Child-rearing Practices Research Articles

Object play in Tajikistan: Infants engage with objects despite bounds on play.

Object play is a ubiquitous context for learning. Existing knowledge on infant object interaction has relied on Euro-American samples and observations confined to laboratory playrooms or families' homes, where object play is typically observed indoors and in rooms brimming with toys. Here we examined infants' everyday object play in Tajikistan, where spaces are uniquely laid out and homes are not child-centered and toy-abundant. The restrictive gahvora cradling practice in Tajikistan may indirectly shape how infants access and engage with objects. We documented how much time infants spent in object play, the types and diversity of objects they contacted, and the locations of play-indoors or outside. We observed 59 infants (12-24months) during a 45-min naturalistic observation when infants were out of the gahvora. Infants engaged with objects 50% of the time. Despite a lack of object diversity, object interactions were frequent and dispersed throughout observations. Walkers tended to divide their object interactions between time spent indoors and outside, but pre-walkers mostly interacted with objects indoors. Caregivers inadvertently shape infants' opportunities for exploration and play through culturally guided childrearing practices. And infants make due: they take it upon themselves to move, explore, and engage-gleaning culturally relevant routines.

Penyesuaian Diri pada Menantu Perempuan yang Tinggal di Rumah Mertua

Marriage is a bond between two individuals who dicide to live together. Many couples begin their married life by living with their parents, resulting in more complex dynamics and adjustment processes. This research employs a qualitative phenomenological method with three participants. Data collection techniques include interviews. Data validity is tasted through member checks and expert judgment. The result of this study indicate that participants are able to adjust to living with their in-laws, with supporting factors including physical condotions, development and maturity, psychological state, as well as cultural and religious conditions. Conflicts encountered by daughters-in-law living with their in-laws include misunderstandings about household cleanliness, differences in daily activities, and child-rearing practices.

Exploring Malay Parenting Patterns and Cultural Identity in Medan City: Traditions, Values, Adaptation in an Urban Context

This research explores early childhood parenting patterns and Malay culture in Medan City, Indonesia. With a focus on traditions, values, and adaption in urban context, this research explores how Malay culture remains relevant in child-rearing patterns amidts dynamic changes in the urban environment. The research method involved in-depth interviews with parents and Malay community leaders living in Medan City, as well as observations of child-rearing practices in everyday life. The research results show that despite adaption to urban development, Malay cultural traditions and values remain the main basis for parenting patterns. However, there are also challenges faced in maintaining Malay cultural identity in globalization and modernization. The implication of this research is the importance of understanding the dynamic of local culture in a urban context to strengthen cultural identity and enrich the study of child-rearing patterns in Indonesia.

A Study of Moral Development of Children and Good Habit Formation on Indian Child Rearing Practices Context

Different religious, political, and cultural groups in India hold different opinions on how children should be raised. Given the wide variety of Indian cultures and traditions, it would be unfair to generalise about Indian parenting practices. Each family's unique set of circumstances, including their financial situation, level of education, and life experiences, shape their approach to childrearing. This study has surveyed the existing literature and synthesised theoretical frameworks, drawing attention to the applicability of theories such as Piaget's phases of moral development, Kohlberg's theory of moral development, and Gilligan's ethics of caring in a variety of cultural contexts. With an emphasis on Indian child-rearing techniques, this study investigates how family dynamics, cultural values, and socio-economic factors impact children's ethical thinking and behaviour. Important topics covered include how moral principles are passed down through families and communities, how religious teachings are included into the process of ethical development, and how digital media influences the way moral decisions are made. Aiming to promote moral reasoning and positive habit formation in children, the article also evaluated empirical studies and meta-analyses that highlight beneficial educational interventions and parenting techniques. The findings from this review states that children are fed with cultural learnings; however, this method does seems to be always positive and moral development of children and good habit formation among them is very important.

