Poster #156 - The socialization context of young Chilean children

• In Event: 1-115 - Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Section - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Integrative Statement

Introduction. The home environment and specifically parenting practices and behaviors are widely recognized as salient for children's development (e.g., Carlson, 2009; NICHD, 2008). Even though this association may be universal, the specific socialization practices may vary by culture or context (Rogoff, 2003). Data coming from the Chilean context is very limited. This study provides an in depth description of Chilean mothers and fathers parenting practices and behaviors and offers a portrayal on potential strengths and challenges of low-income Chilean families by considering a series of sources of variability in the home environment, parenting practices and behaviors. Specifically, we examined: 1) Type and frequency of parents´ activities with their children; 2) Quality of the parent-child interactions; 3) Home organization 4) Characteristics related to the quality and type of dyadic interactions; 5) Differences between mothers and fathers in the aforementioned variables; 6) Correlations between variables.
Study population. Our sample consisted of 50 low-income families (mother, father, and their 3-year-old children) (Table 1).
Methods. Parents completed a questionnaire on demographic information, depressive symptoms (CES-D; Radloff, 1977), parental stress (PSS; Berry & Jones, 1995), parental practices (e.g., how often do you play with your child?) and home routines & organization (CHAOS; Matheny et al., 1995). Mother-child and father-child interactions (10 min free play) were videotaped and coded for positive/negative parenting (PARCHISY; Deater-Deckard, 2000).
Results. Parents´ report on the time spent with their children during weekdays differ in respect to total hours with the child, (t(98)=-.807, p <.001) and time playing (t(98)=-3.51, p<.01); mothers reported doing this more than fathers (Mmother=8.56, Mfather=4.38; Mmother=3.23, Mfather=1.98). However, parents´ report about activities during weekends did not differ significantly either in time spent with the child or time playing with the child (Mmother=11.08; Mfather=10.46 and Mmother=3.7 and Mfather=4.5).Mothers´and father´s activities are shown in figure 1.
Regarding parent-child interaction, fathers and mothers showed similar levels of positive control (t(93)=-1.89, p>.05) and responsiveness to child's demands (t(93)=.24, p>.05). However, mothers displayed significant higher levels of intrusiveness (t(93) = -3.01, p<.01 ) and fathers show higher levels of positive affect (t(93)=5.08, p <.001). Both parents displayed very low levels of negative affect (t(93)=1.79, p>.05).
Regarding home organization, parents reported moderated level of CHAOS (M= 36.8). Parents showed depressive symptoms below the cut-off, but mothers reported significantly more depressive symptoms than fathers (t(98)=-3.39, p<.001). Mothers also showed higher levels of parental stress (t(98)= -3.81, p<.001).
Mothers who reported being more involved with their children showed lower levels of intrusiveness during interaction (r=-.29, p=.046). The higher levels of depressive symptoms fathers reported, the higher home CHAOS they perceived (r=.30, p=.033).
Conclusion. Data from this study provides much needed information on the ways in which low-income Chilean fathers and mothers organize the home environment of their preschool children.

Authors

• Fernanda Prieto, Centro de Apego y Regulación Emocional (CARE), Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del Desarrollo
  Presenting Author

• Daniela Aldoney, Universidad del Desarrollo
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jessica Vidal, Universidad del Desarrollo
  Non-Presenting Author