Parental Beliefs and Parental Sacrifice of Chinese Parents Experiencing Economic Disadvantage in Hong Kong: Implications for Social Work

Based on the responses of 275 Chinese parents experiencing economic disadvantage in Hong Kong, the relationships between parental beliefs (including Chinese cultural beliefs about adversity, attribution of children's success and failure to effort, and expectations of children's future) and parental sacrifice for children's education were examined in this study. It was found that more positive parental child-specific beliefs, particularly parental expectations on children's future, were associated with more parental sacrifice for children's education in both fathers' and mothers' samples. This is the first scientific research that studied the relationships between parental beliefs and parental sacrifice in Chinese families experiencing economic disadvantage. The research findings suggest that upholding positive family values and fostering effective family processes are important for Chinese families living in poverty.