Continuity and change in reproductive attitudes of teenage women, their mothers, and maternal grandmothers in South Africa

During the past couple of decades, as South Africa has undergone a political and social transformation, conditions for reproduction and reproductive health have changed. Against the backdrop of these societal changes, the objectives of this cross-sectional study were to trace continuity and change in reproductive attitudes on an individual level, through three generations of women linked to each other by kin in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. This study is defined within the psychological theoretical framework called Values of Children, and the specific aims for this study were to explore the three generations of women's preferred timing of their first childbirth, their desired number of children and sex of the offspring, and the women's deeper motivations behind the wish for children. Participants (n = 516) were chosen using a multi-stage cluster sampling procedure, and face-to-face structured interviews were conducted. Factor analysis indicated that the women have two main motivations to have children, namely Social/Emotional values of children and Traditional/Utilitarian values of children. However, the motivations to bear children seemed to be less emphasised by the teenage women as compared to their mothers and maternal grandmothers. Likewise, the data revealed a change in reproductive attitudes in that teenage women wished to have fewer children later in their lives than the older generations. Stronger daughter preferences than son preferences were presented in one-child scenarios in all generations, yet the strongest emphasis on a daughter was found in the young generation. In the light of the huge social changes in the country, such as the explosion of HIV infections and the abolishment of the apartheid regime including its racial family planning programmes, we expected more dramatic changes in reproductive attitudes in three generations of women than those which we found.

Climate change to worsen severity of stem canker

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Cross-cultural psychology:Research and applications

Cross-Cultural Psychology is a leading textbook offering senior undergraduate and graduate students a thorough and balanced overview of the whole field of cross-cultural psychology. The team of internationally acclaimed authors present the latest empirical research, theory, methodology and applications from around the world. They discuss all domains of behavior (including development, social behavior, personality, cognition, psycholinguistics, emotion and perception), and present the three main approaches in cross-cultural psychology (cultural, culture-comparative, and indigenous traditions) as well as applications to a number of domains (including acculturation, intercultural relations and communication, work and health). With new additions to the writing team, the third edition benefits from an even broader range of cross-cultural perspectives. Now in 2-colour, the format is even more reader-friendly and the features include chapter outlines, chapter summaries, further reading and an updated glossary of key terms. This edition also offers an accompanying website containing additional material and weblinks.</jats:p

Parenting and Late Adolescents’ Well-Being in Greece, Norway, Poland and Switzerland: Associations with Individuation from Parents

Cross-cultural studies focusing on individuation and parent-child relationships during late adolescence in the European context are sparse. This study investigated relationships between maternal and paternal responsiveness, demandingness and autonomy granting and late adolescents’ subjective well-being in Greece, Norway, Poland, and Switzerland. Additionally, the role of psychological, functional, and financial aspects of adolescents’ individuation in these relationships were assessed. Late adolescents (18–20-years-old, N = 745) reported on their parents’ behaviors and themselves. Structural models with latent constructs were applied to test the hypothesized relationships. Results showed that in all four countries, maternal and paternal autonomy granting and responsiveness were positively associated with adolescents’ well-being. No significant results were found for demandingness. Further, the study found that psychological and functional connectedness with mothers and financial connectedness with fathers partially explained the associations between parenting behaviors and adolescents’ well-being. The results indicate more similarities than differences across Europe in the associations between parenting on late adolescents’ outcomes. More importantly, the study points out that maternal and paternal parenting may play different roles in late adolescence. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature