Adolescent Romance in Rural China: The Role of Gender and Parenting Practices

In China, parents, teachers, and society generally oppose adolescent romance, believing it impedes youth from academic success. However, research that investigates factors influencing one's involvement in adolescent romance is scarce, especially among rural Chinese youth. Drawing upon 1,262 youth and their mothers in rural Gansu province, China, this study examined how gender and parenting practices in the family and community contexts influence adolescent romance among Chinese rural youth. In 2004, mothers completed questionnaires about warmth, parental punitiveness, community parenting, and parental networking. In 2009, the youth sample, of which the average age was 20 and of which 46% were females, reported their romantic histories retrospectively. The study showed that 6.89 percent of youth were involved in an adolescent romantic relationship. The results of the multilevel logistic regression model suggested that girls were less likely to engage in adolescent romance than boys. Higher parental punitiveness was associated with a lower likelihood of engaging in adolescent romance. However, with the increase in parental punitiveness, girls were more likely to initiate adolescent romance. Neither parental warmth, community parenting, nor parental networking had a significant relationship with the likelihood of engaging in adolescent romantic relationships. The findings provide a holistic and nuanced understanding of individual, family, and community factors influencing rural Chinese youth's involvement in adolescent romance.