A Comparison of Eastern and Western Parenting

Programmes, Policies and Approaches

Low Yiu Tsang Andrew

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781351330169
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Developmental Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Parenting adolescents is a challenging task for parents. Professionals offer a range of support and parenting programmes to support parents. However, the importance of culturally adapting parenting programmes to benefit parents and their adolescent children hasn't always been understood. This book provides a comparison of East and West parenting approaches and parenting programmes to show how vital a culturally sensitive approach is to the positive development of the parent-adolescent relationship. It offers a comprehensive overview of current theories and research on parenting adolescents. It focuses on comparing the differences in parenting style and practice between Chinese parents and their Western counterparts and the policy context in Chinese culture with that in the West. It also offers guidance on how to conduct an evaluation of parenting programmes and how to adapt them for the right cultural setting.

Postgraduate students studying parenting, developmental psychology or social work will find this work particularly useful, as will researchers in any of these areas.

1 Introduction

Introduction

Parenting programmes are widely accepted as a means of supporting parents in modern society. Different programmes for parents of infants, children and adolescents, organised by healthcare professionals (Leung et al., 2003), psychologists and social workers (Tsang, 2004), are available on a daily basis in Hong Kong. This proliferation reflects parents’ need for support (Coleman, 2001), particularly in modern society, as more diverse family structures emerge (Wilson et al., 2003). Rapid social and economic changes also pose additional challenges to parents. Furthermore, numerous studies indicate that ineffective parenting is related to anti-social behaviour in adolescents (Loeber & Stouthamer-Leober, 1986; Farrington & West, 1990), as is conflict between parents and adolescents (Shek & Ma, 2001). In contrast to this, positive parenting, which provides warmth, praise and encouragement, is correlated with outcomes such as higher self-esteem, less anti-social behaviour and better academic achievement for children and adolescents. Nevertheless, studies of parenting programmes have not always been able to help scholars and practitioners to form consistent conclusions with regard to the outcomes of parenting programmes, nor the essential elements required to achieve desired outcomes for parents, children and adolescents.

In particular, recent developments in evaluation research have encouraged a stronger focus on what works and in what context (Pawson & Tilley, 1997). As researchers, we need to focus more on which elements of parenting support are particularly useful to which types of client. Furthermore, parenting practices are culturally specific (Ogbu, 1981; Rubin, Bornstein & Cheah, 2006). There are numerous differences in the beliefs generally held about parenting in Euro–American and Chinese cultures. Nevertheless, the majority of parenting programmes have been designed with special attention to Euro–American culture, under the influence of parenting theories developed in the West, such as Baumrind’s parenting styles (Baumrind, 1968), Carl Roger’s humanistic theories (Thorne, 2003) or behavioural approaches (Skinner, 1965). It is therefore of great importance to understand how useful it is to adapt Western programmes to the local Chinese context.

Parenting

Parenting can be defined as

the entrusted and abiding task of parents to prepare their offspring for the physical, psychosocial and economic conditions in which they will eventually fare, and it is hoped, flourish… . Parents are the “final common pathway” to children’s development and stature, adjustment and success.

(Bornstein, 2002: ix)

Other literature suggests that parenting is composed of purposeful activities aimed at ensuring children’s survival and development (Hoghughi, 2004: 5). The word parenting itself is more concerned with the development and education of children than with who does it. Parenting is also a process, an activity and an interaction, usually performed by adults with children, but not necessarily or exclusively with their own biological offspring. The connotation of parenting is related to a positive, nurturing activity.

These definitions relate to parents’ responsibility for their children in general, for example, in regard to the provision of care to meet their children’s physical and emotional needs. Nevertheless, there is no agreed definition of what constitutes effective parenting or what contributes to positive outcomes for children, nor are suggested definitions able to address the bi-directional nature of parenting practices (Belsky & Vondra, 1989).

Quinton (2004) suggests that parenting is

something that parents do. It is not something they have. It involves tasks such as giving physical care, boundary setting and teaching social behaviour; behaviours such as responsiveness, affection and positive regard; relationship qualities such as giving emotional security and secure attachment.

