This dissertation presents three studies that focus on cultural variation of parenting beliefs within Germany. Countries are often misleadingly taken as cultural units. However, the studies were based on a concept of culture that regards eco-social contexts (i.e., ecological conditions as well as individual characteristics) as the source of specific socio-cultural orientations. These socio-cultural orientations, the so-called cultural models, manifest in individuals’ parenting beliefs and hence can be differentiated across cultural groups. As an important part of parenting beliefs, socialization goals are in the focus of this dissertation. Through socialization goals, parents and other caregivers specify how they want (their) children to be like, that is, the characteristics, qualities, and behaviors that explicitly and implicitly serve as desired developmental endpoints and guide parenting behavior.
The cultural variations that are considered in this dissertation concern cultural groups deriving from socio-historical change and migration. Both are regarded as changing individuals’ eco-social context conditions and therefore contribute to the cultural plurality within Germany. More specifically, study 1 addressed similarities and differences in East and West German young adults’ parenting beliefs. Socialization goal preferences of Turkish and Former Soviet Union (FSU) migrant as well as non-migrant mothers were contrasted with early childcare teachers’ preferences in study 2. Furthermore, measurement equivalence of a socialization goal questionnaire was tested across non-migrant, Turkish, and FSU migrant mothers in study 3.
As the first study indicated, young adults with East and West German origin did not differ regarding socialization goal preferences but in their intended use of early childcare. Study 2 showed that migrant mothers’ socialization goal preferences were less similar to their children’s preschool teachers than non-migrant mothers’. Though, they were nonetheless as satisfied with the childcare arrangement as the non-migrant mothers. Finally, the two-factor structure of the socialization goal questionnaire was confirmed at the level of metric invariance. However, both factors were differently related to each other across Turkish, FSU, and non-migrant mothers (study 3).
Taken together, the results yielded congruent and divergent parenting beliefs across the cultural groups that were included in the three studies. The cultural models that could be inferred from the studies overlapped regarding the importance of pro-social socialization goals, which were unanimously emphasized by mothers, adults, and teachers regardless of their respective cultural background. On the other hand, obedience-related socialization goals revealed culture-specific preferences in case of the migrant and non-migrant caregivers. Altogether, the studies confirmed the currently existing cultural variation of parenting beliefs in Germany due to socio-historical change and migration processes. They point out scientific and practical implications (i.e., regarding instrument development in study 3 and the parent-teacher relationship in study 2).
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uni-osnabrueck.de/oai:repositorium.ub.uni-osnabrueck.de:urn:nbn:de:gbv:700-2014102912908 |
| Date | 29 October 2014 |
| Creators | Döge, Paula |
| Contributors | Prof. Dr. Heidi Keller, Prof. Dr. Karsten Müller |
| Source Sets | Universität Osnabrück |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | doc-type:doctoralThesis |
| Format | application/pdf, application/zip |
| Rights | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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