Parenting in Caribbean Families

Abstract

There has been little research investigating parenting strategies and child outcomes in British Caribbean populations. This study examined the relations of parental control, structure, and autonomy support and children's motivation and symptomatology in the Caribbean country of Barbados. Results indicated that parental structure was related to higher levels of child academic engagement, perceived competence, perceived control, and intrinsic and identified self-regulation. Parental control was negatively related to engagement, perceived competence, perceived control, and identified self-regulation, and positively related to depression. Autonomy support was, in general, positively related to these same outcomes, and negatively related to depression; however, autonomy support items tapping parents' acknowledgment of the child and allowance of opinion exchange were related more strongly to positive outcomes than items tapping allowance of choice and independent decision making. Implications for understanding parenting in Caribbean families, and for future cross-cultural parenting research, are discussed.

Differential impact of parental region of birth on negative parenting behavior and its effects on child mental health: Results from a large sample of 6 to 11 year old school children in France

“…For instance, one study indicated that 30 % of African and 40 % of Caribbean parents reported that corporal punishment was necessary to raise and educate children, which was consistent with the proportion of self-reported experiences of physical abuse indicated by their children [6]. These findings were corroborated by a study of British Caribbean families who were described as harsh and demanding in their parenting style, with strict expectations that their children display obedience and respect, and frequent use of corporal punishment [7]. The normative nature of harsh punishment was further shown in Guyanese mothers [6, 8].…”

Optimizing Students’ Motivation in the Era of Testing and Pressure: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

“…The researchers found that ratings of teachers' autonomy support positively predicted ratings of student engagement and further that ratings of teachers' provisions of structure accounted for additional variance in engagement. Structure concerns making clear to students how to attain desired classroom outcomes, and the research indicates that when this structure is provided by teachers in an autonomy-supportive way, the structure complements autonomy support in facilitating student engagement (Griffi th & Grolnick, 2014 ).…”

How to Support Toddlers’ Autonomy: Socialization Practices Reported by Parents

“…Socialization practices used. A pool of 26 potentially autonomy-supportive practices was generated, based on the classic operational definition of AS (Koestner et al, 1984) as well as on the literature on parental AS (e.g., Griffith & Grolnick, 2014;Grolnick et al, 2014;Grolnick & Ryan, 1989), parental discipline (e.g., Critchley & Sanson, 2006;Davidov, Grusec, & Wolfe, 2012;Grusec & Goodnow, 1994), maternal sensitivity and cooperation (including mood-setting techniques; Ainsworth, 1969;Bretherton, 2013), moral development (Hoffman, 2000), some parenting programs (Caughy, Miller, Genevro, Huang, & Nautiyal, 2003;Faber & Mazlish, 2012), and other studies on disciplinary tactics (Papaioannou, 1998;Robinson, Mandleco, Olsen, & Hart, 1995).…”

“…Third, prior research has shown that even when multiple items are used to assess each specific autonomy-supportive behaviors, all autonomysupportive behaviors typically merge to form a single factor (Mageau et al, 2015). Although our study is exploratory, we hypothesized that the AS factor would include practices related to empathy, as parents of young children can show sensitivity and responsiveness, akin to AS (Griffith & Grolnick, 2014;Hoffman, 2000). However, we had no specific prediction about the use of rationales, choices, and non-controlling language, as they may not all be developmentally appropriate for toddlers.…”

“…Providing structure helps children understand that their actions have an impact on their environment and doing so in an autonomy-supportive way fosters a feeling of volition, allowing children to understand and integrate the values that underlie parental rules and demands (Griffith & Grolnick, 2014). The authoritative style thus features a child-centered approach to discipline where parents establish limits and standards while remaining responsive to their child's needs and respecting his/her individuality (Baumrind, 1967;1991).…”