(Quinton, 2004: 27)

This definition presents a more concrete idea of what people actually do that is considered to be parenting. Quinton further indicates that what parents do is subject to different influences. These include genetics, such as whether or not children are born with any disabilities or other difficulties, and the parents’ own childhood experiences, such as their experience of abuse or family violence. Other aspects that affect parenting include parents’ present circumstances, such as their own mental health status and whether or not they are living in poverty (Quinton, 2004).

Holden (2010) notes that “the word parenting is derived from the Latin verb parere which was defined as ‘to bring forth or produce’ ” (Holden, 2010: x). Purohit proposes that

parenting is the process of nurturing and guiding the children. It also means catering to the basic needs – physical, psychological and emotional needs of the children. Parenting is the process of teaching and training your children to earn their own living.

(2005: 3)

It is also through parenting that personal, religious or cultural values are transmitted (Alvy, 1988).

Pugh, De’Ath and Smith (1994) propose a list of tasks, which forms a very good illustration of what constitutes parenting. The list of tasks includes giving physical care to a child and providing emotional security, as well as demonstrating affection. It also includes setting boundaries for a child, while allowing room for the child to develop. Parenting also includes teaching behaviours that facilitate social skills for a child, as well as helping the child to develop skills that promote cognitive development (Pugh, De’Ath & Smith, 1994). It can be seen from this that parenting practices are very important not only in giving physical care but also in setting boundaries and providing emotional support.

Parenting nowadays is not provided solely by biological parents. With the growing diversity in family patterns, some tasks may be carried out by institutions, step-parents, grandparents or other relatives of the biological parents.

Conceptual framework of parenting

Some theorists have posited important elements of positive or optimal parenting when considering what constitutes effective parenting practice. Early work in behavioural and psychoanalytic traditions describes the relationship between parents and their children (Maccoby, 1998). Behaviourism sees the parent–child relationship as one of teacher and learner. Parents help their children to learn expected behaviour and impose rewards and punishments with which to reinforce these lessons and eliminate undesirable actions (Darling, 1999). According to this theory, habits learned can be unlearned once the reinforcement ceases to be received.

Some psychoanalytic theorists (e.g., Strean, 1979; Elliott, 2002) propose that the characteristics acquired during early childhood are irreversible and will affect a child’s development into adulthood. According to this view, intra-psychic forces dominate our development through some of the pre-determined psychosexual stages during our early years of life, especially the first four to five years. Parenting practices are important when they involve the imposition of restrictions, which may not be wanted by the child, against a child’s free expression of wishes and impulses, and the need to direct children’s sexual impulses away from their parents themselves. Children then experience a dilemma in which they need their parents to provide love and care but also fear parental rejection and the lack of parental care and acceptance when they direct their anger and sexuality toward their parents. This conflict is resolved through identifying with the same-sex parent by adopting sex-typed behaviour and attitudes. This theory has been subjected to strong criticism, in particular on the basis that the source of energy and drive in children’s behaviour is not sexual (Maccoby, 1992).

Behavioural and psychoanalytic theories constitute early attempts to understand parenting and were subject to significant limitations. For example, behavioural theory lacks any consideration of factors other than stimulation and response. Psychoanalytic theory is in turn limited by the idea that characteristics developed in early childhood will be determinative of someone’s whole life thereafter.

Attachment theory consists of another set of concepts that informs us about the importance of emotional bonding between parents and children. There is a strong argument that the secure attachment of children is a crucial outcome of good parenting (Hoghughi, 2004). Attachment theory is based on the work of John Bowlby, who observed interactions between infants and their mothers. It suggests that the person caring for an infant gives strong emotional support and is a source of security and protection (Brooks, 2004), which are important for the child’s healthy development. Bowlby (1969) proposes that proximity to an attachment figure is initially accomplished through relating to the mother via infant patterns of behaviour and is very important to the survival of human beings. The resulting sense of security provides a safe foundation for infants to explore the world and learn how to regulate their emotions (Masten & Coatsworth, 1998). There are three forms of insecure attachment. The first is anxious-avoidant; infants in the study who displayed this pattern were unconcerned when their mothers left the room and had no interest in their return. The second form is anxious-resistant attachment, wherein infants protested strongly when their mothers left and found it difficult to re-establish closeness after their return. The third form of insecure attachment is disorganised attachment, in which infants demonstrated unpredictable behaviour with their parents. Sometimes they showed happiness when approaching their parents and sometimes they avoided them (Brooks, 2004).

