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Conceptions of Adolescence: Implications for Differences in Engagement in School Over Early Adolescence in the United States and China

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Abstract

American youth are more prone to storm and stress during adolescence than are Chinese youth (e.g., American youth’s engagement in school declines more). However, it is unclear why. This research examined differences in conceptions of adolescence in the United States and China. Using both open- and closed-ended measures, youth (N = 397; 50 % female; mean age = 13.19 years) reported on their views of teens. American (vs. Chinese) youth were more likely to see adolescence as a time of decreased family responsibility along with increased individuation from parents, school disengagement, and peer orientation. Conceptions of adolescence as a time of dampened family responsibility and heightened school disengagement contributed to American (vs. Chinese) youth being less engaged in school over the seventh and eighth grades. The findings suggest that culture shapes ideas about adolescence, which contribute to differences in American and Chinese youth’s engagement in school over this phase.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by National Science Foundation Grant BCS 1023170. We appreciate the constructive comments on an earlier version of this article provided by members of the Center for Parent–Child Studies at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Author Contributions

YQ was involved in developing the hypothesis motivating the reported research. He also took a major role in designing the measures, collecting the data in the United States and China, and conducting the data analyses. He drafted the manuscript as well. EP was also involved in hypothesis development, measure design, data analysis, and manuscript preparation. MW was responsible for data collection in China. CC was involved in designing the broader study and collecting data in the United States. AC was involved in hypothesis and measure development in regards to the conceptions of adolescence. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA

    Yang Qu, Eva M. Pomerantz & Andrei Cimpian

  2. Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China

    Meifang Wang

  3. University of California at Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA

    Cecilia Cheung

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  1. Yang Qu
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  2. Eva M. Pomerantz
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  3. Meifang Wang
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  4. Cecilia Cheung
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yang Qu.

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Conflicts of Interest

The authors report no conflict of interests.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed assent was obtained from all individual youth in the study; informed consent was provided by their mothers.

Appendix: Closed-Ended Conceptions of Adolescence Measure

Appendix: Closed-Ended Conceptions of Adolescence Measure

Instructions: To what extent do you think each of the descriptions below is true of TEENS MORE than younger children. For each item, shade in the circle that shows how much you think it is more true of teens (right side of the scale), more true of younger children (left side of the scale), or equally true of the two (mid-point of the scale).

Individuation from parents

  1. 1.

    Constantly point out parents’ faults.

  2. 2.

    Argue often with parents.

  3. 3.

    Easily become angry with parents.

  4. 4.

    Want to be independent from parents.

  5. 5.

    Demand to make decisions without parents’ input.

  6. 6.

    Rebel against parents.

Family responsibility

  1. 1.

    Work hard to meet parents’ expectations.

  2. 2.

    Disrespectful of parents (reverse-scored).

  3. 3.

    Concerned with parents’ approval.

  4. 4.

    Care little about fulfilling family obligations (reverse-scored).

  5. 5.

    Act as responsible members of the family.

  6. 6.

    Rarely comply with parents’ requests (reverse-scored).

School disengagement

  1. 1.

    Uninterested in schoolwork.

  2. 2.

    Don’t care very much about school.

  3. 3.

    Excited about what they are learning in school (reverse-scored).

  4. 4.

    Pay little attention in class.

  5. 5.

    See schoolwork as important (reverse-scored).

  6. 6.

    Put a lot of effort into school (reverse-scored).

Peer orientation

  1. 1.

    Want to spend most of their time with friends.

  2. 2.

    Want to fit in with other kids.

  3. 3.

    See friends as an important part of their lives.

  4. 4.

    Very concerned with what other kids think.

  5. 5.

    Enjoy being with friends more than adults.

  6. 6.

    Easily influenced by other kids.

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Qu, Y., Pomerantz, E.M., Wang, M. et al. Conceptions of Adolescence: Implications for Differences in Engagement in School Over Early Adolescence in the United States and China. J Youth Adolescence 45, 1512–1526 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0492-4

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