Cultural Influences on Parenting Lecture 2

Definition of Culture

• A system of values, beliefs, ways of thinking, routines, rituals, and institutions established by a group

• Group may be large, like a country, or small like a family or a classroom

• Provides a way of seeing the world, analyzing problems, what we talk about, what we remember

Culture provides a Developmental Niche that Prescribes:• Physical and social settings for parents and

children• e.g., where children sleep, play

• Psychological characteristics valued in parents and children

• Recommended parenting practices and behaviors for family members

Two Main Cultural Models

Interdependent/Collectivist Model • Developed from early hunter/gatherer societies• Widely practiced in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and South

America• Older model, more widely used

•Independent Model • Developed from Greek civilization • Primary emphasis on the individual and individual agency• Widely practiced in Europe, North America, Australia and

New Zealand

Interdependent/Collectivist Model• Emphasizes importance of the social group

• Self is defined by membership in the social system, especially the family and the community• e.g., being a son or daughter

• Independent self does not exist apart from group

• Individual’s role is to understand others’ needs and adjust to them

Child-Rearing in Interdependent Model• Rear socially responsible person

• Emphasis on learning through observation, participating in activities

• Verbal messages are primarily given for directives, corrections, little praise

• Parents have obligations to help children even when grown

Advantages/Stresses of Interdependent Model

• Individual has stress of restraining own thoughts and feelings

• Individual has stress of accommodating behavior to meet others’ needs

• However, individual is secure that others will help in times of need

Variations in Culture Interdependent Model• Is interpreted in slightly different ways in

different culture

• For example: China pressures often come from authority figures

• Another example: Japan pressures may come from peers at work or at home

Independent Model• Emphasizes importance of the independent individual

• Social system is a collection of independent individuals striving to achieve goals

• Social relationships are mainly interactions to encourage to cooperate with your goals• one feels connected to others as one influences them

• Emphasis on self and achievement encourages analysis of situations into parts and logical strategies to achieve goals

Child Rearing in Independent Model• Rear independent individual, able to make

decisions

• Learning is through verbal means of asking questions, listening to directions, negotiating, frequent praise for child

• Child is encouraged to express opinions

• Parents help grown children if they want to

Advantages/Stresses of Independent Model• Individual is free to have own wishes, pursue

own goals

• But anxiety comes from fear of failure and lack of guaranteed help in times of need

Variations in Culture Independent Model Family time has different meanings in each country•In the Netherlands

• Family time is spent with the whole family together• Parents believe in importance of daily schedules and

long hours of sleep

•In the US.• Family time is often one parent with one child• Parents are more permissive with sleep time resulting

in more irregular sleep

Dynamic Nature of Culture• Culture can shift as living circumstances change

• For example, descendants of Japanese who migrated and settled on remote island had scores on tests of cultural orientation more similar to those of Americans who settled frontiers

• As countries have become more industrialized and urbanized, they shift to a more independent model

• When cultures shift, it is important to keep some of the ties to the traditional roots

Transmission of CultureKonner – 4 General Ways

• Cultural habituation• living the culture

• Learning through social interactions• people explain culture, give instructions what to do

• Emotional enculturation• identifying with the actions of loved ones and copying

them

• Cognitive enculturation• learning ways of perceiving from language, stories,

narratives that shape how we think

Other Ways of Learning Culture

• Rituals and celebrations

• Stories parents and children tell

• Conversations between parents and children from young ages

• Play with other children often leads to rehearsing roles important in the culture

• Religious and spiritual activities convey group’s most important values

Everyday Activities Around the World That Teach Children Cultural Values• Parents care for babies in many different ways

• But all contain necessary elements so babies around the world become attached to parents

• But all contain necessary elements so babies walk at about the same age

• But all contain necessary elements so babies develop language at about the same age

Tudge’s Overall Conclusion

• Children absorb culture from the intersection of their country’s values, the values of their social status group, and their own personal interests

• Children in all cultures revealed individual differences, some pushing for conversations or work, some wanting lessons

• So learning cultural values included these three major influences

Similarity of Problem Behaviors Reported by Parents in 24 Countries• Although countries varied in number of problems,

parents of young children were concerned about three problems in 22 of 24 societies:

