title: Conceptions of Adolescence: Implications for Differences in Engagement in School Over Early Adolescence in the United States and China.
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.
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA. yangqu3@illinois.edu.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Eva M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Pomerantz
authors.affiliation: Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Meifang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: University of California at Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Andrei
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cimpian
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D002681:China; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007207:Individuation; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D012574:Schools; D012933:Social Identification; D012941:Social Responsibility; D012945:Social Values; D014481:United States
keywords: Academics; Adolescence; China; Motivation; School engagement