All we need is love? Irreconcilable political incongruence in families after the 2019 social unrest in Hong Kong

Abstract

<p>Purpose: The present study examines the relational consequences of political incongruence within the family after the 2019 social unrest in Hong Kong.</p><p><br></p><p>Background: Although political polarization is known to contribute to relational distance, political incongruence within the family is understudied. Emerging studies suggests there may be deleterious impact of divided political view in the parent-child dyad. The 2019 social unrest in Hong Kong resulted in generational division in political attitude and a marked decline in familial relationship quality. We examined the long-term impact of political incongruence within the family.</p><p><br></p><p>Methods: We conducted a two-wave online questionnaire augmented with a 14-day diary study from August to September 2021 among 199 adults in Hong Kong. Our respondents were young adults aged 18-30 and parents. Associations among political difference with parents/adult children, family interactions, family communication style, and family functionality were assessed.</p><p><br></p><p>Results: Mediation analysis of generalized estimating equation (GEE) showed that greater political difference with family members was associated with reduced family functionality (beta = -0.16 in children; beta = -0.23 in parents; <em>p</em>s < .05) and less positive communication style (beta = -0.17 in children; beta = -0. 29 in parents; <em>p</em>s < .05). Noticeably, frequency of the expression of love and care mediated the effect of political difference with family members on family functionality as well as communication style (beta ranged from 0.32 to 0.44, <em>p</em>s < .001).</p><p><br></p><p>Conclusions: Political incongruence negatively influenced familial relationships. Poorer family interactions, especially the lack of expression of love and care, partially explained this relationship.</p>