Premium
Relations of Maternal Style and Child Self‐Concept to Autobiographical Memories in Chinese, Chinese Immigrant, and European American 3‐Year‐Olds
Author(s) -
Wang Qi
Publication year - 2006
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/j.1467-8624.2006.00974.x
Subject(s) - autobiographical memory , psychology , developmental psychology , style (visual arts) , immigration , chinese americans , childhood memory , cognition , episodic memory , archaeology , neuroscience , history
The relations of maternal reminiscing style and child self‐concept to children's shared and independent autobiographical memories were examined in a sample of 189 three‐year‐olds and their mothers from Chinese families in China, first‐generation Chinese immigrant families in the United States, and European American families. Mothers shared memories with their children and completed questionnaires; children recounted autobiographical events and described themselves with a researcher. Independent of culture, gender, child age, and language skills, maternal elaborations and evaluations were associated with children's shared memory reports, and maternal evaluations and child agentic self‐focus were associated with children's independent memory reports. Maternal style and child self‐concept further mediated cultural influences on children's memory. The findings provide insight into the social–cultural construction of autobiographical memory.