Parenting Culture(s): Ideal-Parent Beliefs Across 37 Countries

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology Vol/Iss. 54(1) Sage Journals Published In Pages: 4-24
By Lin, Gao-Xian, Mikolajczak, Moïra, Keller, Heidi, Akgun, Ege, Arikan, Gizem, Aunola, Kaisa, Barham, Elizabeth, Besson, Elaine, Blanchard, M. Annelise, Boujut, Emilie, Brianda, Maria Elena, Brytek-Matera, Anna, César, Filipa, Chen, Bin-Bin, Dorard, Géraldine, Dos Santos Elias, Luciana Carla, Dunsmuir, Sandra, Egorova, Natalia, Escobar, Maria Josefina, Favez, Nicolas, Fontaine, Anne Marie, Foran, Heather, Furutani, Kaichiro, Gannagé, Myrna, Gaspar, Maria, Godbout, Lucie, Goldenberg, Amit, Gross, James J., Gurza, Maria Ancuta, Hatta, Ogma, Heeren, Alexandre, Helmy, Mai, Huynh, Mai-Trang, Kaneza, Emérence, Kawamoto, Taishi, Kellou, Nassima, Kpassagou, Bassantéa Lodegaèna, Lazarevic, Ljiljana, Le Vigouroux, Sarah, Lebert-Charron, Astrid, Leme, Vanessa, MacCann, Carolyn, Manrique-Millones, Denisse, Medjahdi, Oussama, Millones Rivalles, Rosa Bertha, Miranda Orrego, María Isabel, Miscioscia, Marina, Mousavi, Seyyedeh Fatemeh, Moutassem-Mimouni, Badra, Murphy, Hugh, Ndayizigiye, Alexis, Ngnombouowo, Tenke Josué, Olderbak, Sally, Ornawka, Sophie, Oyarce Cádiz, Daniela

Abstract

The study aimed to explore the ideal-parent beliefs among mothers and fathers from 37 countries to determine whether the definition of an ideal parent varied across countries and social classes. Open-ended questions were used to gather data, and Leximancer Semantic Network Analysis was utilized to identify parenting culture zones and extract the predominant themes and concepts in each culture zone. The results revealed specific types of ideal-parent beliefs in five parenting culture zones, with subtle differences between the English-speaking, European Union, and Russian parents emphasizing "being caring," while French-speaking parents valued "listening" or being "present." Additionally, ideal-parent beliefs varied by education levels within culture zones, suggesting that social class differences should not be dismissed in parenting intervention research.

Documents and Hypotheses Filed By:jacob.kalodner