Chinese Mothers and Adolescents’ Views of Authority and Autonomy: A Study of Parent–Adolescent Conflict in Urban and Rural China

Eighty-five dyads of eighth-grade adolescents (mean age=14.15 years, SD=0.39) and their mothers in China (30 dyads from urban one-child families, 27 from urban multiple-children families, and 28 from rural multiple-children families) were interviewed individually. They described daily parent-adolescent conflicts, justified their perspectives on disputes, and evaluated conflict resolutions. The results indicated that across urban and rural areas, for both one-child and multiple-children families, adolescents differed significantly from their mothers in their views of parental authority and individual autonomy. The results also showed several regional differences, pointing to the importance of considering the specific context in which conflicts occur.