Guilt, shame, and coping in Chinese adolescence: A Bayesian analysis of parental induction appeals

Abstract

This study investigates how guilt-oriented and shame-oriented parental induction appeals relate to Chinese adolescents’ coping responses. Using secondary data from 3,784 high school students in Shenzhen, China, selected parenting items were classified by dominant emotional appeal and analyzed with Bayesian regression models. Guilt-oriented appeals emphasized wrongdoing, parental suffering, reciprocity, or conscience, whereas shame-oriented appeals emphasized embarrassment, humiliation, public criticism, or social devaluation. The results showed limited evidence that parental induction promoted constructive behavioral change. Instead, both guilt-oriented and shame-oriented appeals were more consistently associated with avoidance, especially guilt-oriented appeals involving parental suffering, indebtedness, or unmet expectations. The findings suggest that parental induction is not a unitary practice and that its effects depend on whether adolescents experience it as a reparable moral demand or as an intrusive and self-devaluing form of control.

Document Type: Original article

Cited as:

Xu, Y. Q., & Gao, R. Q. (2026). Guilt, shame, and coping in Chinese adolescence: A Bayesian analysis of parental induction appeals. Education and Lifelong Development Research, 3(1): 13-21. https://doi.org/10.46690/elder.2026.01.02

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