Socioeconomic Status and Parenting Priorities: Child Independence and Obedience Around the World

• Author: Anna S. Lau,Heejung Park
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12247
• Published date: 01 February 2016
• Date: 01 February 2016

H P Bryn Mawr College

A S. L University of California, Los Angeles∗

Socioeconomic Status and Parenting Priorities:

Child Independence and Obedience Around the

World

This study investigates the extent to which both

national and personal socioeconomic status

shape national norms and parenting priorities

concerning child socialization. Data came from

the European Values Survey, the World Values

Survey, and the World Bank Data Catalog,

resulting in 227,431 parents from 90 nations

across ves study waves (1981–2008). Child

independence was more popular in nations

with greater wealth and more highly educated

populations; obedience was more popular in

nations with less wealth and lower percentages

of educated and urban populations. Personal

socioeconomic status predicted individual par-

ents’ prioritization of child independence and

obedience; higher social class predicted a

greater likelihood of endorsing independence

and not endorsing obedience. Time-slope esti-

mation across study waves revealedthat parents’

prioritization of independence and obedience

may rise over time in developing nations. Results

Department of Psychology, Bryn Mawr College, 101 North

Merion Avenue, Bryn Mawr,PA 19010

(hpark2@brynmawr.edu).

∗Department of Psychology, Universityof California, Los

Angeles, 1285 Franz Hall, Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA

(alau@psych.ucla.edu).

Key Words: culture, parenting, social change,social trends,

socioeconomic status, sociohistorical change.

provide implications for education, practice,

and policy on cultural variations in parenting.

Around the world, parents cultivate in their chil-

dren values and behaviors that govern society

(Quinn, 2005; Super & Harkness, 1986). Yet

societies vary as to which values are priorities in

the socialization of children (Greeneld, Keller,

Fuligni, & Maynard, 2003; Quinn, 2005). A

key factor that guides family values and soci-

etal norms concerning child socialization is the

socioeconomic status (SES) of both individu-

als and societies (Greeneld, 2009; Ka˘

gıtçıba¸sı,

2005, 2013; Lareau, 2002, 2011). Using data

from 227,431 parents in 90 nations across ve

study waves (1981–2008), we investigated how

national and personal SES shape national cul-

ture and parental goals concerning child inde-

pendence and obedience.

B

Parenting Priorities in Individualistic

and Collectivistic Societies: Independence

and Obedience

Individualism–collectivism is a widely used

framework for capturing cultural differences,

including in the realm of parenting and child

socialization. Individualism and collectivism

at the cultural level are expressed through

independent and interdependent self-construal

Journal of Marriage and Family 78 (February 2016): 43–59 43

DOI:10.1111/jomf.12247

44 Journal of Marriage and Family

at the individual level (Ka˘

gıtçıba¸sı, 2013).

In this study, we focused on a specic

domain within the broader construct of col-

lectivism/interdependence to address vertical

collectivism, or viewing the self as related to

others in an obligatory, hierarchical fashion.

In individualistic societies in which the self

is understood as an independent entity, par-

ents place much emphasis on fostering child

independence in order for their children to

grow up as autonomous and independent indi-

viduals (Greeneld et al., 2003; Heine, 2012;

Keller et al., 2006; Markus & Kitayama, 1991).

Early on, children are encouraged to explore

the surrounding environments on their own,

away from proximal bodily contact with their

caregivers (Gonzalez-Mena & Eyer, 2009;

Greeneld et al., 2003; Keller et al., 2006). In

addition, positive child development is often

evinced by self-assertion and self-enhancement

(Greeneld et al., 2003; Keller et al., 2006).

Thus, parents who exercise close monitoring

and frequent solicitation in parent–child interac-

tions risk the negative perception that they may

be controlling and thwarting children’s learning

and achievement of self-regulation (Greeneld

et al., 2003; Keller et al., 2006; Landry, Smith

& Swank, 2003; Rubin, Cheah, & Fox, 2001).

In the context of individualistic socialization,

independence is a central theme.

In contrast, parents in collectivistic societies

emphasize group harmony, which implies an

understanding of the self in relation to one’s

context and relationship with others (Greeneld

et al., 2003; Heine, 2012; Keller et al., 2006;

Markus & Kitayama, 1991). Although rela-

tionships are valued across societies, a more

pervasive emphasis on relating to others within

roles dened by vertical relationships differen-

tiates collectivistic societies; in individualistic

societies, relationships are more likely to be

egalitarian and based on choice (Cross, Bacon,

& Morris, 2000; Fernández, Paez, & González,

2005; Oyserman, Coon, & Kemmelmeier, 2002;

Park, Coello, & Lau, 2014; Triandis & Gelfand,

1998). Thus, a strong sense of connectedness

among individuals through duty and obligation

is central in collectivistic societies and tied to

interdependent self-construal.

In the realm of child socialization, parental

emphasis on child obedience is a way to struc-

ture and maintain close-knit vertical relation-

ships. Indeed, in collectivistic societies, par-

ents who display high levels of directiveness

and authority toward their children are viewed

as practicing appropriate parenting that fosters

obedience, respect, and competence in children

(Bugental & Grusec, 1998; Chao & Tseng, 2002;

Rudy & Grusec, 2006). Even in infancy, par-

ents use guidance designed to cultivate compli-

ant toddlers with the ability to inhibit reward-

ing but socially sanctioned actions (Keller,2007;

Keller et al., 2004, 2006; Keller, Kärtner, Borke,

Yovsi, & Kleis, 2005).

Inuence of SES on Parental Valuation of Child

Independence and Obedience: Nation-

and Person-Level Associations

Individualism is commonly described as asso-

ciated with Western Anglo societies, whereas

collectivism is associated with non-Western and

non-Anglo societies. Yet this gross distinction

between Western and non-Western societies

ignores the fact that ecological and societal fac-

tors dynamically shape cultural values (Markus

& Kitayama, 2010). Particularly in the current

era of social change and globalization, socio-

economic conditions of nations and families

require adaptation in values and socialization

(Greeneld, 2009; Ka˘

gıtçıba¸sı 2005, 2013), pos-

sibly even more than national or ethnic heritage

does (Park, Joo, Quiroz, & Greeneld, 2015).

National SES. At the nation level, socioeco-

nomic conditions can shape cultural norms

concerning child socialization as parents cul-

tivate child attributes that are adaptive in the

ecological settings. Greeneld (2009) explains

that in rural communities with little economic

and educational development, group solidarity

and obligatory social roles are benecial to

meeting communal needs in face-to-face inter-

actions. In contrast, independence is adaptive in

urban ecologies with characteristics of formal

schooling and commercial economies; children

are socialized to effectively participate in inde-

pendent pursuits and compete in educational

and economic realms (Greeneld, 2009). Based

on Greeneld’s theory, we hypothesized that

nations with characteristics of urban, educated,

and wealthy ecologies would evidence a national

culture prioritizing child independence rather

than obedience.

Ka˘

gıtçıba¸sı (2005, 2013) also recognizes the

importance of nation-level SES in governing

value priorities but views agency-based inde-

pendence and relationship-based separation as