Mothers' perceptions of infant affect in a croatian sample: The IFEEL pictures assessment

Recent work demonstrates systematic variability in mothers' perceptions of infant affects in adolescent, depressed, abusive, and preterm mothers (Emde, Osofsky,&Butterfield, 1993). This Croatian study, completed before the war in the former Yugoslavia, reports cultural differences and similarities in mothers' interpretation of infant affect in 103 mothers of healthy, full-term Croatian infants when compared to an American sample. The IFEEL Pictures (IFP) were administered to assess mothers' perception and interpretation of infants' facial expressions. Comparisons of the IFP scores for Croatian and American mothers revealed significant differences in 3 of 12 affect categories, controlling for education. Croatian mothers with different educational backgrounds showed significant differences in their perceptions of infants' affects. Differences between American mothers and Croatian educated mothers were less marked than those between Croatian high-educated and low-educated mothers. Our work suggests that there are cultural differences and similarities in affect interpretation between Croatian and American mothers. If this finding holds, it suggests that studies are needed of the effects if any, on mother-child interaction and child-rearing patterns, and possible differences in cross-cultural affect development.     

Gender Ideology and Motherhood: The Consequences of Race on Earnings

Using a nationally representative US sample, this study explores the relationship between gender ideology and the earnings of African American and white mothers over a 10-year period (1988–1998). We further investigate how factors related to fertility (i.e., age at first birth and the number of children) impact earnings for these mothers. Findings show, that regardless of race, a conservative gender ideology reduces women’s earnings but less so for African Americans compared to whites. With regard to fertility, the number of children is detrimental to the earnings of white mothers, but has no effect on the African American mothers in our sample. However, early childbearing does depress the earnings of African American women more so than for their white counterparts.     

Teaching and Doing Gender in African American Families

In this article, based on in-depth interviews with a nonrandom sample of 35 African American parents (25 mothers and 10 fathers), I explore the gender socialization of children in their families. Using the conceptual framework advanced by multiracial feminism, I explore how both race and class shape the gender ideologies and behaviors of parents. The findings reveal significant support for teaching children gender role equality; however, that support is mediated by social class status (defined by education) and patterns of social mobility. In this study, 21 respondents were classified as middle-class and 14 as lower-income parents. Social class status predicts religiosity, homophobia, and structural factors that may militate against full support for gender equality or foster contradictions between ideology and behavior. The results show the role of Black parents as active agents in the lives of their children and expand our knowledge about child socialization processes in Black families. The study also contributes to multiracial feminist theory and the emerging literature on the growing social class diversity among African Americans.     

Child-rearing goals of Estonian, Finnish, and Swedish mothers

In the present study, the child-rearing goals of mothers of 4- to 6-year-old children from Estonia, Finland, and Sweden were compared. The developed Child-Rearing Goals Questionnaire consisted of three different tasks: open-ended questions, item rating, and item ranking. All mothers were similar in valuing highly self-maximization, but differed in emphasis on traditional child-rearing goals (e.g., conformity, obedience, politeness, being hard-working, etc.). The Swedish mothers tended to stress the characteristics connected with self-maximization as well as self-confidence and children's happiness, but did not value the traditional child-rearing goals. The Estonian mothers attached a great significance both to the traditional characteristics and to self-maximization. The Finnish mothers also stressed both traditional and non-traditional values, but to a lesser extent than the Estonians. The Swedish and Finnish mothers' child-rearing goals were relatively homogeneous. In contrast, the Estonian mothers were generally less focused on any specific goal. Mothers with a lower level of education stressed traditional goals more than mothers with a higher level of education. The results are discussed in the light of the possible effect different cultural contexts have on maternal child-rearing goals: bringing up children in stable welfare societies (such as Sweden and Finland) in contrast to a rapidly changing society (such as Estonia).     

The relationship between cognitive abilities and maternal ratings of externalizing behaviors in preschool children

The association between child cognitive abilities and maternal ratings of child externalizing behaviors was investigated in a randomly selected sample of 290 preschool children. Child cognitive abilities were assessed by the WPPSI-R, whereas mothers completed the Yale Children's Inventory for the assessment of child externalizing behaviors. Maternal education, and maternal child-rearing style, as defined by scores on the Child Rearing Practices Report, was significantly related to perceived externalizing child behavior. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that for girls, low child IQ remained a significant predictor of perceived externalizing behavior when effects of maternal education and child-rearing style were controlled for (p < 0.01). Maternal child-rearing style made independent contributions to explaining variance in girls' and boys' behavior score. The results are discussed in terms of differential gender socialization practices and gender stereotypes.     

Help Wanted and Help Received by Israeli Divorced Custodial Fathers

Comparing the help wanted and sought and the help received by 42 divorced custodial fathers with that wanted and sought and received by a matched group of 32 divorced custodial mothers, this paper investigates whether men who have assumed the traditionally female gender task of child care continue to adhere to the traditional male help-seeking and help-receiving patterns. Findings show that they do. Single custodial fathers both want and receive less help from own kin, friends, and ex-spouse's kin than do single custodial mothers, and are less prone to seek professional help. On the other hand, both groups seek and receive the most help from a new partner, followed by own kin, friends, and ex-spouse's kin.     

