PARENTING PRACTICES AMONG MINORITIES IN USA

Parenting Practices among Minorities in USA

Parenting Practices among Minorities in USA

Introduction

Much of the research that has examined parenting behavior has focused on parenting style, which refers to the emotional atmosphere created by parents. Baumrind (2004) identified three parenting styles that are characteristic of how parents generally intervene with children across various situations (Chao, 2001). Parents who are consistently stern, lack warmth, and frequently use physical punishment are referred to as having an authoritarian style. Parents who are typically warm, reason with their children, yet set good limits are referred to as having an authoritative style. Parents who have a permissive style tend not to intervene and are extremely lenient with their children. Generally, an authoritative style is related to positive psychological and educational outcomes, whereas the other styles are related to negative outcomes. Researchers have attempted to identify relationships between parenting style and parents' ethnicity and race. However, understanding parenting behavior is complex, and attempts to correlate style with race and ethnicity have led to inaccurate characterizations of parents of various ethnic groups.

Cultural Ecological Influences

The methods parents use to socialize their children result from multiple factors. John U. Ogbu suggested that generally, parents want to raise their children to be able to subsist, provide for themselves, and function successfully as adults. To do so, parents must equip their children with the necessary skills and knowledge (Belsky, 2003). What parents consider to be the necessary skills and knowledge varies according to socioeconomic status, political and social contexts, and religious and cultural beliefs. Beliefs about parenting and the types of information necessary for survival are communicated from generation to generation, and in this way individuals become members of a group with shared views about important values, parenting practices, and ways to succeed in the environment (Baumrind, 2004). For children to be able to survive and flourish in their neighborhoods and communities, as well as navigate the majority culture, parents of color may adopt strategies that respond to the social and political environment and as a result use parenting practices different from those used by the majority culture.

Community Environment

Jay Fagan pointed out that low-income urban neighborhoods where a disproportionately high number of people of color reside tend to have poor school systems, few community agencies and facilities for recreation and support, and transient residents, all of which can lead to social isolation. There are elevated rates of unemployment, crime, incidences of violence, and teenage pregnancy in these neighborhoods, and people of color experience discrimination from the majority culture and have a history of oppression.

Such environmental factors demand that children learn a different set of skills than those used in middle-class neighborhoods. Many researchers have suggested that parents who live in impoverished neighborhoods may use harsh disciplinary strategies to keep their children safe in response to an environment that is fraught with danger. The use of harsh disciplinary strategies may be intentional, because parents may believe this approach is one way to prepare their children to live ...