중국인 여성 결혼이민자와 한국인 여성 결혼자의 불평 화행 전략 사용 양상 비교 연구

Objectives This study aims to examine how female marriage immigrants use complaint speech acts in everyday conversations and to compare and analyze the actual usage patterns of complaint strategies between Chinese female marriage immigrants and Korean female spouses. Methods To achieve this objective, data were collected in two phases. First, a preliminary survey was conducted with Korean and Chinese female spouses to identify nine real-life situations in Korean communication contexts that could trigger complaints. Following this, a Discourse Completion Test (DCT) survey was conducted to gather response data for each complaint situation. Based on the collected data, the usage patterns of individual strategies, combined strategies, and grammatical usage were analyzed. Results The analysis yielded the following results. In terms of individual strategy usage, both groups predominantly employed the ‘direct complaint’ and ‘indirect complaint’ strategies in complaint situations. However, the Chinese female marriage immigrant (NNS) group frequently used ‘sarcasm’ and ‘rhetorical questioning’ strategies, whereas the Korean female spouses (KNS) group tended to use ‘command’ and ‘situation explanation’ strategies more often. Next, the analysis of combined strategy usage revealed that the NNS group used combined strategies more frequently than the KNS group. However, when analyzing the combined strategies according to social status and the intensity of the complaint, it was found that the KNS group used a wider variety of strategies than the NNS group in most situations, except in equal status scenarios. Lastly, the analysis of grammatical usage showed that both groups most frequently used the ‘direct complaint’ strategy. However, the KNS group often used the form ‘-(으)ㄹ게요’ to express their intentions, while the NNS group showed a tendency to use ‘informal speech’ more frequently. Additionally, in the ‘indirect complaint’ strategy, the KNS group used the phrase ‘-(으)ㄹ/ㄴ/는 것 같다’ to express their assertions mildly, whereas the NNS group often used the phrase ‘-잖아요’ to emphasize their assertions more directly. Conclusions These differences stem from the distinct linguistic habits and cultural differences between the two groups. For instance, the development of honorifics in Korean, differences in child-rearing practices between Korea and China, and varying perceptions of dual-income households in Korean and Chinese societies contribute to these disparities. This study is significant in that it summarizes the commonalities and differences in complaint speech act strategies used by Chinese female marriage immigrants and Korean female spouses, and elucidates the reasons for these differences through an exploration of Korean and Chinese cultural differences.

Precipitating Factors and Receptivity of Psychoanalytic Treatments among Chinese Americans

ABSTRACT Chinese Americans have been known for underutilization of mental health services and premature termination. This study explores these phenomena through Chinese cultural and psychoanalytical perspectives. Specifically, two sets of factors were identified: precipitating and receptivity factors. The precipitating factors include childrearing practices and pursuit of education by studying abroad at an early age. The receptivity factors include the lack of familiarity with psychoanalysis, the emphasis of efficiency in Chinese culture, shame and stigma associated with mental illness, and the seeming reluctance of this ethnic group to opening up to professional strangers. A brief review of studies on Asian American mental health was conducted. Early termination was further discussed through psychoanalytic concepts and theories including Bion’s maternal reverie, attacks on linking, and container and contained; Winnicott’s primary maternal preoccupation; and Meltzer’s apprehension of beauty and aesthetic conflict.

An Investigation of the Impact of Parental Media Mediation on Social Media Addiction and Perceived Child Rearing Practices among Adolescents

An Investigation of the Impact of Parental Media Mediation on Social Media Addiction and Perceived Child Rearing Practices among Adolescents

Attachment theory across cultures: An examination of cross-cultural perspectives and alloparenting practices (Mini-Review)

Attachment theory initially put forth by Bowlby is a basis for comprehending the emergence and importance of emotional bonds between infants and their caretakers. However, contemporary studies have increasingly highlighted the necessity for accounting for cultural contexts in attachment dynamics. This paper aims at investigating all aspects of attachment theory using a cross-cultural perspective to find out how cultural norms and customs influence relationships of attachment. In particular, it is based on an explanation of the concept of alloparenting which implies that caregiving duties are distributed among more than one member in a community. The author compares Western and non-Western child-rearing practices including examples from such societies as Aka foragers located in Africa or Beng people in West Africa among others thereby revealing the wide range of different kinds of relationships formed as attachments by humans. Furthermore, it also probes how this affects child development, family structures, and societal values regarding culture-specific ways that children attach to primary caregivers through understanding themselves as culturally specific and thus not universal. By synthesizing experiential research and speculative platforms, this paper enhances our comprehension of attachment theory in terms of cultural diversity, stressing the significance of including cultural viewpoints in developmental psychology research as well as its everyday use.