Other studies indicate that rejected children are aggressive (Coie & Jacobs, 1993). Young children begin to develop ways to control their own behaviour when interacting with their adult caregivers. A link has been established between difficulty regulating one’s own behaviour, such as attention span, and anti-social behaviour and academic problems later in life (Eisenberg et al., 1997).

Another influential perspective that describes optimal parenting comes from other work on parenting styles. Parenting style refers to parents’ attitudes, beliefs and ways of reasoning about their own and their children’s behaviour (Brooks, 2004). Darling and Steinberg define it as

a constellation of attitudes toward the child that are communicated to the child and that, taken together, create an emotional climate in which the parent’s behaviours are expressed. These behaviours include both the specific, goal-directed behaviours through which parents perform their parental duties (to be referred to as parenting practices) and non-goal directed parental behaviours, such as gestures, changes in tone of voice, or the spontaneous expression of emotion.

(1993: 488)

According to Maccoby and Martin (1983), parenting style consists of two important elements: parental responsiveness and parental demandingness. The former refers to “the extent to which parents intentionally foster individuality, self-regulation, and self-assertion by being attuned, supportive, and acquiescent to children’s special needs and demands” (Baumrind, 1991: 62). Parental demandingness refers to “the claims parents make on children to become integrated into the family whole, by their maturity demands, supervision, disciplinary efforts and willingness to confront the child who disobeys” (Baumrind, 1991: 61–62).

Four categories of parenting style can be defined according to high or low levels of parental demandingness and the responsiveness of a parent. The categories are made up of indulgent, authoritarian, authoritative and uninvolved parenting styles (Maccoby & Martin, 1983). These styles reflect parents’ values and behaviours (Baumrind, 1991). Indulgent (also known as permissive) parents adopt a nondirective approach. They do not require their children to demonstrate mature behaviour or allow their children to self-regulate their own behaviour. They also avoid confrontation with their children (Baumrind, 1991). They are more permissive and more responsive to children’s needs and adopt a more lenient approach to discipline.

Authoritarian parents are demanding and directive but they are not responsive to their children’s needs. They expect their ideas to be absolutely obeyed and do not need to explain their own decisions or behaviour to their children (Baumrind, 1991). The authoritarian parenting style can be further subdivided into two types. The first is nonauthoritarian–directive, in which parents are directive but are not intrusive in their children’s lives. They also do not demonstrate autocratic behaviour in the use of their power. The second is authoritarian–directive, in which the parents have all the features of authoritative parents but are also highly intrusive in their children’s lives and activities (Darling, 1999).

Authoritative parenting is regarded by Baumrind (1973) as the optimal parenting style. It provides clear requirements for responsible and pro-social behaviour for children. It also provides affection and responsiveness to children’s needs. Such parents “monitor and impart clear standards for their children’s conduct. Their disciplinary methods are supportive rather than punitive. They want their children to be assertive as well as socially responsible; self-regulating as well as cooperative” (Baumrind, 1991: 62). Parents need to be firm in regard to helping their children maintain the required standards of behaviour and may even need to confront their children in order to impose this pattern. However, the parents also need to be kind and understanding in order to impose developmentally appropriate requirements on their children (Maccoby, 1992).

The fourth style is uninvolved. Parents displaying this style demonstrate low levels of both responsiveness and demandingness (Darling, 1999). Such parents usually have very low levels of sensitivity to their children’s needs. In addition to this, some may even reject or neglect their children. Children and adolescents who are under the influence of an uninvolved parenting style have been found to perform poorly in all domains examined, such as social skills, self-regulation, academic performance and so on (Baumrind, 1991).

