The purpose of this study was to examine whether parental beliefs, value of children, and filial obligation were related. The subjects were 748 students(male 323, female 425) who were currently enrolled at university located in Seoul. The instruments used for this study were Filial Obligation Scale(Cho, 2002), Parenting Beliefs Questionnaire, and Value of Children by Arnold et al.(1975, 2001). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson\'s correlations by SPSS PC Program.
The results showed that university students generally demonstrated a higher level of individual-oriented beliefs than relation-oriented beliefs on parental beliefs. With regard to parental beliefs, family relation-oriented beliefs was relatively low in comparison with independence/autonomy-oriented beliefs, happiness-oriented beliefs, and cognition/knowledge-oriented beliefs. In addition, emotional value of children was relatively high in comparison with instrumental value of children. Also, male university students possessed a higher level of filial obligation. the level of cohabitation experience with their parents played a significant role in affecting the level of filial obligation. Unsurprisingly, a higher relation-oriented parental beliefs and emotional value of children demonstrated a higher level of filial obligation. There were also positive relationships between emotional value, instrumental value, and filial obligation. Hence, this study suggests that a practical, functional training services and resources for future parents must be ensued.