Famine and Childhood: Ottoman Children’s Experiences during the Famine of 1873-1875

This article explores the unique experiences of children who lived in a famine-affected region of Central Anatolia between 1873 and 1875. The deplorable conditions forced some children to consume inappropriate foods, be traded for bread, be abandoned during migration, or be subjected to exploitation and domestic servitude. The article emphasizes the contrast between child-rearing practices and the concept of childhood in the Central Anatolian region and urban areas of the period. This challenges the prevailing emphasis in previous studies that have primarily examined urban children during the period of peace. Emphasizing the famine of 1873–1875, the research underscores that the concept of childhood and the material culture developed and adopted by urban families of the period under the effect of modernization were not observed in Central Anatolia. Thus, it is suggested that examining childhood in the Ottoman Empire necessitates a periodical and regional methodology that considers the socioeconomic and cultural variations that influenced the experiences of children in various regions and eras. In addition, the article delves into the Ottoman government’s response to the famine. The article addresses these issues by comprehensively examining Ottoman archival sources, periodicals and gazettes, together with contemporary accounts and reports from the famine period.

DOLPHIN: A Mixed-Methods Study of a Parenting App to Nurture the First Two Years of Life in the Indian Context

Background: The first two years of life are critical for brain development. Experiences and exposures during this period can have long-term effects on an individual’s health. Therefore, we aim to develop a program for new parents in the Indian context to help them understand their developing infant’s needs and provide the best possible care grounded in traditional practices to ensure healthy developmental outcomes. Materials and Methods: The program was developed using the exploratory–confirmatory framework grounded in qualitative methods—(a) collection of empiric evidence base by conducting a thorough literature review, (b) tacit experience, and (c) focus group discussions with relevant stakeholders. Picture-based content (one picture per day for two years) was created, and the program was expert-validated. A web-based application was developed to make it available to parents, and the program was translated into three regional languages to improve its reach. A telephonic user feedback survey was carried out, and descriptive statistics were used to present the findings from the survey. Results: DOLPHIN stands for “Developing Opportunities of Learning for Parents to Help Infant Nurture.” Over 600 parents accessed the program. Feedback is positive in the domains of parental satisfaction and user-friendliness. Discussion: The program primarily focuses on ensuring appropriate sensorimotor stimulation and meeting the socioemotional needs of the growing infant through the first two years, emphasizing healthy nutrition and hygiene to ensure holistic development. Therefore, its approach is health-promotive and disease-preventive. It incorporates traditional child-rearing practices of India rich in stimulation, promoting secure attachment, and incidental learning: “readiness.” Conclusion: The DOLPHIN program demonstrates a promising approach to supporting new parents in nurturing their infants during the critical first two years of life. With positive feedback and a focus on traditional practices and evidence-based content, it holds potential as a health-promotive and preventive intervention for holistic child development in the Indian context.

Opposition to Same-Sex Parenting as Sexual Prejudice: Validity Evidence of a Model and Associated Factors in the Brazilian Context

The Beliefs about Children’s Adjustment in Same-Sex Families Scale (BCASSFS) is an instrument that measures rejection of the child-rearing and educational practices of same-sex parents. This scale evaluates beliefs that are organized in a bifactorial model referring to Individual Opposition and Normative Opposition. This study aimed to adapt the BCASSFS and examine its validity in the Brazilian context with a sexually diverse sample. A national survey was carried out with a sample of 1038 participants. It was used a sociodemographic questionnaire; a version of the BCASSFS adapted for the Brazilian context; a measure of sexual prejudice; and a measure of conservatism. Confirmatory factor analysis showed good fit indices for the model suggested for the original scale. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis showed that the BCASSFS displayed measurement invariance between subsamples of different profiles, such as heterosexual-cisgender and LGBT + participants. Investigations of concurrent, convergent and criterion validity also showed that both scale factors were associated with theoretically related variables, in line with the literature. Together, these results show that the BCASSFS has good validity and can be used in the Brazilian context. By confirming the replication of the original model, this study contributes to broadening knowledge about these dimensions of sexual prejudice.

Status (in)consistency in education and violent parenting practices towards children

Violent childrearing practices represent an invisible threat for global health and human development. Leveraging underused information on child discipline methods, this study explores the relationship between parental educational similarity and violent childrearing practices, testing a new potential pathway through which parental educational similarity may relate to child health and wellbeing over the life course. The study uses data from Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) covering 27 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. Results suggest that couples where partners share the same level of education (homogamy) are less likely to adopt violent childrearing practices relative to couples where partners face status inconsistency in education (heterogamy), with differences by age of the child, yet less so by sex and birth order. Homogamous couples where both partners share high levels of education are also less (more) likely to adopt physically violent (non-violent) practices relative to homogamous couples with low levels of education. Relationships are stronger in countries characterized by higher GDP per capita, Human Development Index, and female education, yet also in countries with higher income and gender inequalities. Besides stressing the importance of female education, these findings underscore the key role of status concordance vs discordance in SSA partnerships. Tested micro-level mechanisms and country-level moderators only weakly explain result heterogeneity, calling for more research on the topic.

