Parenting Style and Cyber-Aggression in Chinese Youth: The Role of Moral Disengagement and Moral Identity

Filial beliefs reduce aggression in different cultures: A conditional process model

The dual filial piety model divides filial piety beliefs into two types: reciprocal and authoritarian filial piety beliefs (RFP vs. AFP) in terms of attitude, emotion, and obligation towards parents. Previous studies have shown that these two types of filial piety beliefs related to different psychological outcomes. Literature also suggests that some aspects of the function of filial piety beliefs may be a cultural universal. This research aimed to test the effects of filial piety beliefs on aggression using participants from two cultures (Chinese vs. Islamic). We further explored the mediating role of moral disengagement, forgiveness, and self-control between filial piety beliefs and aggression, and the moderating role of culture. The results showed that moral disengagement, forgiveness, and self-control played mediating roles in the relationship between filial piety beliefs and aggression. The functions of filial piety beliefs showed both similarities and differences across cultures. (1) RFP was negatively associated with aggression in both cultures, while AFP was negatively associated with aggression only among Muslim participants. (2) RFP can reduce the aggression of Chinese participants through moral disengagement, forgiveness, and self-control; while the RFP of Muslim participants can reduce their aggressiveness only through forgiveness. (3) AFP enhanced aggression via moral disengagement and reduced self-control among; Chinese participants, but reduced aggression via self-control among Muslim participants. Findings of this study confirmed that the functions of RFP show more similarities than differences across cultures, while functions of AFP do the opposite.

Lagged Effect of Parental Warmth on Child-to-Parent Violence through Moral Disengagement Strategies

Empirical evidence supports the simultaneous relationship between parental warmth and child-to-parent violence (CPV). However, no studies analyze the lagged effects of perceived parental warmth and the potential impact of cognitive mechanisms legitimizing immoral behavior on this relationship. This study aimed to examine the mediating role of moral disengagement strategies (reconstruction of immoral behavior, obscuring personal responsibility, misrepresenting injurious consequences, and blaming the victim) in the relationship between the perceived paternal and maternal warmth dimensions (warmth-communication and criticism-rejection) during childhood and CPV towards the father and mother. The sample included 2122 Spanish adolescents (57.7% female) aged 13 to 18 years. The Child-to-Parent Violence Questionnaire (CPV-Q), the Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement Scale (MMDS-S), and the Warmth Scale were used as assessment instruments. The results indicate that paternal and maternal warmth-communication is negatively associated with CPV, whereas paternal and maternal criticism-rejection and moral disengagement strategies are positively related to CPV. The mediation models show that the reconstruction of immoral behavior plays a crucial mediation role in the relationship between paternal and maternal warmth-communication and CPV as well as in the relationship between maternal criticism-rejection and CPV. The results emphasize the necessity of early prevention programs for parents promoting positive parenting practices, including parental warmth, to foster children's adaptive socio-cognitive development. In addition, addressing moral disengagement in adolescents could help prevent or stop a pattern of violent behavior toward parents.

The Effect of Parenting Practices on Creativity: Mediating Role of Psychological Resilience

Aim

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between parenting practices and creativity (both general and malignant creativity) in a representative sample of college students in China, and to explore the potential mediating role of resilience.

Methods

The study was conducted among 1201 Chinese college students who completed questionnaires on parenting practices, creativity, and resilience. The parenting practices were assessed using the short-form Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran for Chinese, while creativity was measured using the Malevolent Creativity Behavior Scale and the Runco Ideational Behavior Scale. The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale was used to assess resilience.

Results

The results showed that parental warmth had a positive correlation with general creativity, but a negative correlation with malevolent creativity. In contrast, parental rejection and over-protection had a negative correlation with general creativity, but a positive correlation with malevolent creativity. Furthermore, resilience fully mediated the relationship between emotional warmth, rejection, and general creativity, and partially mediated the relationship between over-protection and general creativity and between all parenting practices and malevolent creativity.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that parenting practices have a significant impact on creativity, and the type of creativity manifested may depend on the specific parenting practices. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of resilience as a potential mediator in the relationship between parenting practices and creativity. The implications of these findings for parenting practices and interventions to foster creativity and resilience are discussed.

