2119 - FROM OVER-PARENTING TO PSYCHOPATHOLOGY: THE NEED FOR LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORKS IN ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA

Session: D10S007 - Trust, Culture, and Social Regulation 1
AUTHORS:
Sun Shuxuan (Every Family Psychological and Behavioral Intervention Research Center ~ Hohhot ~ China)
Abstract text:
China's unique One-Child Policy (1979-2015) produced a historically unprecedented 4-2-1 inverted family pyramid and fostered a culture of concentrated over-parenting, marked by emotional over-involvement and behavioral over-control. Within this socio-cultural context, three major developmental challenges have become increasingly evident, which mutually influence and amplify: (a) a sharp rise in sensory integration dysfunction (SID), (b) reduced social competence and peer-mediated socialization, and (c) a developmental mismatch in psychological capital (PsyCap). Together, these three dynamics amplify neural, psychological, and social vulnerability, contributing to heightened risks of psychopathology among Chinese adolescents. Drawing on policy analysis and clinical practice, this study argues that legislative interventions are essential. First, policies should establish a developmentally attuned social-inclusion mechanism that contextualizes and renegotiates ethical boundaries within Chinese family culture. Second, clear accreditation, monitoring, and accountability standards should be introduced for surrogate parent role in psychotherapy, acknowledging that parental competence cannot be improved across generations in the short term. These measures would provide a culturally sensitive, legally enforceable framework to support adolescent mental health and social development in contemporary China.