Parents’ Psychological Distress During COVID-19: Correlates and Relations with Parents’ Engagement in Early Education

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a wide range of psychological problems among parents and posed significant challenges to their mental health. However, there is a lack of research exploring the antecedents and consequences of parents’ psychological distress during the pandemic. This study investigated the familial and individual antecedents and childrearing outcomes of psychological distress (depression, anxiety, worry, and loneliness) among 504 parents of preschool children in Zhengzhou, China. Research Findings: The results showed that both familial (family socioeconomic status, changes in family income during the pandemic, family physical health, and household chaos) and individual (resilience) factors were related to parents’ symptoms of psychological distress. Loneliness was negatively related to parents’ involvement in children’s education, and feelings of worry were positively associated with increases in the parents’ time spent engaging with children indoors (e.g. helping children with homework and disciplining children). Practice or Policy: The findings underscore the significance of identifying the risk factors of parents’ psychological distress during the pandemic. They also have important implications for the design of parent- and family-based interventions to alleviate the adverse effects of the pandemic on parents’ psychological distress and childrearing practices.

Mothers' memories: an approach to maternal mental health

Psychological distress in women who are mothers is a serious public health concern that greatly affects the physical, social, and emotional development of their babies. Often, mothers with mental health issues do not receive the care they require, not only because of the persistent social stigma associated with mental illness, but also due to a lack of resources. From the perspective of our perinatal and child-rearing psychiatry practice, and based on the available literature, we reflect on the care received by those women, who are now mothers, during their own childhoods and its impact on how they currently experience motherhood. Early attachments have a deep impact on both memory and behavior throughout our lifetimes. When they become mothers, women may update their own childcare experiences, a phenomenon known as “psychic transparency” and mobilize the lessons they received as infants about relationships, care, and emotional regulation. The anxiety and frustration faced by mothers today seem to arise, partially, from the conflict between the parenting style they want to offer their babies (warm and conscious) and the one they received at a time when prevailing theories discouraged breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact. Taking care of mothers’ emotional states and supporting their relationship with their babies is a necessary and urgent public health measure, which has intergenerational repercussions in mental health.

Bedouin mothers' sense of authentic inner compass as a parenting resource: Relations with autonomy-supportive parenting and adolescents' well-being.

Sense of authentic inner compass (AIC) is the feeling that one knows what is important to oneself because one has values, aspirations, and goals with which one deeply identifies. Past research demonstrated the benefits of AIC, but there is no published research on parental dispositions promoting youth AIC. To increase knowledge of this issue, we examined whether mothers' sense of AIC is associated with a corresponding sense of AIC in their children, and explored autonomy-supportive child-rearing practices that may serve as pathways linking mothers' AIC with adolescents' AIC and subsequent well-being. We examined a Bedouin Israeli sample because it represents a fairly patriarchal, autonomy-eschewing, context, where the benefits of mothers' authenticity and autonomy-support are not obvious. One hundred and thirty-six mothers (Mean age = 44.33, SD = 5.22) and their children (Mean age = 13.79, SD = 0.45; 60% females) participated in a study conducted in June 2019. SEM analyses supported a model where mothers' sense of firm AIC was linked with adolescents' sense of firm AIC via adolescents' experience of their mothers as using the practices of inherent value demonstration and fostering inner valuing. Adolescent reported AIC in turn was associated with adolescents reported vitality and low levels of depressive symptoms. Mothers' AIC was associated with minimal use of conditional regard, which was negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Results suggest that mothers' AIC may be an important parenting resource, enabling mothers to convincingly demonstrate their values, as well as foster children's attunement to their authentic preferences, even in patriarchal-hierarchical contexts.

Exploring the Role of Extended Family in Child Rearing Practices Across Different Cultures

Exploring the Role of Extended Family in Child Rearing Practices Across Different Cultures

Promoting social, emotional, and cognitive development in early childhood: A protocol for early valuation of a culturally adapted digital tool for supporting optimal childrearing practices.