The Baumrind typology of parenting style has become a base for research into the optimal approach to parenting. In Euro–American culture, numerous studies confirm that the authoritative parenting style is effective in producing socially adaptable children and adolescents. For example, Steinberg and colleagues (1992) conducted a study based on Maccoby and Martin’s classification in order to understand adolescent competence. Their results indicate that the authoritative parenting style is related to adolescent self-confidence, less delinquent activity, good emotional control and general competence, as well as self-reliance, regardless of the adolescents’ gender and socio-economic status (Brooks, 2004). Nevertheless, these studies are usually based on Western, middle-class samples. Less attention has been paid to optimal Chinese parenting. Studies indicate difficulty exists in regard to categorising Chinese parenting according to Baumrind’s parenting styles (McBride-Chang & Chang, 1998).

Another influential theory of parenting behaviour is Bronfenbrenner’s ecological perspective. Bronfenbrenner (1979) proposes that the whole ecology in which a child is living affects this child’s development. This includes parenting practices, marital relationships, relatives and friends and the availability of resources (Quinton, 2004). From an ecological perspective, parenting is seen as a bi-directional process in which the child’s behaviour affects and is affected by parenting practices. Adults’ behaviour is also influenced by their own experiences of childhood, their physical status, mental wellness and so on. Furthermore, the process is bi-directional, as the way in which children and adolescents react to what their parents do to them will have an impact on the parenting subsequently provided to them. This concept is based on the ecological perspective (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), which provides a frame of reference for the complicated and reciprocal nature of parenting (Quinton, 2004).

The effectiveness of parenting practice, as seen from the ecological perspective, also depends on the parents’ relationship with one another and/or with current partners, their economic circumstances, the cultural context in which they are situated and the wider social and political structures that affect the whole family (Hoghughi, 2004). Parenting practices are also affected by the parents’ own value systems and their approaches to managing their children.

Recent developments in understanding parenting behaviour have involved coining a new term: ‘over parenting’. This term is used to denote those behaviours that demonstrate excessive involvement in children’s lives. These behaviours include being over-protective of children in regard to the children’s autonomy in the face of age-appropriate life challenges (Segrin et al., 2012). These parents attempt to keep their children out of harm’s way (Segrin et al., 2013). They also assume themselves to be highly responsible for their children’s success and happiness. Studies have indicated that over parenting is associated with children’s anxiety and insecurity (Gar & Hudson, 2008), greater narcissistic traits in children (Cramer, 2011) and lower levels of self-efficacy in children when compared with children who are not over parented (Givertz & Segrin, 2014). Recent research findings indicate that over parenting is also highly correlated with parental anxiety and parenting regret (Segrin et al., 2013). The same study also indicates that over parenting is highly related to children’s ineffective coping strategies, such as internalising and distancing, as well as higher levels of narcissism.

Another wave of recent developments in describing parenting behaviour is through the lens of positive psychology. Positive psychology is a scientific discipline developed by psychologist Martin Seligman (1998). Positive psychology is defined as “the scientific study of positive experiences and positive individual traits, and the institutions that facilitate their development” (Duckworth, Steen & Seligman, 2005: 630).

Positive emotions described by positive psychology and seen as useful when applied to parenting practices include optimism, hope and faith. This includes placing hope in children and adolescents by not focusing on their current state of behaviour. It also involves faith that, in parenting children and adolescents, they will be successful in the future, rather than focusing on what they have done wrong or not done well enough in the past. It also entails a perspective in which parents are encouraged to focus on the strengths of their children and adolescents, rather than on their weaknesses. Although no systematic package of parenting strategies backed by scientific research has yet been identified, parenting with positive psychology is definitely a trend to watch in coming research and clinical practice.

Based on the above discussion, we can conclude that parenting practices have several important c...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Parenting, parenting styles and adolescent development in Hong Kong and Euro–American culture
• 3 Parenting programmes
• 4 Methodology of evaluating parenting programmes
• 5 Culturally sensitive parenting programme example from Hong Kong
• 6 Future direction of parenting programmes for parents of adolescents
• Bibliography
• Index