1-018 - Coming Back to (South) Baltimore: A Symposium Honoring the Career of Peggy Miller

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

This symposium honors the 40-year career of Peggy Miller. Beginning with her work in South Baltimore (1982), Miller has long advocated that the study of children must be situated within an understanding of the rich contexts in which they live to appreciate the sophisticated socialization practices adopted by all parents (1995). These papers testify to the richness this approach affords.

Our first paper examines cultural differences in emotion socialization beliefs and practices across two storytelling contexts. Although parental emotion beliefs inform their socialization practices and emotion talk, these effects varied by culture (American versus Korean) and gender. The second paper compares the origins of narrativelike talk among African American and European American children. Although the amount of narrativelike talk varied dramatically across these two cultural groups, the inclusion of important narrative elements (events, states, and goals) was nearly identical in the two groups in terms of proportion and developmental time.

The third paper addresses challenges faced by Vietnamese women contracted to transnational marriages with Taiwanese men. Specifically, the collision between these women’s goals to raise their children with strong Taiwanese identities while simultaneously cultivating Vietnamese-specific child-rearing goals is discussed. Finally, the last paper examines the socialization of death concepts in Mexican pre-schoolers through the celebration of “día de muertos,” describing the range and significance of intergenerational participation for both parents and children.

In sum, these papers celebrate the achievement of Peggy Miller in invigorating the study of parental socialization goals and practices by insisting they occur within specific culturally-defined contexts.

Sub Unit

• Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Chairs

• Douglas E. Sperry, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

• Grace Cho, St. Olaf College

Individual Presentations

• Children’s Emotion Socialization in Sociocultural Context - Presenting Author: Grace Cho, St. Olaf College

• Early Development of Narrative Skills Revisited: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Stories Told by Toddlers - Presenting Author: Douglas E. Sperry, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College; Non-Presenting Author: Linda L. Sperry, Indiana State University

• Vietnamese Immigrant Mothers in Taiwan: An Investigation of Their Challenges, Adaptation, and Child-Rearing Beliefs - Presenting Author: Eva C.-H. Chen, Benedictine College

• Remember Me: How Mexican Parents Teach Children About Death and Caring for Their Ancestors - Presenting Author: Isabel T. Gutiérrez, Raritan Valley Community College