Parental child-rearing attitudes associated with Type A behaviors in children

The relation of Type A behaviors to parental child-rearing attitudes was assessed for 177 mothers, 153 fathers, and their children in preschools. Type A behaviors of children were measured on the Japanese version of the Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH), and parental child-rearing attitudes were measured on the Parents' Attitudes Test (PAT). Children were classified as Type A and Type B on the basis of their MYTH scores, and parental child-rearing attitudes in the two types were compared in a combination of parental sex (mothers vs fathers) and child's sex (boys vs girls). Analysis showed that especially mothers and fathers of Type A boys had less concern for their children than their peers whose boys were classified as Type B. The notion that boys showing Type A behaviors might develop Type A behavior patterns by striving to obtain more expression of concern or affection from their parents was presented.     

Gender Dynamics in Mexican American Families: Connecting Mothers’, Fathers’, and Youths’ Experiences

Study goals were to examine the conditions under which congruent and incongruent patterns of parents’ division of household labor and gender role attitudes emerged, and the implications of these patterns for youth gender development. Questionnaire and phone diary data were collected from mothers, fathers, and youths from 236 Mexican American families living in the southwestern US. Preliminary cluster analysis identified three patterns: Traditional divisions of labor and traditional attitudes, egalitarian divisions of labor and egalitarian attitudes, and an incongruent pattern, with a traditional division of labor but egalitarian attitudes. MANOVAs, and follow-up, mixed- and between-group ANOVAs, revealed that these groups of families differed in parents’ time constraints, socioeconomic resources, and cultural orientations. Mothers in the congruent egalitarian group worked more hours and earned higher incomes as compared to mothers in the congruent traditional and incongruent groups, and the emergence of the incongruent group was grounded in within-family, interparental differences in work hours and incomes. Parents’ patterns of gendered practices and beliefs were linked to their youths’ housework participation, time with mothers versus fathers, and gender role attitudes. Youths in the congruent traditional group reported more traditional gender role attitudes than did youths in the congruent egalitarian and incongruent groups, and gender atypical housework participation and time with parents were only observed in the congruent egalitarian group. Findings demonstrate the utility of a within-family design to understand complex gendered phenomena, and highlight the multidimensional nature of gender and the importance of contextualizing the study of ethnic minorities.     

Parental control in child rearing and multidimensional locus of control.

272 French-Canadian adolescent boys and 286 girls took part in a study of the association between parental control in child-rearing and Levenson's locus of control dimensions. Analysis showed relations between parental control and the two external dimensions but not with the internal one. Age and gender did not contribute to the various relationships.     

Effects of employment status and marital status on perceptions of mothers

Forty-eight female and 48 male adults at a shopping mall evaluated a briefly depicted adult female stimulus person on 24 7-point bipolar scales that described personality traits and professional performance characteristics. Each subject rated one of four mothers of a young child. The mother was portrayed as either employed or nonemployed, and as either divorced or married. Employed mothers were perceived as more professionally competent but as less dedicated to their families than were nonemployed mothers. Married mothers were rated as more nurturant and as better adjusted than divorced mothers.Portions of this paper were presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Atlanta, Georgia, August 1988.     

Black and white adolescent mothers' child-rearing beliefs and behaviors

A convenience sample of 99 Black and 63 White adolescent mothers participated in a study of child-rearing beliefs and behaviors. Attitudes toward child-rearing were assessed using a scale developed for low-income, Black adolescent mothers. The HOME was used by trained observers to record parenting behavior. The Black and White samples were comparable in terms of income, employment status, educa tion, and age. Black mothers were more likely than White mothers to advocate some authoritarian child-rearing techniques. Black and White mothers with desirable attitudes toward parenting and positive parenting behaviors exceeded the number expected on the basis of chance alone. Overall, Black mothers were not as punitively oriented in either words or deeds as depicted in sociological analyses. The results of this analysis point to the importance of recognizing diversity in parental attitudes and behavior both between and within racial groups in the broader context of the changing role of adolescent mothers in our society.     

Teenage parenting in different cultures,family constellations,and caregiving environments: Effects on infant development

Teenage parenting was investigated in different ethnic groups (Cuban and American Black), family constellations (single-parent, nuclear, and extended families), and primary caregiving arrangements (mother versus other). One hundred sixty-four infants born to a representative sample of teenage mothers were observed during interactions with their mothers and were given developmental assessments when they were 12, 18, and 24 months of age. Being a Cuban mother, living in a nuclear family, and being a secondary caregiver were each associated independently with stronger social support systems and more positive child-rearing attitudes and mother-infant play interactions. Despite these early advantages, maternal stimulation and infant performance decreased over the second year of life irrespective of ethnic group, family constellation, and caregiving arrangements.     

Mothers with hostile, Type A predisposing child-rearing practices.

