title: Perception of parents as demonstrating the inherent merit of their values: relations with self-congruence and subjective well-being.
abstract: This study focuses on the parenting practice of inherent value demonstration (IVD), involving parents' tendency to express their values in behaviours and appear satisfied and vital while doing so. Data from Chinese college students (n = 89) confirmed the hypothesis that offspring's perception of their parents as engaged in IVD predicts offspring's subjective well-being (SWB) through sense of self-congruence. Importantly, these relations emerged also when controlling for fundamental autonomy-supportive (FAS) parenting practices such as taking children's perspective, minimising control and allowing choice. These findings are consistent with the view that parents concerned with their children's sense of autonomy may do well to engage in IVD in addition to more fundamental autonomy-supportive practices. Future research may examine the role of IVD in promoting authentic values that serve as an internal compass that guides children to act in ways that feel self-congruent.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Shi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Avi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Assor
authors.forename: Xiangping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002668:Child Rearing / Q000523:psychology; D002681:China; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012938:Social Perception; D012945:Social Values
keywords: Autonomy-support; Inherent value demonstration; Motivation; Parenting; Self-congruence; Well-being