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IMPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL CHANGE FOR PARENTING
The implications of macro-level social change for socialization and human development have been recognized in psychology, sociology, and other social sciences (see Elder and Shanahan, 2006; Silbereisen and Chen, 2010). Greenfield (2009) proposed a theory of social change and human development, focusing on links among changes in sociodemographic conditions, cultural values and learning environments, and human development. According to Greenfield (2009), the movement between Gemeinschaft (rural residence, substance-based economy, the use of simple technology, informal education) and Gesellschaft (urban residence, commercial or industrialized economy, the use of complex technology, formal education) conditions typically corresponds to the shift between collectivistic and individualistic values, with the former facilitating the development of compliant–cooperative behavior and context-bound cognition and the latter facilitating the development of independent behavior and abstract cognition. From a different perspective, Kağıtçıbaşı (2012) argued that the global urbanization and modernization may not necessarily lead to cultural change in a linear fashion from an emphasis on relatedness to an emphasis on autonomy. Instead, as rural societies become increasingly urbanized, the emergence of combined autonomous-related values may help families and children adapt to the demands in the new environment.
Largely consistent with Kağıtçıbaşı’s view (2012), Chen (2012, 2015) argued from a pluralist-constructivist perspective that the migration of populations, advance in information technology and communication, and interaction among social and cultural systems across regions have led to an integration of diverse values and lifestyles, which constitutes a distinct feature of the context for human development in both Western and non-Western societies today. An important task in socialization is to help children and youth develop competencies and qualities that allow them to function successfully in the context of diverse, including conflictual and complementary, cultural beliefs and values. According to this perspective, although values from different cultures exert a significant impact on parenting attitudes and practices, new values are unlikely to be adopted completely in their original forms, but instead may be integrated with the cultural traditions in the society. The integration of different values may be illustrated by the experience of Eastern European parents who were exposed to American individualistic cultures as described by Nesteruk and Marks (2011) - although the parents gave their children more choices and were more willing to listen to their opinions, they still attempted to make sure that their children learned responsibilities and self-control. In addition, Chen (2015) argued that, whereas traditionally agricultural societies become more individualistic during urbanization, Western societies may become more inclusive as indicated by greater acceptance of group-oriented values, even though some aspects of the Western context may become more individualistic as suggested by Greenfield (2009). Thus, parents and children in both Western and non-Western societies benefit from their experience of mixed values because maintaining a balance between pursuing one’s own interests and establishing group harmony is critical to social and individual functioning (Maccoby, 1998).
Research findings have shown the impact of social change on parenting attitudes and behaviors, although they may not necessarily support a particular perspective or model. For example, Kağıtçıbaşı and Ataca (2005) found that the parental goals of Turkish families changed over three decades along with the transformation of Turkish society. As a consequence of urbanization and socioeconomic development, the need for material dependence within the family was reduced, and accordingly, parents perceived more positively the child’s autonomy and initiative-taking. Turkish parents in 2003 were also more likely than their counterparts in 1975 to appreciate the “psychological value of the child” (e.g., pleasure watching children grow, fun to have young children around, to have someone to love and care for). Chen and Chen (2010) reported that, as China was more urbanized, Chinese parents became less controlling and less power-assertive. At the same time, they became more sensitive to children’s feelings and needs and more inclined to encourage them to engage in exploration. Similar changes in parental warmth and control in urban Chinese and South Korean parents have been noted in other studies (Lu and Chang, 2013; Park, Joo, Quiroz, and Greenfield, 2015; Ren and Edwards, 2016; Way et al., 2013; Yoshikawa, Way, and Chen, 2012).
Lamm, Keller, Yovsi, and Chaudhary (2008) found cross-generational differences in parental beliefs in German, Indian, and Cameroonian Nso families, presumably associated with social changes. Specifically, grandmothers and mothers in the urban Nso community experienced rapid change in their living conditions and education. Consequently, compared to Nso grandmothers, Nso mothers used more autonomy-oriented parenting in their care of young infants. In Delhi and Berlin, grandmothers and mothers also differed in their discourse style; relative to grandmothers, mothers placed greater emphasis on autonomy and expressed less concern with the maintenance of their authority in parenting.
In contrast to Lamm et al.’s study (2008) concerning German parents, however, there is initial evidence that, parents, particularly fathers, in European countries are becoming more active in monitoring children’s activities and education. Collishaw, Gardner, Maughan, Scott, and Pickles (2012), for example, found that, compared with their counterparts in 1986, English youth in 2006 reported that their parents had higher expectations concerning going to school, doing homework, and being polite. Youth in the 2006 cohort also reported that their parents exerted higher levels of supervision, such as telling parents where they were going and what activities they engaged in out of home. In addition, youth in 2006 were more likely than youth in 1986 to disclose their activities to their parents. With the current trend of migration and technological development, it will be interesting to systematically examine how cross-cultural communications and interactions modify parenting in different societies.
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