title: Will I get there? Effects of parental support on children's possible selves.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Imagining one's future self is a hallmark of adolescence. But imagining is not enough; adolescents must fell that this future is plausibly likely and take action, which may require pragmatic support. Prior research has examined the effect of parental aspirations and expectation on children's possible self, not the effect of their support.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Therefore, this study assessed the role of parental support on youths' possible selves, strategies, and subjective likelihood of attaining possible selves.
  
  
  METHODS
  A representative sample of Hong Kong Chinese secondary students aged 12-20 (N = 3,078).
  
  
  METHODS
  Students responded to an in-class questionnaire. Responses were analysed using generalized linear mixed models and linear mixed models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Content of hoped-for possible selves was mostly about school and career. Content of feared possible selves was more diverse. Girls had more school-and career-focused possible selves and were more likely to have strategies to attain their positive and avoid their negative possible selves. Students reporting more pragmatic support (if I need to know something about the world, I can ask my parent about it) from parents had more school-and career-focused possible selves and were more likely to believe they could attain their hope-for and avoid their feared possible selves and to report having at least one strategy to do so.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parental pragmatic support provides students a secure base to engage in their future generally and in their school-and career-focused future in particular.
authors.forename: Shimin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Samson
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tse
authors.forename: Sing-Huang
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Daphna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Oyserman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012649:Self Concept; D012944:Social Support; D055815:Young Adult