Parenting Perfectionism and Adolescent Development in Chinese Families Over Time: Overparenting as Mediators

ABSTRACT Objective This study examined the mediating roles of paternal and maternal overparenting in the associations between father‐ and mother‐perceived parenting perfectionism and adolescent developmental outcomes over time. Background In recent decades, while parents engage in overparenting to meet idealized standards of parenting, it may foster narcissistic tendencies in adolescents and impede their positive development over time. Method The study was a two‐wave longitudinal study via stratified cluster sampling method, recruiting a sample of 642 Chinese intact families ( M age of fathers = 48.24, mothers = 44.02, and adolescent children = 12.96; 57.6% adolescent girls) from secondary schools in Hong Kong. Results Structural equation modeling indicated that mother‐perceived parenting perfectionism was positively associated with paternal and maternal overparenting over time. Both paternal and maternal overparenting mediated the positive relationship between mother‐perceived parenting perfectionism and adolescent narcissism. However, only maternal overparenting mediated the negative relationship between mother‐perceived parenting perfectionism and adolescent positive development over time. Conclusions This study provides novel insights into the interplay among fathers' and mothers' perceived parenting perfectionism, paternal and maternal overparenting, and adolescent development in the Chinese context. Implications These findings offer important insights on family‐based intervention on parenting perfectionism, overparenting, and adolescent development in contemporary society.