Long-term socialisation goals and evaluations of infant behaviour in a variety of everyday contexts were studied among 45 mothers who had immigrated from Central America to the United States, and 41 mothers from European American backgrounds. In accord with expectations based on broad cultural constructs, mothers from Central America emphasised long-term socialisation goals related to Proper Demeanour. In addition, when describing and evaluating everyday situations, they were likely to attribute the desirability or undesirability of these situations to the child's own appropriate and cooperative behaviour, and were likely to highlight mutual enjoyment when describing preferred play situations. In contrast, Euro-American mothers emphasised long-term socialisation goals related to Self-Maximisation, and when describing undesirable everyday situations, stressed the role of external factors not under the child's control, presumably to preserve the child's self-esteem. However, it was also found that the Central American mothers endorse selected aspects of individualism related to promoting their children's economic and personal potential in the United States. These findings point not only to the multidimensional nature of individualism, but also to the heterogeneity of beliefs among Latino populations. The importance of studying within-group variation with regard to the individualism/sociocentrism construct is highlighted.

Everyday infant experiences among the Aka hunter-gatherers and the neighboring Ngandu farmers were observed and compared. Twenty Aka and 21 Ngandu 3- to 4-month-olds and 20 Aka and 20 Ngandu 9- to 10-month-olds were observed for 3 hr on each of 4 days so that all 12 daylight hr were covered. The Aka infants were more likely to be held, fed, and asleep or drowsy, whereas Ngandu infants were more likely to be alone and to fuss or cry, smile, vocalize, or play. The amount of crying, soothing, feeding, and sleeping declined over time in both groups. Distal social interaction increased over time among the Ngandu but not among the Aka. Despite striking cultural differences on many variables, however, functional context systematically affected the relative prominence of the infants' behavior in both cultural groups.

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The major aims of this study were (a) to investigate the differences and similarities in long-term socialization goals of German mothers and Turkish immigrant mothers living in Germany and (b) to examine socialization goals of Turkish immigrant mothers in relation to their acculturation attitudes. Participants were composed of 79 Turkish mothers who were either raised in Germany or migrated to Germany and 91 German mothers of preschoolers living in Germany. Turkish immigrant mothers were more likely to expect their children to have close relations with the family and to be well-mannered and they were less likely to value autonomy than were German mothers. Turkish mothers who were more integrated into German culture were found to value individualistic goals such as self-control more than Turkish mothers who were more separated from the German culture, yet both groups valued mutual support within the family very highly. The findings reveal that socialization goal patterns of Turkish immigrant mothers represent the pattern depicted in the psychological interdependence model proposed by Kagitcibasi (2007).

The current study examines generational differences in Turkish mothers' socialization goals following migration to Germany. A total of 78 working-class mothers from three different groups (Turkish first-and second-generation, and German non-migrant) participated. Each mother had a child between 18 and 36 months of age. Mothers were interviewed using the Socialization Goals Interview. The results indicate that compared to both groups of Turkish mothers, German mothers placed more emphasis on self-control as a socialization goal, and compared with the first-generation mothers only, were more concerned that their child develop characteristics associated with psychological independence and self-confidence. Among the Turkish mothers, more highly educated mothers placed less emphasis on the importance of respect towards others than did less educated mothers.

Most immigrant parents face the challenge of passing on their heritage language to their children.

Refugee children share a large number of pre-, peri-, and post-migration risk factors, which make them vulnerable for developing mental health concerns. Within the last few years, a large number of families with young children have sought refuge in Germany. However, children's mental health status in Germany is mostly unclear. A central aim of developmental psychopathology is to understand how risk factors lead to the emergence of mental health concerns. One approach to investigating this association is the study of specificity, which describes the idea that specific risk factors are related to specific psychological outcomes. The aim of our study was to assess the mental health status of young refugee children in Germany, and to explore a potential refugee-specific mental health pattern. In two studies, we assessed mental health outcomes of 93 children from Syria or Iraq, aged 1.5–5 years, who recently arrived in Germany. The results were compared to U.S. norm data of typically developing children, and to norm data of a clinical sample in order to explore mental health patterns. In the first study (n = 35), we used standardized screening tools for parents (CBCL 1.5-5). In the second study (n = 58), mental health states of refugee children were assessed by caretakers (CTRF 1.5–5). In comparison to U.S. norm data of normally developing children, refugee parents reported more mental health concerns for their children, especially on syndrome scales of internalizing difficulties. A comparison to U.S. clinical reference data showed a specific mental health pattern, characterized by increased levels of anxiety/depression, attention problems, and withdrawal behavior. Caretakers, too, reported more mental health problems compared to typically developing children, albeit to a smaller extent. However, a comparison to clinically-referred children only led to partial confirmation of a specific mental health pattern. Our studies offer important insights into the mental health status and pattern of young refugee children, which is essential for preventing the onset of psychopathology and for offering tailored interventions.

We examined developmental trajectories of ethnic and national identity during early adolescence and linked subgroups of identity change to ethnic minority children's school adjustment. Our longitudinal data on Turkish immigrant-origin children in Germany (n = 146; MT1 = 10.42 years, 46.6% male) covered three waves of annual measurement. A personoriented approach using growth mixture modelling revealed two different classes (subgroups) of identity change: Class 1 comprised children with a high and stable Turkish identity, and Class 2 comprised children with a medium and increasing Turkish identity. German identity was medium and stable in both classes. Results further showed generally high levels of school adjustment in both classes but lower levels of school motivation and teacher support among children in Class 2. Our findings point toward heterogeneity in ethnic minority children's identity development during early adolescence and support the 'ethnic identity as a resource' hypothesis.