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Maternal Autonomy‐ and Connectedness‐oriented Parenting Behaviors as Predictors of Children's Social Behaviors in China
Author(s) -
Liu Mowei,
Chen Xinyin,
Zheng Shujie,
Chen Huichang,
Wang Li
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
social development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.078
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1467-9507
pISSN - 0961-205X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2008.00501.x
Subject(s) - psychology , social connectedness , developmental psychology , prosocial behavior , socialization , autonomy , aggression , context (archaeology) , parenting styles , child rearing , social environment , social psychology , law , biology , paleontology , political science
The purpose of the study was to examine the contributions of maternal encouragement of autonomy and maternal encouragement of connectedness to the prediction of children's social behaviors. A sample of children (N = 94), initially aged two years, and their mothers in China participated in the two‐year longitudinal study. Child autonomy and connectedness and maternal goal‐oriented behaviors were assessed at two years of age through the observation of mother–child interactions. Data on children's social participation, prosocial behavior, aggression, and organization/leadership in peer interactions were collected in a follow‐up study when the children were four years of age. It was found that maternal encouragement of connectedness significantly predicted children's sociability and organization/leadership behavior, especially for children who were relatively high on autonomy. The results indicated the developmental significance of socialization goal‐oriented behaviors in cultural context.