Cultural Differences in Child Rearing

TLDR

The study surveyed 38 middle‑class immigrant Chinese and 38 middle‑class Caucasian American mothers of 3‑ to 8‑year‑old children using the Parenting Dimensions Inventory and Parenting Goals Questionnaire. Chinese mothers reported higher physical punishment and yelling, whereas Caucasian mothers reported higher sensitivity, consistency, non‑restrictiveness, nurturance, and rule‑setting; parenting goals did not differ culturally but varied with child age, with both groups emphasizing manners, school skills, and emotional adjustment more during early elementary years, and Chinese mothers also expressed a need to balance ties to their culture of origin with host‑culture socialization.

Abstract

To study cultural differences in child-rearing practices, 38 middle-class immigrant Chinese mothers and 38 middle-class Caucasian American mothers of 3- to 8-year-old children completed the Parenting Dimensions Inventory (PDI) and the Parenting Goals Questionnaire (PGQ). Comparison of the PDI scale scores revealed differences on all but the reasoning dimension. Caucasian American mothers scored higher on sensitivity, consistency, nonrestrictiveness, nurturance, and rule setting, whereas immigrant Chinese mothers scored higher on physical punishment and yelling at the child. Examination of the parenting goals revealed no cultural main effect, however, a main effect was found for child's age. Both immigrant Chinese and Caucasian American mothers place more emphasis on manners, school-related skills, and emotional adjustment during the early elementary school years (6 to 8 years of age) than during the preschool years (3 to 5 years of age). Results related to terns of the need for immigrant Chinese to maintain ties to their culture of origin and to accommodate to the socialization practices of the host culture.