4.7 Social identity.

The individual’s social identity grows from the home climate, and interactions away from the home. Research shows that children very early begin to identify with ingroups and reference groups. School children show a clear preference for their nation’s flag, and can easily identify themselves in terms of ethnic and national groups (Lawson, 1975). The cultural context is important as children from individualistic societies demonstrate more competiveness than children from other cultures (Madsen, 1971). Competitive orientations have utility where cultural values of individualism and achievement are dominant and the welfare of the group is secondary. The affect of cultural values have been confirmed in comparative studies. For example Thailand is a country dominated by Buddhist values of non-violence and respect for others. Problems of over-control among children are more commonly reported in Thailand and are manifested by withdrawal from social interaction. On the other hand for parents in North America disorderly behavior and violence among children is a more dominant concern (Weisz, Suwanlert, Chaiyasit, & Walter, 1987).

4.8 Comparative studies in child rearing behaviors.

Do attachment patterns vary by culture? Studies on collectivistic versus individualistic societies suggest that the attachment experiences of childhood vary with cultural values. For example in Japan people are conceived as being interdependent defined by the idea of “amae”. This concept refers to the tendency by the Japanese to construe the self as merging with others (Doi, 1989). Amae is encouraged by Japanese mothers and is thought to be different from the concept of dependency in Western societies which describes the child’s need for attention and approval. However, the two concepts prove to be similar in the actual descriptions used (Vereijken, Riksen-Walraven, & Van Lieshout, 1997). Different labels in comparative psychology may in fact describe the same behaviors.

Cross-cultural comparative observation studies have demonstrated further differences in the infant’s home climate. A survey frequently used is the “Home Observation and Measurement of the Environment Measure” commonly called the Home Inventory. The researcher visits the home and observes the interaction between the child and parents and follows up with some questions (Bradley, Caldwell, & Corwyn, 2003, Bradley & Corwyn, 2005). In studies employing this inventory cultures vary along several dimensions. For example while parental warmth and responsiveness is present in all the cultures studied they are not expressed the same way. In some cultures parents do not express affection physically, but rather use the voice to indicate warmth. In Western countries being responsive to a child is measured by the frequency of spontaneous and unplanned conversations with the child. In other cultures like India spontaneous conversations are less frequent since it is expected that children will respect their parents and wait for permission to speak. The comparative studies show that the home environment correspond to the broader cultural values present in society. At the same time comparative research have also yielded significant similarities in child rearing between cultural groups as most parents’ in all cultures desire their children to develop social and emotional skills, and display similar assertion in disciplining their children for infractions. The comparative research support the presence of differences and similarities in the home climate that implicitly teaches the child during childhood and beyond.

The parental ethno-theories and goals are seen as affecting varying childrearing in Gusii mothers in Kenya compared to U.S. mothers. The cultural context of agriculture in the Kenyan sample led mothers to emphasize the protection of infants, and keeping the child physically close. In the U.S. sample mothers encouraged more social engagement and more social exchange. American mothers believe stimulation begins in the earliest moments of infancy and try to talk to their babies. By contrast Gusii mothers believe such child rearing will create a more self-centered child (LeVine, LeVine, Dixon, Richman, Leiderman, & Keefer, 1996). Japanese mothers are more directly responsive when babies play with them, whereas U.S. mothers reinforce babies’ behavior when they play with physical objects. A significant difference between Japanese and U.S. parenting is the amount of time spent with their children. While U.S. mothers will occasionally depend on babysitters Japanese mothers will rarely leave their infants. Some believe this difference in childrearing explain the higher anxiety of Japanese children in the absence of their parents (Bornstein & Tamis-LeMonda, 1989). Consistent with the broader cultural values Japanese mothers in one study were more concerned about lack of cooperativeness and social insensitivity in their children, compared to U.S. mothers who expressed greater worry about disruptive or aggressive behavior (Olson, 2001).

Working class parents in the U.S. and parents in pre-industrial communities believe that children can grow up by themselves, and don’t need special tutoring. Obviously children raised with differences in parental ideology will develop characteristics unique to the child rearing strategy. What is required for the child to transit to successful adulthood may also play a role in the ethnotheories of parents and in child rearing practices. In the U.S. parents believe they are required to play a very active role in directing the development of their children (e.g. Goodnow, 1988). However, in other societies the focus is more on enjoying the parent-child relationship and allowing the child to grow up without excessive direction (Kagitcibasi, 1996).

Research on collectivism and individualism demonstrate the affect of these cultural values on parental childrearing. Collectivistic societies emphasize behavioral controls of children often making strict demands and providing sanctions for behavior that don’t meet expectations (Rudy & Grusec, 2001). Parental authoritarianism is often associated with other authoritarian cultural practices derived from social instability, lower levels of education, and socio-political authoritarianism. For example Russian adolescents see similar efforts to control behavior by both parents and teachers, and perceive that they are under more control when compared to U.S. students (Chirkov & Ryan, 2001). Comparative differences have also been found between white and Mexican-American parents, although no differences in authoritarianism were found between white and Mexican parental childrearing styles (Varela, Vernberg, Sanchez-Sosa, Riveros, Mitchell, & Mashunkashey, 2004). Obedience has great utility in societies that are struggling with survival. Children that face difficult or harsh ecological environments are likely to be raised with strict controls (Schonpflug, 1990).

The age of mastery of various childhood skills varies by culture. Western cultures places competitive demands on the child from the very beginning reflected in expectations for early mastery. In a study of Dutch, Turkish immigrants, and Zambian mothers six types of skills were investigated. The childhood skills included physical, perceptual, cognitive, intra-individual, inter-individual, and social competencies. The expected developmental differences between cultures for physical skills across developmental stages were insignificant supporting the common biological basis of these competencies for all humans. However, for other domains like social skills the expectations by Zambian mothers were for later development compared to the other samples. Parents and other participants in a culture transmit the rules and customs of their society when rearing their children. Their specific socialization practices reflect these cultural beliefs (Segall, Dasen, Berry, & Poortinga, 1999). Once childrearing norms are established they are passed on from one generation to the next.

Childhood represents a period of continuous growth and development. Cognitive skills gradually develop to help the child cope with the complexities of the environment and social skills are developed appropriate to cultural values. Concern with the child’s health causes mothers to encourage their children to eat properly and nutritiously. Although eating habits can be a way for the child to control powerful parents, it drives many mothers and fathers to distraction with worries. Worries over children’s nutritional health seem however restricted to cultures where food is plentiful. In impoverished cultures children are just happy to fill their stomachs and are unlikely to put up a fuss over taste or texture. Eating preferences are laid down in early childhood and affects eating habits later in life

Cultural history may also encourage competitive modes at an early age. For example Israeli mothers from European background expected earlier development of cognitive skills compared to Israeli mothers from non-European families (Ninio, 1979). Compared to U.S. mothers Japanese mothers expected earlier development of emotional control, whereas U.S. mothers by comparison expected earlier development of assertive behavior (Hess et al, 1980).