• Can’t stand waiting

• Demands must be met immediately

• Wants a lot of attention

Older Children• Biggest factor shaping behaviors of older children

around the world is the level of industrialization in the country

• In industrialized countries, children’s major block of time is spent away from parents in school

• In non-industrialized countries children spend time in work with parents

Influence of Socioeconomic Status (SES) on Parenting • SES is based on occupation, education, and income

that can change from time to time

• When families have average incomes, income is less an influence on parenting beliefs and behavior than parents’ education and occupational status• • When income is low, at the poverty level, it has a

greater impact on parents’ behavior than any other variable, e.g., ethnic background

Middle Class Parents• More child-centered, talk to children, listen to feelings,

give choices, engage them in solving joint problems

• Use more positive words – young child in professional family hears positive statement about his behavior or questions, 30 times an hour, and prohibitions about 5 times an hour

• Demand much of children’s time in terms of activities that are designed to develop skills

• Teach children to approach other adults in self-assertive way so children feel confident outside home and family

Working Class ParentsMore parent-centered, see selves as authorities, more likely to give directives, less interested in child’s feelings or input, more likely to be harsh and punitive when child does not comply

Less language directed at children and more critical in comments but still, less so than parents living in poverty

Have less confidence in dealing with school officials and outside professional people, and their children often share parents’ uneasiness with authority figures

Place fewer constraints on leisure activities so children are freer to play with friends

Effects of Poverty Status on Children• Poor children are at higher risk for:

• Physical health problems with higher risks of infant mortality, low birth weight, greater exposure to lead poisoning, toxic waste

• Neighborhoods with poorer day care and schools, greater risk for violence and aggressive peers

• Fewer toys, less verbal stimulation, less affection and attention

Influence of Poverty Status on Children • Cognitive delays that appear as early as age 2 and

persist to school years leading to learning disabilities and grade retention

• Higher levels of neuroendocrine arousal that may underlie health problems and some learning problems

• Greater family instability with more moves, separations, more exposure to abuse

Interventions

• Preschool programs

• Parenting programs

• Community programs like Better Beginnings Better Futures – communities decide how they want to spend money to provide services that pay for themselves by the time children are 15

• Increasing mothers’ education and awareness

Race• Considered a social construct rather than a

biological category

• Numerous genetic variations within races

• Few biological differences between races

• Most individuals carry markers of more than one race

• Is a category people use to identify with

Ethnic Groups

• Ethnicity refers to • “an individual’s membership in a group sharing a

common ancestral heritage based on nationality, language, and culture”

• Psychological attachment to the group is described as “ethnic identity”

• Most racial groups are now described as ethnic groups

Two-Factor Theory of Ethnic Group Identity• William Cross described a system in which

individuals form a sense of personal identity, (PI)• Special qualities, self-esteem, self-confidence

• Cross also believes individuals have a Reference Group Identity (RGO) • Gender identity, ethnic identity

• Each person’s RGO differs depending on experiences

Two-Factor Theory (continued)• Members of ethnic groups may have sense of ethnic

identity but their RGO differs

• RGO may be prominent in some groups and not in others,• e.g., some European Americans may not have much sense

of an ethnic identity but others strongly think of themselves as Irish Americans or Italian Americans and keep strong attachments to their European culture

• RGO can change based on experiences• e.g., new experience of discrimination or helpfulness on

part of others and reevaluate their RGO

Values of Different Groups

• European Americans value individual achievement, vigorous expressions of strong opinions on part of all family members, working out solutions together

• African American value closeness with extended family members and fictive kin who are friends described as auntie or uncle, have strong attachments to church activities, more directive and strict

• Asian American families are close units with strong emphasis on hard work to improve and studying to achieve and honor family

Values of Different Groups (continued)• Latino/a families emphasize family closeness, loyalty

and obligations, children are kept close to family and spend most of their time in the presence of a family member

