Maternal Encouragement of Sociability and Adjustment in Non-migrant and Migrant Children in Urban China

• In Event: Global Perspectives on Parenting and Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

Sociability refers to the motivation and capacity to initiate and maintain social interactions (Rubin & Asendorpf, 1993). In Western societies, sociability is regarded as a major indicator of social competence (Rubin et al., 2010) and is associated with higher social status and fewer psychological problems. Not surprisingly, sociability is one of the most desired characteristics that North American parents would like their children to have (e.g., Cheah & Chirkov, 2008).
Parenting behaviors, however, are directed by cultural beliefs and values. In traditional Chinese society, sociability is not highly valued and encouraged because it may not have obvious benefits for group functioning. As such, helping children develop sociability is not considered an important goal in child-rearing (Qu et al., 2014). Nevertheless, Chinese society is quickly changing due to the social and economic reform starting in 1980s. Behavioral qualities such as initiative-taking in social interactions that are traditionally neglected are increasingly appreciated and valued today because those qualities may help individuals achieve success in the new socioeconomic circumstances. As a result, parents in urban China have changed their child-rearing attitudes and started to encourage their children to display sociability (Way et al., 2013).
Nevertheless, the massive economic and social changes in China have been largely limited to major cities. As a result, rural individuals are found to endorse more traditional values that emphasizes group-orientation and self-restraint (Fuligni & Zhang, 2004). The rapid development in urban regions has also led to a large-scale rural-to-urban migration. Migrant families have deep connections with rural regions and are found to endorse more traditional parenting styles and practices than urban parents (e.g., Ma et al., 2015). Given the differences in socialization goals and parenting styles between non-migrant and migrant parents, it is reasonable to expect that maternal encouragement of sociability would be related to positive adjustment outcomes among non-migrant children and it may be less relevant to children’s adjustment or even lead to maladjustment among migrant children.
The original sample consisted of 355 non-migrant children (185 boys, Mean age = 9.90 years, SD = .79) and 248 migrant children (155 boys, Mean age = 9.95 years, SD = .83) in grades 3 and 4 in China. From the original sample, 348 non-migrant children (180 boys) and 248 migrant children (155 boys) participated in the follow-up study one year later. Data were obtained from multiple sources, including mothers’ reports, peer nominations, teacher ratings, and child self-reports.
The results showed that maternal encouragement of sociability negatively contributed to later loneliness in non-migrant children, but not in migrant children. Moreover, among non-migrant children, maternal encouragement of sociability was negatively associated with later behavioral problems for those who had higher initial behavioral problems, and positively associated with later perceived self-worth for those with higher initial self-worth. Among migrant children, maternal encouragement of sociability was positively associated with later peer victimization and learning problems for those who had higher initial problems. The results indicate that maternal encouragement of sociability may function differently in the non-migrant and migrant family contexts in China.

Group Authors

Siman Zhao, Xinyin Chen ,Junsheng Liu , Dan Li , & Liying Cui

Authors

• Siman Zhao, University of Dayton
  Presenting Author

• Xinyin Chen, University of Pennsylvania
  Non-Presenting Author

• Junsheng Liu, East China Normal University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Dan Li, Shanghai Normal University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Liying Cui, Shanghai Normal University
  Non-Presenting Author