Parent–Child Interdependence in Chinese Families: Change and Continuity

With rapid economic growth, the parent–child relations in Chinese families have shifted from an emphasis on material reciprocity to an emphasis on psychological interdependence. Western academia and media tend to believe that interdependence is associated with economic hardship and to view individualism as the end of family transformation. However, based on cross–cultural and indigenous studies, we argue that the transformation of Chinese intrafamilial relationships preserves the essence of the Confucian doctrine of filial piety and the philosophical view of a relational self. The transformed parent–child interdependence facilitates the child’s adaptation to the present and future Chinese society.