Parenting Styles and Moral Disengagement in Young Adults: The Mediating Role of Attachment Experiences

Research on parenting styles and attachment experiences has paid little attention to the dimensions of moral development. It is, therefore, interesting to explore the relationship between parenting styles, internal working models of attachment, and the development of moral skills, in terms of moral disengagement. The study involved 307 young people (aged 19-25 years), and the dimensions examined were: parental styles (measured by the PSDQ: Tagliabue et al., 2014); attachment styles (ECR: Picardi et al., 2002); moral disengagement (MDS: Caprara et al., 2006). Results showed that the authoritative parenting style is negatively correlated with the two measures of attachment styles (anxiety and avoidance) and moral disengagement. The authoritarian and permissive styles are positively correlated with the two measures of attachment styles (anxiety and avoidance) and moral disengagement. Results also revealed a significant indirect effect of the authoritative style (b = -0.433, 95% BCa, CI [-0.882, -0.090]) and authoritarian style (b = -0.661, 95% BCa, CI [.230, 1.21]) on moral disengagement through anxiety. A serial mediation of anxiety and avoidance on the relationship between permissive style and moral disengagement (b = .077, 95% BCa, CI [.0006, .206]) is significant.

Gender Differences in the Associations Between Perceived Parenting Styles and Young Adults' Cyber Dating Abuse

Existing literature indicates that parenting styles affect the development of cyber aggression in offspring differently, depending on the gender of children. The present study investigates whether mothers' and fathers' parenting styles show similar gender differences in their associations with a new form of dating violence, i.e., cyber dating abuse (CDA). The limited evidence on the issue focuses on the relation that each parenting style has with CDA perpetration, without considering CDA victimization and the joint effects of fathers' and mothers' parenting styles. The present study contributes to the research on gender differences in parenting by examining whether young adults' perceptions of maternal and paternal parenting styles during childhood were independently and/or jointly related to their perpetrated and suffered CDA and whether these relations differed across young adults' gender. In total, 351 young adults (50.7% men), age between 18 and 35 years and having a romantic relationship, completed online self-reports of the variables of interest that include a bidimensional measure of perpetrated/suffered CDA that assess aggression and control. Results showed that maternal authoritarian parenting was uniquely and positively associated to their children's perpetration and victimization of cyber dating control, whereas maternal permissive parenting was uniquely and positively related to their children's perpetration of cyber dating aggression and victimization of cyber dating control. For daughters, these associations were stronger when the father's style was similar to the mother's one or when a maternal authoritarian style combined with a paternal permissive style, thus indicating that the two parents' parenting styles interact in relating to their daughters' CDA.

Chaos May Prevail Without Filial Piety: A Cross-Cultural Study on Filial Piety, the Dark Triad, and Moral Disengagement

In traditional Chinese society, filial piety (FP) served as the philosophical foundation of social governance, without which chaos would prevail. It indicates that the function of FP is not limited to family. FP can predict attitudes and behaviors in other social contexts. This study examined the relationship between FP and moral disengagement, and the mediating roles of the dark triad personality, and cultural differences regarding these mechanisms. An online self-report survey was conducted in two different culture groups- university students from China (N = 400, 37% male, Mage = 20.41, SD age = 2.52) and Islamic countries who are studying in China (N = 378, 59.25% male, Mage = 24.29, SD age = 4.77). Correlation analysis showed that authoritarian FP was positively associated with moral disengagement among students from China and Islamic countries, while reciprocal FP only negatively correlated with moral disengagement among Chinese students. Moreover, reciprocal FP directly and negatively affected moral disengagement, and did so indirectly through the mediating role of Machiavellianism. However, authoritarian FP directly and positively influenced moral disengagement, and did so indirectly through the buffering role of narcissism. These two parallel mediating models are not affected by culture. Though FP varies from culture to culture, reciprocal FP and authoritarian FP play critical roles in influencing personality and moral development. Reciprocal FP reduces moral disengagement directly and indirectly by weakening Machiavellianism. The role of authoritarian FP is conflicting. It can strengthen moral disengagement, but may also weaken it by deterring the development of the narcissistic personality. The findings enlighten us to view authoritarian FP dialectically. These two parallel mediating models are not affected by culture, indicating the applicability of DFPM in other societies. Future studies are encouraged to involve participants from more divergent countries and cultural backgrounds.