SOCIALIZATION AND SOCIAL CLASS IN A TRANSITIONAL SOCIETY

Abstract

In order to test the generality of American findings on class differences in child rearing, 497 Greek mothers were interviewed with a schedule adapted from Sears, Maccoby, and Levin (1957). Although urban middle class, urban lower class, and peasant mothers were similar in several respects (e.g., family size), they difered markedly in professed practices and beliefs. The peasant mothers were the most permissive of the groups with infants, but middle-class mothers were the most permissive with young children. Middle-class mothers were warmer, more given to love-oriented discipline, and more active in family decisions than other mothers. There is some evidence that the Greek pattern of class differences may be common in transitional societies.