The Thrive by Five app promotes positive interactions between children and parents, extended family, and trusted community members that support optimal socio-emotional and cognitive development in the early years. This article aims to describe the protocol for a prospective mixed-methods multi-site study evaluating Thrive by Five using surveys, interviews, workshops, audio diaries from citizen ethnographers and app usage data. The study activities and timelines differ by site, with an extensive longitudinal evaluation being conducted at two sites and a basic evaluation being conducted at five sites. The learnings from the more comprehensive evaluations inform the iterative research and development processes while also ensuring ongoing evaluation of usability, acceptability and effectiveness of the app and its content across varying contexts. The study evaluates: (1) the impact of the Thrive by Five content on caregiver knowledge, behaviours, attitudes and confidence; (2) how the content changes relationships at the familial, community and system level; (3) how cultural and contextual factors influence content engagement and effectiveness and (4) the processes that facilitate or disrupt the success of the implementation and dissemination. All in-country partners have been identified and data collection has been completed in Indonesia, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Namibia and Cameroon. Very few digital health solutions have been trialled for usability and effectiveness in diverse cultural contexts. By combining quantitative, qualitative, process and ethnographic methodologies, this innovative study informs the iterative and ongoing optimisation of the cultural and contextual sensitivity of the Thrive by Five content and the processes supporting implementation and dissemination.

Learning Shame, Learning Fear

Abstract Drawing on the concept of socializing emotions, I compare emotionally charged childrearing practices in two urban contexts. In Helsinki, shame is regularly evoked in children when they behave inappropriately; in Santa Marta, fear is a more common emotional experience in such cases. I argue that these distinct emotional experiences guide children to learn the particular ways of relating to others that are deemed appropriate in each context. The experience of shame in Helsinki promotes children learning compliant autonomy and guides them to learn to avoid overt interpersonal hierarchies. In Santa Marta, fear orients children towards learning and enacting respectful obedience in their everyday interactions, and they learn to manage and navigate within overt interpersonal hierarchies in normative ways.

Family determinants of social maladjustment and juvenile delinquency according to Natalia Han-Ilgiewicz

The purpose of the article is to review the key thoughts of Natalia Han-Ilgiewicz on the causes of social maladjustment and criminal delinquency in minors, related to the family environment. The text is based on the analysis of the content of selected works and research by the Polish scholar. According to Han-Ilgiewicz, among the most important causes of social maladjustment related to the functioning of the family are inadequate child-rearing practices and contacts, lack of strong family ties, the improper structure of relations in the family, and imitation of inappropriate behaviours.

Evaluation of traditional methods applied by mothers in infant care: A comparison between Turkish and Lebanese mothers.

Objective: Traditional practices for infants vary across communities and may sometimes pose risks to infant health. Healthcare professionals must be aware of these practices during infant- child visits. This study aims to investigate the traditional practices of Turkish and Lebanese mothers on infants, explore the relationship between these practices and compare the similarities and differences between the two cultures. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey involving Turkish and Lebanese mothers living in Istanbul. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews using a questionnaire inquiring about sociodemographic information about the family, general information about the baby, and traditional practices performed by the mothers. Statistically, Pearson's chi-square test, Fisher's Exact test, and independent t-test were applied. Results: The study included 382 mothers, comprising 200 who were Turkish and 182 who were Lebanese. In both groups, the proportion of mothers who received information about infant care was approximately 90%. The most common source of information was the internet in both groups, 35% (63) of Turkish and 53.2% (92) of Lebanese mothers used the internet as a source of information. The second source of data used for baby care were the family elders in the Lebanese mothers (28%), and the health personnel in the Turkish mothers (24%). Turkish mothers practised celebrating the fortieth day, salting, using amber necklaces for teething, and giving pacifiers more frequently than Lebanese mothers. In the case of jaundice, Turkish mothers frequently breastfeed, while Lebanese mothers consult a doctor. The use of potentially risky practices is rare in both groups. No significant relationship was found between maternal education levels and the use of traditional practices. Conclusion: This study highlights the widespread use of traditional practices among both Turkish and Lebanese mothers during child-rearing. The study's results could inform health strategies to reduce the prevalence of potentially risky traditional practices among mothers and promote adopting safe, evidence-based child-rearing practices.