The authors examined characteristics of Finnish mothers (N = 924) who use hostile child-rearing practices (i.e., they ignore the child, are punitive and irritable, and perceive the child as a burden), practices that have been shown (R?ikk?nen & Keltikangas-J?rvinen, 1992) to predispose children to Type A behavior. The results of this study indicate that two factors--Type A behavior in the mothers and the mothers' sociodemographic background (low occupational status, low educational level and young age)--increase the probability of the mothers' treating their children in a hostile manner. Also, the mothers of boys in this study reported more hostile child-rearing practices than the mothers of girls did.     

Ratings of self and parents by youth: are they affected by family status, gender, and birth order?

In the present study, 648 youths from across the state of Kansas voluntarily evaluated themselves and their parents using the Personal Attribute Inventory for Children. Self-concept was found to be significantly higher for those from intact families in comparison with those from divorced remarried families. Evaluations of mothers were significantly higher for those from intact and divorced nonremarried families as compared with those from divorced remarried families. The ratings of fathers by youths from intact families were significantly more favorable than the ratings by those from either divorced nonremarried or divorced remarried families. Interestingly, gender by family status two-way interaction effects were also found for self-concept and ratings of fathers. Possible explanations for these findings, and their implications, are discussed.     

Turkish Mothers’ Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions: A Brief Report

This study is one of the first to examine emotion socialization behaviors of Turkish mothers; it also provides information on psychometric properties of the Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions Scale (CCNES; Fabes et al. 1990) in a sample of Turkish mothers of preschoolers. Participants were mothers (M _age = 35.07, SD = 4.14) of 141 children attending daycare centers in middle and upper-middle class suburbs of Istanbul. The patterns of inter-correlations between emotion socialization reactions and general child-rearing behaviors showed that they reflect related but different aspects of broader parenting styles. Both aspects of parenting displayed associations with child emotional reactivity in the expected direction, further confirming patterns previously revealed for emotion socialization in Western samples. The results also confirmed the six emotion socialization behaviors assessed by the CCNES and all dimensions had good internal consistencies. The pattern of inter-correlations among maternal emotion socialization behaviors, general child-rearing behaviors, and child negative emotionality confirmed construct validity of the instrument for Turkish mothers.     

Perceptions of women: Influence of performance,marital and parental variables

The purpose of this study was to examine whether level of job performance interacts with marital and parental status to influence evaluations of employed women. College students (104 females and 104 males) evaluated a stimulus person on 24 scales describing personality traits and job performance characteristics. Each participant rated 1 of 8 employed women depicted as either an outstanding or below-average worker, divorced or married, with one or no children. Compared to below-average workers, outstanding workers were rated as better-adjusted (especially if they were mothers) and more professionally and socially competent (especially if they were not mothers). Married women were perceived as better-adjusted than divorced women. Mothers were viewed as more nurturant than nonmothers.Portions of this paper were presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, New Orleans, Lousiana, August 1989.     

Spillover between mothers' postdivorce relationships: The mediating role of parenting stress

This study examined the differences and associations between divorced mothers' relationships with their ex‐partners and with their children, and investigated whether this association is mediated by mothers' experience of parenting stress. A questionnaire was completed by 117 divorced single mothers and 64 remarried mothers. Results show that the single mothers and the remarried mothers did not differ on postdivorce family relationship quality or on their experience of parenting stress. Furthermore, divorced mothers' relationship with their ex‐partners was found to be associated with the quality of the mother–child relationship, but not when controlling for mothers' experience of parenting stress. The results show that maternal parenting stress mediates the association between conflicts between ex‐partners and the quality of the mother–child relationship.     

单亲家长性别角色类型与子女社会适应的关系——性别角色教养态度的中介作用

在苏州市妇联及社区、街道工作人员的帮助下,采用判断取样,在苏州地区选取458户单亲家庭的父母子女,考察了单亲家长性别角色类型、性别角色教养态度与子女社会适应间的关系,并检验单亲家长性别角色教养态度在其性别角色类型与子女社会适应间的中介效应。结果表明:(1)单亲家长的性别角色类型多为双性化,性别角色教养态度处中上水平,单亲子女的社会适应处中上水平;不同背景变量的单亲子女其社会适应存在差异,单亲家长的户口与性别角色类型在子女社会适应上存在交互作用;(2)未分化及女性化类型与社会适应之间存在显著负相关,且未分化类型与性别角色教养态度存在显著负相关,单亲家长性别角色教养态度在其性别角色类型与子女社会适应两者关系中存在部分中介效应。     

Ties to influential adults among black and white adolescents: culture,social class,and family networks

Although prior research suggests the importance of nonparental adults to adolescents, the ecological context of those relationships has received little attention. This study examined ties to influential adults among 122 adolescents who varied by race, family structure, and gender. The strongest effects were for race. Blacks reported stronger ties than Whites to the maternal grandmother as well as more supportive interactions with adult males. While race differences in grandparental ties were robust across social class (SES), ties to an influential adult male became nonsignificant upon controlling for SES. African American girls from divorced families consistently reported the strongest ties. Discussion considers the role of culture versus SES in explaining race differences. Implications for mentoring interventions are proposed, with special attention to the role of actualizing latent ties to already existing network members.