Parenting

Cultural Variations

Parenting beliefs and practices are shaped by culture. One culture might promote independence and autonomy, while another might encourage less exploration and greater social courtesy. When discussing the impact of cultural variations in parenting practices, it is difficult to determine where stereotypes leave off and real distinctions among groups exist. Often, a distinct group subsumes many different subgroups that espouse different traditions. For example, the group considered to be Latino is quite varied. It includes Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Central and South American, as well as people of other Hispanic origin. Some groups do not share a common language. Among Asians, there are Taiwanese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Korean to mention a few. Asian parenting practices vary according to the ethnicity, culture, and language. Moreover, parenting practices change with increased assimilation into the dominant culture.

Although it can be helpful to pay attention to cultural origins and beliefs of any particular group, it is vital to avoid the imposition of evaluative comparisons with other cultural groups. In addition, the role of grandparents and other members of the extended family as parenting agents must factor into an understanding of different child-rearing practices. Likewise, a discussion of cultural influences on parenting must take into account immigration patterns and acculturation trends. Finally, cultural differences are often confounded by social and political contexts. Poverty, prejudice, and the various stressors that accompany these conditions are decisive in determining parenting practices.

Academic Achievement and Social–Emotional Development

Parental involvement in academic activities fosters good school performance. There are many styles of parenting that foster different degrees of parental involvement. Baumrind (1967) identified a parenting classification system that has generated a great deal of research and has exerted much influence on generations of parenting researchers. Baumrind put forward four parenting styles:

• 1.
  Authoritative
• 2.
  Authoritarian
• 3.
  Rejecting–Neglecting
• 4.
  Permissive

According to this schematization, an authoritative parenting style is characterized by high parental warmth, high behavioral expectations, and high use of democratic parenting strategies; whereas an authoritarian style also espouses high behavioral expectations, but exhibits low parental warmth and low use of democratic strategies. Although each of these styles predicts children's academic achievement, the relationship is complex. For example, authoritative parenting is more successful than authoritarian methods in promoting academic achievement in middle-class children. However, it has been found that parenting style interacts with other variables such as a child's ethnicity and socioeconomic status, and the interactions among these different variables predict different academic achievement outcomes.

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