Parental Bonding, Familism and Resilience among Pakistani and Japanese Emerging Adults

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between parental bonding (care and overprotection), familism, and resilience in emerging adults, and to examine the cross-cultural differences in these variables between Pakistani and Japanese emerging adults. Employing a cross-sectional research design, the study sampled 400 emerging adults—200 from Pakistan and 200 from Japan. Data were collected from January to April 2023 using three standardized instruments: the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), and the Attitudinal Familism Scale (AFS). The data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. The findings revealed that Pakistani emerging adults reported significantly higher maternal care compared to their Japanese counterparts, whereas Japanese emerging adults reported higher levels of maternal overprotection and exhibited greater resilience. In the Pakistani sample, paternal overprotection was found to be a significant negative predictor of resilience, while familism emerged as a significant positive predictor. In contrast, for the Japanese sample, both maternal and paternal overprotection were significant negative predictors of resilience, whereas maternal care, paternal care, and familism were significant positive predictors. These results offer both theoretical and practical implications for understanding the role of parental bonding and cultural values in fostering resilience among emerging adults across different cultural contexts.