A Literature Review of the Effects of Culture in Parents’ Child-Rearing Behaviors in Divergent Cultural Contexts
AUTHOR : 김수정
INFORMATION : page. 1~19 / 2015 Vol.22 No.4
ABSTRACT
In this literature review, I reviewed the theoretical approaches that attempt to examine how
parenting behaviors relate to shared cultural beliefs or individual parents’ cultural models in diverse
cultural contexts. The proposed categorization of the theoretical frameworks was as follows: the
dichotomized framework (individualism versus collectivism); the coexistence of individualism and
collectivism; the indigenous cultural beliefs systems; and the eco-cultural framework. The examination
of these four theoretical frameworks made it possible to propose some pathways to better understand
the relationship between culture and parenting in diverse cultural contexts. First, the dichotomized
parents’ cultural models were suggested not to be applied any more. Second, the necessity of
considering the role of structural factors in examining the cultural process of parenting was
suggested, in order to find the variability in parents’ cultural models and their parenting behaviors
within a particular cultural context. Last, the necessity of considering the role of individual parents
was proposed. These results would help researchers understand how individual parents construct their
own cultural models and parenting behaviors.