Self-concept And Parental Rearing Style And Their Relationships In Primary And Secondary School Students

Objective To study the development, influencing factors and relationships of self-concept and parental rearing style in primary and secondary school students, and to provide evidence for exploring the suitable parental rearing style and cultivating well self-concept of students.Method A stratified cluster sample of 319 students from fourth grade in primary school to first grade in high school, totalling 7 classes, one class out of one grade, were investigated with Piers-Harris Children's Self-concept Scale (PHCSS) and Egna Minnen Betr(a|¨)ffande Uppfostran (EMBU). Descriptive statistics, t test, analysis of variance and correlation analysis were used to process all data.Results 1. Inter-grade differences existed in the total score of self-concept and its subscales except popularity, with the maxima in the sixth grade pupils. The scores of parents' emotional warmth were higher in pupils than in junior middle school students, while the lowest scores of father's punishment and parents' rejection were both in sixth grade pupils. 2. The scores of girls' physical appearance, lack of anxiety and happiness were lower than boys'; Only children's total scores of self-concept and the scores of lack of anxiety were higher than non-only children's; Total scores of self-concept and the scores of intellect status and lack of anxiety were highest in children of college-education-background mothers'. 3. The scores of father's punishment and rejection were higher in boys than in girls; The scores of father's emotional warmth were higher in only children than in non-only children; The scores of parents' emotional warmth were higher in college-education-background parents than in primary school or illiterate ones, as well as higher in intellectual parents than in farmer or worker parents. 4. Self-concept in primary and secondary school students was positively correlated to their parents' emotional warmth, and negatively correlated to nearly all of their parents' punishment and rejection. All differences were significant (P<0.05). Conclusions 1. Self-concept in primary and secondary school students displays a curvilinear development, while parental rearing style also develops with change of children's grade. 2. Student's gender, only child or not, and educational level and occupation of parent show various influences over self-concept and parental rearing style in primary and secondary school students. 3. Parents and children interact with each other. Positive and negative parental rearing styles correspond with higher and lower level of self-concept respectively in primary and secondary school students.