Gendered Dynamics: Coercive Parenting and Academic Vigor in South Korean Culture

South Korea’s competitive educational landscape, often characterized as a coercive culture with strong academic pressure, challenges the idea of self-determination theory (SDT) that coercion diminishes motivation. In the current study, we explored this assumption by analyzing data from 2,590 South Korean adolescents across a 4-year period. Specifically, we utilized data from the first to fourth waves of the Korea Children and Youth Panel Survey 2018, beginning with students in 7th grade. Random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) analyses indicated that the interaction between coercive parenting and academic vigor differed depending on gender. Furthermore, the results suggest that the application of SDT may not be generalized in Korean culture and may instead be influenced by unique cultural nuances, such as those that were present for the South Korean sample explored in this study. The study also explored potential implications for advocacy, education, and professional practice, and identified directions for future research.