20 research outputs found
Parenting Culture(s): Ideal-Parent Beliefs Across 37 Countries
What is it to be âan ideal parentâ? Does the answer differ across countries and social classes? To answer these questions in a way that minimizes bias and ethnocentrism, we used open-ended questions to explore ideal-parent beliefs among 8,357 mothers and 3,517 fathers from 37 countries. Leximancer Semantic Network Analysis was utilized to first determine parenting culture zones (i.e., countries with shared ideal-parent beliefs) and then extract the predominant themes and concepts in each culture zone. The results yielded specific types of ideal-parent beliefs in five parenting culture zones: being âresponsible and children/family-focusedâ for Asian parents, being âresponsible and proper demeanor-focusedâ for African parents, and being âloving and responsibleâ for Hispanic-Italian parents. Although the most important themes and concepts were the same in the final two zonesâbeing âloving and patient,â there were subtle differences: English-speaking, European Union, and Russian parents emphasized âbeing caring,â while French-speaking parents valued âlisteningâ or being âpresent.â Ideal-parent beliefs also differed by education levels within culture zones, but no general pattern was discerned across culture zones. These findings suggest that the country in which parents were born cannot fully explain their differences in ideal-parent beliefs and that differences arising from social class or education level cannot be dismissed. Future research should consider how these differences affect the validity of the measurements in question and how they can be incorporated into parenting intervention research within and across cultures
Parenting Culture(s): Ideal-Parent Beliefs Across 37 Countries
What is it to be âan ideal parentâ? Does the answer differ across countries and social classes? To answer these questions in a way that minimizes bias and ethnocentrism, we used open-ended questions to explore ideal-parent beliefs among 8,357 mothers and 3,517 fathers from 37 countries. Leximancer Semantic Network Analysis was utilized to first determine parenting culture zones (i.e., countries with shared ideal-parent beliefs) and then extract the predominant themes and concepts in each culture zone. The results yielded specific types of ideal-parent beliefs in five parenting culture zones: being âresponsible and children/family-focusedâ for Asian parents, being âresponsible and proper demeanor-focusedâ for African parents, and being âloving and responsibleâ for Hispanic-Italian parents. Although the most important themes and concepts were the same in the final two zonesâbeing âloving and patient,â there were subtle differences: English-speaking, European Union, and Russian parents emphasized âbeing caring,â while French-speaking parents valued âlisteningâ or being âpresent.â Ideal-parent beliefs also differed by education levels within culture zones, but no general pattern was discerned across culture zones. These findings suggest that the country in which parents were born cannot fully explain their differences in ideal-parent beliefs and that differences arising from social class or education level cannot be dismissed. Future research should consider how these differences affect the validity of the measurements in question and how they can be incorporated into parenting intervention research within and across cultures
Parental Burnout Around the Globe: a 42-Country Study
High levels of stress in the parenting domain can lead to parental burnout, a condition that has severe consequences for both parents and children. It is not yet clear, however, whether parental burnout varies by culture, and if so, why it might do so. In this study, we examined the prevalence of parental burnout in 42 countries (17,409 parents; 71% mothers; M_{age} = 39.20) and showed that the prevalence of parental burnout varies dramatically across countries. Analyses of cultural values revealed that individualistic cultures, in particular, displayed a noticeably higher prevalence and mean level of parental burnout. Indeed, individualism plays a larger role in parental burnout than either economic inequalities across countries, or any other individual and family characteristic examined so far, including the number and age of children and the number of hours spent with them. These results suggest that cultural values in Western countries may put parents under heightened levels of stress
Psychopathic men: Deficits in general mental ability, not emotion perception
Psychopathy is characteristically associated with deficits in emotion perception; however, findings surrounding this deficit are actually quite mixed. This is most likely due to limitations of study methodology, including the use of tasks with unknown or poor psychometric properties, underpowered samples, and a lack of control for third variables. We present a study that addressed these limitations. A sample of men (n = 339) ranging across the psychopathy continuum, recruited in and out of the German prison system, completed three psychometrically validated tasks that assessed the ability to perceive facially expressed emotions. Using latent variable modeling, we show that deficits in emotion perception ability associated with psychopathy are fully attributable to deficits in general mental ability. Modeling relations at the manifest level, separately for inmates and noninmates, support these conclusions. We conclude that emotion general and emotion-specific deficits associated with psychopathy have been exaggerated and instead indicate deficits in general mental ability. (PsycINFO Database Recor
Gender Equality and Maternal Burnout: A 40-Country Study
In Western countries, recent decades have witnessed a revolution toward gender equality. Inequalities have been greatly reduced in areas such as education or employment. Because inequalities lead to distress, this development has largely benefited women. One notable exception is the realm of parenting, which has remained rife with inequalities even in the most egalitarian countries. We hypothesized that experiencing inequality in parenting when one holds egalitarian values and raising a child in a country characterized by a high level of gender equality in other areas, increases mothersâ psychological distress in the specific area of parenting. Multilevel modeling analyses computed among 11,538 mothers from 40 countries confirmed this prediction: high egalitarian values at the individual level and high gender equality at the societal level are associated with higher burnout levels in mothers. The associations hold beyond differences in sociodemographic characteristics at the individual level and beyond economic disparities at the societal level. These findings show the importance of egalitarian values and gender equality and their paradoxical effect when inequalities are still present in specific areas as parenting. This study reveals the crucial need to act not only at the micro level but also at the macro level to promote gender equality in parenting and prevent parental burnout