ERIC Number: EJ1111289
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Sep
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0165-0254
EISSN: N/A
Is the Ideal Mother a Sensitive Mother? Beliefs about Early Childhood Parenting in Mothers across the Globe
Mesman, Judi; van IJzendoorn, Marinus; Behrens, Kazuko; Carbonell, Olga Alicia; Cárcamo, Rodrigo; Cohen-Paraira, Inbar; de la Harpe, Christian; Ekmekçi, Hatice; Emmen, Rosanneke; Heidar, Jailan; Kondo-Ikemura, Kiyomi; Mels, Cindy; Mooya, Haatembo; Murtisari, Sylvia; Nóblega, Magaly; Ortiz, Jenny Amanda; Sagi-Schwartz, Abraham; Sichimba, Francis; Soares, Isabel; Steele, Howard; Steele, Miriam; Pape, Marloes; van Ginkel, Joost; van der Veer, René; Wang, Lamei; Selcuk, Bilge; Yavuz, Melis; Zreik, Ghadir
International Journal of Behavioral Development, v40 n5 p385-397 Sep 2016
In this article, we test the hypothesis that beliefs about the ideal mother are convergent across cultures and that these beliefs overlap considerably with attachment theory's notion of the sensitive mother. In a sample including 26 cultural groups from 15 countries around the globe, 751 mothers sorted the Maternal Behavior Q-Set to reflect their ideas about the ideal mother. The results show strong convergence between maternal beliefs about the ideal mother and attachment theory's description of the sensitive mother across groups. Cultural group membership significantly predicted variations in maternal sensitivity belief scores, but this effect was substantially accounted for by group variations in socio-demographic factors. Mothers living in rural versus urban areas, with a low family income, and with more children, were less likely to describe the ideal mother as highly sensitive. Cultural group membership did remain a significant predictor of variations in maternal sensitivity belief scores above and beyond socio-demographic predictors. The findings are discussed in terms of the universal and culture-specific aspects of the sensitivity construct.
Descriptors: Mothers, Parent Child Relationship, Child Rearing, Young Children, Early Childhood Education, Psychological Patterns, Parenting Styles, Cross Cultural Studies, Socioeconomic Status, Cultural Influences, Child Behavior, Attachment Behavior, Foreign Countries, Beliefs, Predictor Variables, Correlation, Ethnic Groups, Questionnaires, Likert Scales, Statistical Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Brazil; Chile; China; Colombia; Egypt; Indonesia; Israel; Japan; Netherlands; Peru; Portugal; Turkey; United States; Uruguay; Zambia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A