1-120 - A Cultural Look at Parenting Related Processes During the Preschool Years

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

In this symposium, we gather together data from four different cultures which examine parenting-related processes during the preschool years. In particular, we compare data from Malaysia, China, Japan, and Turkey. These are cultures which vary significantly in cultural ideals of autonomy and relatedness. These are also societies in the process of rapid change. These studies employ multiple methods (observations, direct behavioral assessments, questionnaires) as they examine how child temperament, cultural context, and parenting practices are related to preschool children’s behavioral outcomes.

The first study by Tan and colleagues addresses how warmth and the promotion of filial piety I parenting can moderate the association between child temperament and conduct problems in Malaysian preschoolers. The second study by Gao and colleagues addresses aspects of a father’s parenting as it relates to young children’s social cognition with a Chinese sample. The third study by Kawashima and colleagues investigates how paternal involvement affects parental stress, parenting quality and marital quality in a Japanese sample. Finally, Selcuk and colleagues look at observational data with Turkish preschoolers and document how different maternal parenting practices are differentially associated with child outcome for boys and girls.

Together, these papers address the importance of parenting influences for young children, when they are most open to parental influence. The implications of the results of these studies for future research as well as policy and practice will be addressed.

Sub Unit

• Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Chair

• David Nelson, BYU

Individual Presentations

• Child Temperament and Conduct Problems: Parental Warmth and Filial Piety as Moderators - Presenting Author: Jo-Pei Tan, Manchester Metropolitan University; Charissa S. L. Cheah, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Fatimah Haron, HELP University, Malalysia; Ai Hwa Quek, HELP University, Malalysia

• The Effects of Fathers’ Parenting on Young Children’s Social Cognition - Presenting Author: Wen Gao, Liaoning Normal University; Xinyi Leng, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China; Larry J. Nelson, Brigham Young University

• Paternal Involvement and Parenting Quality in Japan - Presenting Author: Akiko Kawashima, Ochanomizu University, Japan; Jun Nakazawa, Chiba University; Craig H. Hart, Brigham Young University

• The Differential Role of Parenting in Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviors of Male and Female Turkish Preschoolers - Presenting Author: Muge Ekerim, Koc University; H. Melis Yavuz, MEF University; Onuray Güney, MEF University; Bilge Selcuk, Koc University; David Nelson, BYU