Relationships between perceived parenting styles and the self-regulated music practice of Chinese music majors

Parents influence their children’s music learning and practice. This study examines relationships between perceived parenting styles and the self-regulated music practice of Chinese university students majoring in music. A survey was administered to Chinese music majors ( N = 880) studying in mainland China. It examined relationships between the parenting styles participants perceived themselves to have experienced, authoritative and authoritarian, and the six dimensions of self-regulated music practice: motivation, method, behavior, social factors, physical environment, and time. The results suggest that both authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles are positively associated with most dimensions of self-regulated music practice, with authoritative parenting showing a more beneficial effect on learners’ self-regulated music practice. All paths from perceived parenting styles and self-regulated music practice were found to be structurally invariant across gender. The findings contribute to a better understanding of parental influence on the self-regulated practice of Chinese music majors. The limitations of the study and possible future research directions are discussed at the end of the article.