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Cultural Differences in Maternal Beliefs and Behaviors: A Study of Middle‐Class Anglo and Puerto Rican Mother‐Infant Pairs in Four Everyday Situations
Author(s) -
Harwood Robin L.,
Schoelmerich Axel,
Schulze Pamela A.,
Gonzalez Zenaida
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8624.00073
Subject(s) - psychology , socialization , situational ethics , developmental psychology , puerto rican , middle class , firstborn , individualism , social psychology , child rearing , sociology , population , demography , birth order , anthropology , political science , law
This study examines cultural patterning in situational variability in mother‐infant interactions among middle‐class Anglo and Puerto Rican mothers and their 12 to 15‐month‐old firstborn children. Forty mothers were interviewed regarding their long‐term socialization goals and childrearing strategies, and videotaped interacting with their infants in four everyday settings: feeding, social play, teaching, and free play. Results suggest that: (1) Anglo mothers place greater emphasis on socialization goals and childrearing strategies consonant with a more individualistic orientation, whereas Puerto Rican mothers place greater focus on goals and strategies consistent with a more sociocentric orientation; (2) coherence was found between mothers' childrearing beliefs and practices, with Puerto Rican mothers more likely to directly structure their infants' behaviors; and (3) situational variability arose in mother‐infant interactions, but this variability showed a cultural patterning consistent with mothers' long‐term socialization goals and childrearing beliefs.