Filial Piety and its Psychosocial Effects on the Younger Generation
Shirley Losmithgul
ID: 2020080249
Tsinghua University
ABSTRACT
Filial piety is a highly valued Confucian value that contains a set of rules pertaining to
obedience, devotion and care towards one’s parents. Filial acts may be realised through a range
of behavioural endeavours such as support, memorializing, attendance, deference, compliance,
respect, and love (Yeh & Bedford, 2003, p. 215). Often misunderstood as the universal concept
of duty (Keller 2006; 223), filial piety has been subjected to international-level debate for several
decades. As filial piety is yet to be strictly defined, its implications in the contemporary context
are ever-changing. This literature review examines the psychosocial effects of filial piety on the
younger generation - mainly millennials. It further aims to illustrate a causal link between the
values and expectations of filial piety and how they are reflected upon minority groups in the
newer generation - particularly, Chinese gay and homosexual men.
FILIAL PIETY AND ANXIETY
Obligations stemming from filial piety, particularly in Chinese households, require
Chinese people to constantly take care of their parents. The stress that arises from this
responsibility, along with other covariates could implicate the psychological state of caregivers.
To examine the correlation between anxiety levels and caregiving to older adults, Shi et al.
(2020) ran a face-to-face questionnaire survey asking about different variables related to
caregiving such as caregivers’ demographic characteristics, caregiving load and perceived stress.
Through this study, they were able to demonstrate that a high percentage (43.1%) of caregivers
had anxiety symptoms, and that the strongest predictor of such symptoms was perceived stress.
The same study also found that caregivers who lived with older adults were more susceptive to
anxiety than caregivers who lived separately from their parents. (Shi et al., 2020) An explanation
for this could be the discrepancies in intergenerational communication that could lead to several
misunderstandings and occasionally, the feeling of being ignored by their parents on the
caregiver’s side. Such findings illustrate that fulfilling filial duties, such as retaining face-to-face
contact with parents, may induce high levels of stress that negatively impact caregivers’ mental
health.
FILIAL PIETY IN CHINESE GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
Whilst filial piety has been shown to have lasting effects on caregivers in general, studies
have shown its deep influence on the mental health of minority groups - a particular example is
Chinese gay and bisexual men. Filial piety and familism in Chinese culture, which conflict with
homosexuality, may coerce gay and bisexual men to act against their own gender identity, for
instance, by forcing them into heterosexual marriages (Koo et al., 2014; Li, Holroyd, Lau, & Li,
2015; Li, Holroyd, & Lau, 2010; Miles-Johnson et al., 2018; Steward, Miège, & Choi, 2013).
This could have enduring implications on the mental health of Chinese gay and bisexual men. To
further investigate this relationship, Huang et al. (2020) classified filial piety into pragmatic
obligations and compassionate reverence, and used web-based data from Taiwanese gay and
bisexual men (a majority being GEN-Zs and millenials) to test four hypotheses:
1. Endorsement of filial piety would be negatively associated with mental health symptoms;
2. internalized homonegativity would be positively associated with mental health
symptoms;
3. The endorsement of filial piety would be positively associated with internal- ized
homonegativity;
4. The association between filial piety and mental health symptoms would be mediated,
either partially or fully, by internalized homonegativity.
Notable results from the study illustrated a negative correlation between pragmatic
obligations and depressive symptoms, and a positive correlation between compassionate
reverence and internalised homonegativity. Compassionate reverence and internalised
homonegativity was strongly mediated by depressive symptoms (Huang et al., 2020). The results
from the study negate the widespread belief that identity conflict is an imminent result of
conforming to filial piety. Rather, it sheds light on the intricacies of filial piety, particularly, from
the validation of its first hypothesis. Contrary to popular opinion, perceived importance of
pragmatic obligations from filial piety may even provide benefits for the mental health of
Chinese gay and bisexual men, as seen from its negative association with depressive symptoms
(Huang et al., 2020). Findings from this study stress the importance of a more nuanced approach
in examining the complex nature of filial piety. Studies have also emphasised a shift in the
traditionally accepted view of filial piety where obedience is valued. Rather, obedience seems to
have greatly diminished in both old and young people alike, indicating a more flexible approach
to filial piety in the modern-day context (Yeh et al., 2013; Yeh, 1997).
CONCLUSION
Previous studies on the potential benefits and drawbacks of filial piety have fueled the
ongoing debate of whether this Confucian value should be justified. The dichotomy of western
and Confucian views towards filial piety seems to arise from the problem of cultural relativity.
Whilst research exists in support of the negative effects of filial piety and mental health in
caregivers, much of it, due to an overly simplistic research approach, undermines the
multi-faceted nature of filial piety. From this paper, we can conclude that the research
surrounding this topic is inconclusive, thus why filial piety should not be immediately
disregarded as a burden to one’s mental health and self-acceptance in one’s community.
REFERENCES
Shi, J., Huang, A., Jia, Y., & Yang, X. (2020). Perceived stress and social support influence
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Huang, Y. T., Chan, R., & Cui, L. (2020). Filial piety, internalized homonegativity, and
depressive
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