Parenting Culture(s): Ideal-Parent Beliefs Across 37 Countries

Abstract

What is it to be “an ideal parent”? Does the answer differ across countries and social classes? To answer these questions in a way that minimizes bias and ethnocentrism, we used open-ended questions to explore ideal-parent beliefs among 8,357 mothers and 3,517 fathers from 37 countries. Leximancer Semantic Network Analysis was utilized to first determine parenting culture zones (i.e., countries with shared ideal-parent beliefs) and then extract the predominant themes and concepts in each culture zone. The results yielded specific types of ideal-parent beliefs in five parenting culture zones: being “responsible and children/family-focused” for Asian parents, being “responsible and proper demeanor-focused” for African parents, and being “loving and responsible” for Hispanic-Italian parents. Although the most important themes and concepts were the same in the final two zones—being “loving and patient,” there were subtle differences: English-speaking, European Union, and Russian parents emphasized “being caring,” while French-speaking parents valued “listening” or being “present.” Ideal-parent beliefs also differed by education levels within culture zones, but no general pattern was discerned across culture zones. These findings suggest that the country in which parents were born cannot fully explain their differences in ideal-parent beliefs and that differences arising from social class or education level cannot be dismissed. Future research should consider how these differences affect the validity of the measurements in question and how they can be incorporated into parenting intervention research within and across cultures.

Toward a Decolonial Parenting Science Through Centering Majority World Parenting: A Commentary on “Parenting Culture(s): Ideal-Parent Beliefs Across 37 Countries”

“…In parenting science, one way to engage in decolonial research is to avoid overgeneralizations that could lead to stereotypic descriptions of parents in different parts of the world, and focus efforts on generating localized knowledge (Smith, 2012). Although Lin et al’s (2022) findings shed light on what parents in some majority World community may consider ideal, it is imperative to avoid overgeneralizing these parenting attributes as qualities that all parents in these regions consider as ideal-parent beliefs. As Lin et al point out, cultural settings are created through intersecting social dimensions based on national identity, race and ethnicity, religion, social class, urban, rural, and suburban contexts, regional and linguistic identities, and many other dimensions.…”

“…In contrast, in the upper class neighborhood in Parkside, independence was about developing the child’s psychological uniqueness, self-expression and awareness, and individuality. As this example highlights, even though parents in the same culture zones in Lin et al’s (2022) study may share similar ideal parent-beliefs such as “loving” or “patient,” how they understand these terms and what it means to them may be variable. In future research, it would be helpful to unpack what it means to be “responsible,” “loving,” or “patient” among parents in various communities.…”

“…In “Parenting Culture(s): Ideal-Parent Beliefs Across 37 Countries,” Lin et al (2022) argue that a bulk of parenting studies published in English-language journals focus on predominantly White, middle-class parents in the United States, and that parents and parenting in the non-Western world is underrepresented. I wholeheartedly agree with this major void in parenting science.…”

“…Within this context of underrepresentation of Majority World parenting in published parenting research in English language journals, Lin et al’s (2022) attempt to determine parenting culture zones based on shared ideal-parent beliefs takes the field a step forward in understanding ideal-parenting beliefs beyond the Euro-American norm. In particular, Lin et al demonstrate parenting ideals of “loving and patient,” “caring,” “listening” or “being present” in English and French-speaking countries, and those of being “responsible,” “proper-demeanor-focused” and “family-focused” in the Majority World (Africa and Asia).…”

“…Along these lines, a discussion of methodology that can contribute to a decolonial parenting science seems relevant. Lin et al (2022) report exploring ideal-parent beliefs using an exploratory bottom-up approach, whereby they asked participant parents to state five features that an ideal mother or father should have. Such a data-driven approach that allows members of a cultural community to describe their perspectives about ideal parenting is preferable.…”