2-161 - International Perspectives to Understand How Diverse Socio-ecological Contexts Shape African and Southeast Asian Families

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Economically driven social change is clearly altering children’s learning ecology and family dynamics around the world (Greenfield, 2009; Kagitcibasi, 2005, 2013). The trend calls for the need to expand and reconstitute our definitions and knowledge of cultural influences on child development beyond ethnic or national variations. This symposium brings together international perspectives to understand cultural and contextual diversity in the development of infants, children, and adolescents. In all three studies, urban-rural comparison is made to highlight the contextual influences. The first paper utilized qualitative observations of infant-caretaker interactions to investigate variations in early experiences of infants in lower- and middle-class families in South Africa and rural families in Cameroon. It highlights meaningful group differences in parenting styles and the range of caretakers. The second study proposed and constructed a multidimensional measurement of economic deprivation in South African Zulu households; it offers a critical examination and a culturally sensitive approach to examine the issue of poverty in rural and urban Zulu families with children 7-10 years of age. The last study investigated within-ethnic variations in family obligation values, and context-dependent ways in which the traditional value may translate into daily lives of Vietnamese adolescents growing up in rural Vietnam, urban Vietnam, and urban U.S. Together, this symposium enriches our understanding of cultural diversity and contextual influences concerning child development. The discussant is a distinguished cultural developmental psychologist who is a leading researcher in the field.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• Heejung Park, Beloit College

Discussant

• Heidi Keller, University of Osnarbrueck

Individual Presentations

• How Socio-Ecological Contexts Impact Early Experiences of Three Month Old Infants in Africa - Presenting Author: Hiltrud Otto, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Nicole Schuitmaker, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa; Mark Tomlinson, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa; Heidi Keller, University of Osnarbrueck; Bettina Lamm, Universität Osnabrück

• How do we Measure Economic Deprivation in South Africa? Building a Theoretically Grounded Multidimensional Model - Presenting Author: Ashley Rae Turbeville, New York University; J. Lawrence Aber, New York University; Nia Diane Gordon, New York University

• Manifestation of Family Obligation Values in the Lives of Vietnamese Adolescents in Rural Vietnam, Urban Vietnam, and Urban U.S. - Presenting Author: Heejung Park, Beloit College; Anna Lau, UCLA; Victoria Ngo, RAND corporation; bahr weiss, vanderbilt university