Filial Piety and Adolescent Development in East Asian Contexts

Filial piety, rooted in Confucian ethics, remains a foundational principle shaping parent–child relations and youth development across East Asia. Contemporary research conceptualises filial piety through a dual framework that distinguishes between reciprocal filial piety—driven by gratitude, affection and voluntary care—and authoritarian filial piety—underpinned by duty, hierarchy and compliance. Throughout adolescence, these modes of filial belief interact with autonomy, identity formation and socioemotional well-being. Reciprocal filial piety has consistently been linked to positive outcomes such as life satisfaction, academic engagement and adaptive conflict resolution, whereas authoritarian filial piety shows more nuanced associations, sometimes safeguarding against high-risk behaviours yet at other times undermining autonomy and subjective well-being. Scholars have also examined how educational expectations, parental control and culturally specific parenting styles modulate these effects. Across diverse East Asian settings, filial norms not only inform individual development but also carry implications for educational policy, mental health interventions and cross-cultural exchanges in an increasingly globalised youth landscape.

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Filial Piety and Adolescent Development in East Asian Contexts publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in filial piety and adolescent development in east asian contexts across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Filial piety: A cultural norm prescribing respect, care and obedience toward one’s parents.

Dual Filial Piety Model: A theoretical framework distinguishing reciprocal and authoritarian modes of filial belief.

Reciprocal filial piety: A voluntary, gratitude-based orientation characterised by affection and mutual care.

Authoritarian filial piety: A duty-bound orientation emphasising hierarchical obedience and compliance.

Autonomy: The capacity to govern one’s own actions and make self-endorsed choices.

Guan parenting: A culturally specific East Asian style involving high parental involvement, guidance and monitoring.

References

1. The Relationship Between Dual Filial Piety and Mental Disorders and Symptoms Among Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Quantitative and Qualitative Studies. Adolescent Research Review (2024).
2. Asian “Guan” Parenting and Life Satisfaction Among Adolescents in Malaysia: The Mediating Role of Filial Piety. Frontiers in Psychology (2021).
3. The Relationship Between Filial Piety and the Academic Achievement and Subjective Wellbeing of Chinese Early Adolescents: The Moderated Mediation Effect of Educational Expectations. Frontiers in Psychology (2022).