Perceived parenting style, filial piety, and ethnic differences in relation to family cohesion among young adults in Malaysia

Chiain, Jia Kie and Mong, Qi Ying and Quah, Yi Wei (2025) Perceived parenting style, filial piety, and ethnic differences in relation to family cohesion among young adults in Malaysia. Final Year Project, UTAR.

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Abstract

In Malaysia, as a collectivist, multi-ethnic country, young adults’ well-being is shaped by family cohesion. Family ties were also affected by modernisation and changes in family structure. Therefore, factors that are linked to family cohesion have been highlighted in this study. Relationships between perceived parenting style, filial piety and ethnic differences with family cohesion among young adults in Malaysia who aged 18 to 39 were examined. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted by using the purposive sampling method and recruited 119 participants who were aged 18 to 39. The standardised instruments include the FACES III, the Cohesion subscale, the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ), and the Dual Filial Piety Scale (DFPS). Pearson correlation analysis was applied to study the relation between perceived parenting style, filial piety and ethic differences with family cohesion. The results showed that authoritative, permissive, and reciprocal filial piety (RFP) were positively associated with family cohesion, while authoritarian parenting was negatively associated. There is no significant relationship between authoritarian filial piety with family cohesion. The study also indicated a significant difference between Malay, Chinese and Indian participants in family cohesion by one-way ANOVA, with Malay participants reporting having higher family cohesion than Chinese and Indian participants. The significance of parental warmth and reciprocal intergenerational values in strengthening family cohesion was highlighted in the study. Lastly, theoretical contributions and practical implementations are also offered by the implementation of the Family Systems Theory to this study, which can provide insights for parents, counsellors, educators and policymakers to strengthen family relationships in Malaysia’s multicultural context.

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