• Contrast between Asian American and Puerto Rican American families in this country, pages 331-333• Puerto Rican families emphasize keeping children close to

parents• Asian American families encourage sending children out

of area for better schools to achieve more education and work success

Self-Esteem of Children in Different Ethnic Groups• Self-esteem scores reflect a variety of factors and do

not mirror society’s positive/negative view of group; they reflect:• Group’s focus on individualistic goals and willingness to

make positive self-statements

• Length of time in US as people come to resemble American behavior of making positive statements

• Age – as young children of all groups make positive statements until they take on cultural messages of their group about making positive statements

Self-Esteem of Children in Different Ethnic Groups (cont.)• Support from social movements that emphasize

group’s achievements and increased presence of other group members in geographic area increase scores

• Individuals of high status (high education and good jobs) in all groups resemble each other

• Can speculate that one way to increase self-esteem among groups is to increase education

Immigrants’ Experiences

• About 1 in 4 children in US live in immigrant families• Most were born here but have immigrant parent or parents

• Acculturation to new culture is the process of learning about a new culture and deciding how to integrate the new with the old culture • Many aspects of culture to pay attention to: language,

food, customs, social adaptation

Ways to Adapt to New Culture• Integration

• Features of old culture are combined with new

• Separation• Old culture is maintained as much as possible

• Assimilation• New culture is adopted with abandonment of old culture

• Marginalization• Immigrants strongly pressured to give up old culture but

hindered because of discrimination

Bicultural identity

• Immigrants or ethnic group members who have attachments to a majority cultural group as well as their own

Integrated Model of Ethnic and Immigrant Experiences• Coll and Szalacha – these two groups experience

discrimination which leads to inadequate resources in neighborhoods with greater violence, poorer schools, fewer community resources

• Example – Even though both European Americans and African Americans are low income, African American children had more social risks with lower quality childcare, poorer schools; poorer schools related to lower grades

• This Model illustrates how discrimination can affect every aspect of life

Sleep Is Influenced by Ethnic Background• Chicago study found European Americans slept 7.4 hours per night, Asian Americans and Latinos, 6.9, and African Americans, 6.8,

• Even when education, income, and employment are controlled, race differences in sleep persist

• Possible reason could that many members of ethnic groups experience stress with cortisol production interfering with smooth transitions to sleep

• poorer communities and neighborhoods have more noise, making it harder to sleep

• African American and Latino/a children less likely to have regular bedtime with relaxing reading routine prior to bed

Positive Influences on Ethnic and Immigrant Groups’ Experiences –

• Schools, though poor, can be great resources for children by providing a warm class climate, helping children learn and protecting them from discrimination

• Neighborhoods, though poor, can bring immigrant families together, support customs and family values

• Children are often seen through the lens of deficits

• Though children are overrepresented in groups having problems, most children are not having problems

Positive Strengths of Families

• Strong sense of ethnic pride

• Strong sense of family obligation

• High family cohesion

Parents’ Tasks in Dealing with Discrimination

• Many children fear exclusion because of race, or ethnic group

• Feeling discriminated against by racial slurs or insults, physical threats and false accusations related to increases in depressed feelings and aggressive conduct problems

Protective Factors

• When children had warm relationships with parents, prosocial friends, and were engaged in school feelings of discrimination decreased but did not eliminate completely

• African American mothers who experienced discrimination had increased depression and stress-related physical problems but when they learned sensitive parenting techniques, their moods improved and children’s behavior became more compliant

Actions Parents and Schools Can Take to Promote Fairness and Justice• Exposing young children to peers of different ethnic

backgrounds in joint activities in sports or in nursery and elementary schools

• Expressing interest in customs of all ethnic groups, foods, histories, holidays, and histories of groups

• Research suggests that when children learn of hardships of other groups, they have greater empathy and more positive feelings for those groups

Additional Programs

• In US, Teaching Tolerance program helps students become aware of discriminating behavior and ways to counteract it

• Sesame Street has designed programs for preschoolers in the US and Europe, particularly in areas of conflict like Northern Ireland, teaching importance of inclusion, mutual respect for all groups

Children’s Level of Reasoning

• All programs have to take into account children’s level of reasoning

• Even children in preschool years understand moral rules of fairness and equal treatment for all, and social inclusion can be presented as a fair rule for everyone, and exclusion, an unfair act