societies.
Concerning parenting programs, it is suggested that professionals should
help parents be aware of the distinction between personal and prudential/
conventional domains and understand that adolescents view matters in per-
sonal domains as a matter of preference. Parents should accept that their
influence in personal domains is comparatively lower than that of adolescents’
peers. Social workers may help parents to learn to relax their control if the
adolescent behaviors fall in the personal domains rather than the moral
domains. Parents should also understand that if they aspire to have influence
on their adolescents when they face peer pressure, they have to be warm,
maintain good communication with them and, at the same time, set limits to
help foster self-regulation abilities.
Furthermore, while previous studies have reported that Chinese mothers
tend to adopt psychologically controlling parenting (Chan et al., 2009), the
present findings show that psychological control was associated with adoles-
cents’ susceptibility to peer pressure when their peers persuaded them to fol-
low their norms and transgress rules and regulations. Chinese parents,
particularly those who value filial piety and believe that taking care of the
child should be the sole concern of parents, tend to control their children with
psychological means such as withdrawal of love and induction of guilty feel-
ing (Chan et al., 2009). Parenting programs should aim to raise awareness of
300 Youth & Society 45(2)

the possible harmful effects of adopting psychological control strategies

in the development of parent–adolescent relationships.

Acknowledgments
The kind assistance of the school principals and the participation of the students are
gratefully acknowledged.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was supported by a grant from
the Hong Kong Institute of Education to the authors (A878).

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Author Biographies
Siu Mui Chan is assistant professor in department of psychological studies, Hong
Kong Institute of Education. Dr Chan’s research interests focuse on socio-emotional
development and topics include coping strategies, child and adolescent depression,
shyness and attribution.

Kwok-Wai Chan was senior lecturer in the Hong Kong Institute of Education from
1994 to 2007. Dr Chan has published extensively on the topic of epistemological
beliefs learning motivation and adolescent emotional autonomy and he now serves as
reviewer for different journals.