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Cited by 14Psychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionPsychosocial Factors Impacting YouthChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Parental expectations and adolescents’ happiness: the role of self-efficacy and connectedness

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Zhang, Feng, Yang, Rui·2025·BMC Psychology
DOI 10.1186/s40359-025-02345-4PMC PMC11721572
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: A happy adolescent may live a healthy and successful life. This study focused on parental expectations in the Chinese cultural context and investigated whether and under what conditions adolescents' perceived parental expectations are associated with their happiness, the affective component of subjective well-being. SAMPLE AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study included a sample of 1510 Chinese adolescents; the average age of the adolescents was 12.39 years, and 55.40% were boys. A questionnaire including the perceived parental expectations scale, self-efficacy scale, connectedness subscale and one item that measured happiness was administered to the adolescents. RESULTS: The results reveal that self-efficacy moderates the relationship between perceived parental expectations and happiness. For adolescents who exhibit higher levels of self-efficacy, perceived parental expectations are negatively correlated with happiness; in contrast, for adolescents who exhibit lower levels of self-efficacy, perceived parental expectations are not related to happiness. Moreover, the results reveal that connectedness moderates the relationship between perceived parental expectations and happiness. Among adolescents who exhibit higher levels of connectedness, a nonsignificant relationship is observed between perceived parental expectations and happiness; in contrast, among adolescents who exhibit lower levels of connectedness, perceived parental expectations are negatively related to happiness. CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals that, under conditions featuring higher levels of self-efficacy or lower levels of connectedness, perceived parental expectations are not conducive to their happiness. These findings have important implications with regard to parenting practices.

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  • High parental expectations frequently lead to increased stress and anxiety, undermining well-being.

    “However, they also frequently lead to increased stress and anxiety, undermining well-being [15–18].”

    From Parental expectation and psychological distress of Chinese youth: the chain mediating effects of core self-worth and perceived stress (2025) · cites this paper as [16]

    The Background section reports prior findings linking high parental expectations to test stress and excessive emphasis on grades to anxiety. But the Discussion says this study found no strong overall correlation with adolescents’ happiness; it suggests well-being may be undermined particularly for adolescents with higher self-efficacy or weaker connectedness. The source therefore supports a possible adverse effect, not the claim that high expectations frequently cause stress and anxiety and undermine well-being. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • In Chinese (Confucian) culture, young people's self-concepts are deeply tied to family and academic success, making parental expectations part of the student's identity and goals.

    “in Chinese (Confucian) culture, young people’s self-concepts are deeply tied to family and academic success. As Zhang and Yang (2025) noted, cultural norms make parental expectations part of the student’s identity and goals [16].”

    From Parental expectation and psychological distress of Chinese youth: the chain mediating effects of core self-worth and perceived stress (2025) · cites this paper as [16]

    The Background links Confucian family obligations and family honor to Chinese parents’ expectations for academic and career success. The Discussion > Implications says adolescents are expected to fulfill those expectations and pursue goals stipulated by their parents. Neither passage establishes that parental expectations become part of adolescents’ self-concepts or identities. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Authors
Zhang, F., & Yang, R.
Affiliations
Southwest Jiaotong University (CN)
Corresponding author
Yang, Rui
ORCID
Zhang, Feng
Venue
BMC Psychology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2025-01-09
Volume
13
Issue
1
Pages
24-24
ISSN
2050-7283 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s40359-025-02345-4
PMC
PMC11721572
OpenAlex
W4406230528
Cited by
14
References
96
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 8
FWCI
15.29
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • BMC Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • Sichuan Mental Health Education Research Center Key project (XLJKJY2408A)
  • Southwest Jiaotong University New Interdisciplinary Cultivation Fund (2682024ZDPY002)
  • Sichuan Province Philosophy and Social Science Planning ‘Key Research Base Project’ in 2023 (WQ113024P04001)
  • Key Research Base for Philosophy and Social Sciences in Sichuan Province in 2022: Mental Health Education Research Project (WQ113022Z01004)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Psychosocial Factors Impacting Youth
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Keywords
parental expectations, adolescent happiness, self-efficacy, social connectedness, subjective well-being, moderating effect, parenting practices, Chinese adolescents
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Child, China, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Happiness, Humans, Male, Parent-Child Relations, Parents, Surveys and Questionnaires, Self Efficacy

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