Hostname: page-component-76d6cb85b7-s74w7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-07-15T14:34:06.842Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Hidden cultures: How parental control shapes children’s cultural adaptation in East Asian societies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2026

Xiaoxue Kong  and
Xuechen Ding Open the ORCID record for Xuechen Ding [Opens in a new window]
Xiaoxue Kong
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, Canada xiaoxue.kong@unbc.ca https://www.unbc.ca/people/kong-dr-xiaoxue-sonia
Xuechen Ding*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China dingxuechen@shnu.edu.cn https://teacher.shnu.edu.cn/psy/dxc/list.htm
*
*Corresponding author.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Lew-Levy and Amir highlight children as agents of cultural adaptation and widespread presence of peer cultures across populations, but their account underestimates peer culture in East Asian societies. Drawing on East Asian contexts, we show how strict family, school, and social structures lead peer culture to take on more covert forms, underscoring the need for broader cross-cultural perspectives.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e237
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Chen, X., Rubin, K. H., Li, B., & Li, D. (1999). Adolescent outcomes of social functioning in Chinese children. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 23(1), 199–223. https://doi.org/10.1080/016502599384071.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunne, M. P., Sun, J., Do Nguyen, N., Truc, T. T., Loan, K. X., & Dixon, J. (2010). The influence of educational pressure on the mental health of adolescents in East Asia: methods and tools for research. Journal of Science Hue University, 61, 109–122. https://hueuni.edu.vn/portal/data/doc/tapchi/61_10.pdf.Google Scholar
Farrall, K. (2012). Online collectivism, individualism and anonymity in East Asia. Surveillance and Society, 9(4), 424–440. https://doi.org/10.24908/ss.v9i4.4344 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hu, S., & Mu, Z. (2020). Some time is better spent than other time: Chinese adolescents’ time use and developmental outcomes. Child Indicators Research, 13(5), 1739–1765. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-020-09718-8 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, Y. C. (2016). Shadow education and the curriculum and culture of schooling in South Korea. Palgrave Macmillan US.10.1057/978-1-137-51324-3CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, J. Y., Park, S., Na, E. Y., & Kim, E. M. (2016). A comparative study on the relationship between social networking site use and social capital among Australian and Korean youth. Journal of Youth Studies, 19(9), 1164–1183. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2016.1145637 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manago, A. M., & McKenzie, J. (2022). Culture and digital media in adolescent development. In Nesi, J., Telzer, E. H. & Prinstein, M. J. (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent digital media use and mental health (pp. 162–187). Cambridge University Press.10.1017/9781108976237.010CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pomerantz, E. M., & Wang, Q. (2009). The role of parental control in children’s development in Western and East Asian countries. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(5), 285–289. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01653.x CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rozman, G. (Ed.). (2014). The East Asian region: Confucian heritage and its modern adaptation. Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Seo, H., & Lee, C. S. (2017). Emotion matters: what happens between young children and parents in a touch screen world. International Journal of Communication, 11, 20. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/viewFile/4233/1919 Google Scholar
Singer, D. G., Singer, J. L., D’Agnostino, H., & DeLong, R. (2009). Children’s pastimes and play in sixteen nations: is free-play declining? American Journal of Play, 1(3), 283–312.Google Scholar
Steinberg, M. (2020). LINE as super app: platformization in East Asia. Social Media+ Society, 6(2), 2056305120933285. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120933285 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sung, H. Y. (2010). The influence of culture on parenting practices of East Asian families and emotional intelligence of older adolescents: a qualitative study. School Psychology International, 31(2), 199–214. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034309352268 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tang, L., Omar, S. Z., Bolong, J., & Mohd Zawawi, J. W. (2021). Social media use among young people in China: a systematic literature review. Sage Open, 11(2), 21582440211016421. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211016421 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winch, J. (2015). Code-switching: A new language in Japan?. University of Sussex.Google Scholar
Xiong, Y., Qin, L., Wang, M., & Pomerantz, E. M. (2020). Parents’ peer restriction in the United States and China: a longitudinal study of early adolescents. Developmental Psychology, 56(9), 1760–1774. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001088 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yamada, M., Sekine, M., Tatsuse, T., & Asaka, Y. (2021). Prevalence and associated factors of pathological Internet use and online risky behaviors among Japanese elementary school children. Journal of Epidemiology, 31(10), 537–544. https://doi.org/10.2188/jea.JE20200214 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yang, W., Rahim, N., Hoong, B., & Hassim, N. (2024). Sang culture: social comparisons of generation Z youths in China on social media. Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of Communication, 40(1), 248–266. https://journalarticle.ukm.my/23838/1/komunikasi_14.pdf Google Scholar
Zhu, X., Li, W., Zhao, H., & Hu, J. (2024). Surfing into trouble? How internet use influences early adolescent behavior through diverse pathways?. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), 1413–1417. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03956-9 CrossRefGoogle Scholar