Moral reasoning among children in India: The intersection of culture, development, and social class

The study included 144 Indian children in middle childhood and early adolescence of high and low SES. Based on the cultural-developmental approach, the aims were to test hypotheses about use of the three Ethics of Autonomy, Community and Divinity, and to gain qualitative insights into the children’s indigenous moral concepts. Three findings stood out: 1) Older children employed a rich set of indigenous duty concepts, thereby also using the Ethic of Community more than younger children. 2) Younger children already reasoned in terms of the Ethic of Divinity. 3) High-SES children used the Ethic of Autonomy more than low-SES children and conceptualized the individual in independent and psychological terms; whereas low-SES children’s view of autonomy invoked fear of physical punishment. The cultural-developmental theory and methodology revealed sides of children’s moral reasoning that are largely missing in Western studies, and point to new research directions in moral development and socialization

Traditional and modern eating in older adults : a comparison between an urban and rural sample from Gujarat, Western India

BackgroundThe present study aimed to investigate how often and to what degree older adults living in an area of Gujarat, Western India, enact traditional and modern eating behaviors. Specifically, we aimed to determine which facets of traditional eating are enacted rarely and which facets of modern eating are enacted often. Moreover, we hypothesized that urban older adults show a higher level of modern eating behaviors than rural older adults. Furthermore, we examined which traditional eating behaviors are more prevalent in rural older adults, and which are more prevalent in urban older adults.MethodsA trained research assistant administered a questionnaire in a face-to-face situation with 120 older adults in a rural and an urban area of Gujarat, Western India. Participants were asked how often and to what degree they perform 57 traditional and modern eating behaviors.ResultsOverall, our sample of older Gujaratis reported a high level of traditional eating behaviors and a low level of modern eating behaviors. However, we also found, for example, a low level of the traditional eating facet of men getting preferential treatment and a high level of the modern eating facet of food being readily available. Moreover, most modern eating facets were more pronounced in the urban than in the rural sample. This was also the case for half of all traditional eating facets.ConclusionOur sample of older adults living in an area of Gujarat displayed more modern eating behaviors in urban than in rural areas. At the same time, however, the urban sample showed also more traditional eating behaviors, such as eating more fruits, possibly because of better food availability. Altogether, results might hint at some signs of modernization among older adults in this area of Gujarat with regard to changing gender roles and better food availability.publishe