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Invited Symposium
Social Relationships in Changing Cultural Context
Convenor: Xinyin Chen
Department of Psychology
University of Western Ontario
London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C2
Email: xchen@uwo.ca
Tel: 519-661-2111, 84596
Fax: 519-661-3961
Co-convenor: Ruth Sharabany
Department of Psychology, University of Haifa
Email: ruthsh@psy.haifa.ac.il
Discussant: Jacqueline J. Goodnow
Macquarie University
Symposium Summary
Developmental theorists have emphasized the important role of cultural context in social and
behavioral development (e.g., Vygotsky, 1987). Cultural influences may occur in multiple
manners such as organizing developmental niches, including physical and social conditions for
the child, and regulating socialization beliefs and practices. Moreover, cultural norms and values
provide guidance for the interpretation of specific behaviors and thus impart “meanings” to the
behaviors. This argument has recently received support from a number of research programs,
which indicate the cultural involvement in children’s social behaviors and relationships.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that cultural context is not static, but constantly changing.
According to the social ecological theory (e.g., Elder, 1998), human lives carry the imprint of
their particular social worlds that are subject to historical change. Consequently, child and
adolescent development can only be understood accurately and completely by taking into
account specific social and cultural circumstances.
This invited symposium consists of four presentations that focus on social relationships from a
cultural perspective. A main theme is how specific social, political, economic and cultural
circumstances may affect the quality, function and significance of social relationships. Particular
attention will be paid to the dynamic process of the development of social relationships in
changing context. The presentations will involve both parent-child and peer relationships in
diverse societies including Arab, Chinese, Mid-East, Nso South Korean, and US rural and urban
communities. The findings from these rigorous research programs will help us understand the
role of contextual factors in social relationships and human development.
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Presentation #1:
Intracultural Differences between Urban and Rural Nso Families with Small Babies
Heidi Keller & Relindis Yovsi
University of Osnabrueck
Department of Culture and Development
Seminarstrasse 20, 49069 Osnabrueck
Tel.: 0049 541 969-4393
Fax: 0049 541 969-4770
E-mail: hkeller@uos.de
ryovsi@uos.de
The differentiation of rural and urban contexts has a tradition in developmental psychology.
Rural environments are characterized by exclusive small scale face-to-face interactions with
familiar persons, whereas urban environments also host a great deal of anonymous encounters
between strangers. These two ecocultural contexts can also be characterized by systematic
differences in the degree of formal schooling and the mode of economy (subsistence versus cash
economy). These sociodemographic parameters have consequences for reproductive life
strategies. Rural villagers start having children earlier and have more children than their urban
educated counterparts. Accordingly, socialization goals and parenting strategies differ. Rural
village families value the cultural model of interdependence with an emphasis on social harmony,
respect and obedience. Urban educated families from traditional societies value the cultural
model of autonomous-relatedness emphasizing interdependence as well as autonomous agency.
In this presentation, we will present data on socialization goals, parenting ethnotheories and
parenting behavioural strategies from rural low educated and urban high educated Nso women
with respect to their three months old babies. The Nso are one of the largest ethnic groups in the
western grass fields of the Republic of Cameroon, whose ethnopsychology is well documented.
Our analyses reveal that education is a powerful motor for change in parenting strategies.
Although there is a common understanding of what “Nsoness” means, rural and urban mothers
socialization strategies differ in the expected sense.
Presenation #2
The Relation of Interpersonal Relationships and Sociocultural Norms to Mental Health of Late
Adolescent and Emerging Adult Arab Women
Tamar Ben-Shaul, Ruth Sharabany
University of Haifa
Department of Psychology, Haifa Israel
Email: ruthsh@psy.haifa.ac.il
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Late adolescent and emerging adult (Arnett, 2003) female undergraduate Arab Israeli women
come mostly from a traditional collectivist society that is hierarchical with respect to gender and
age. They attend a Westernized secular university, encountering stresses and new opportunities
in expressing their state of mental health. The present study examines the relative contributions
of intimacy with a close friend, relational personality tendencies and self perceptions of cultural
norms to emotional well-being and distress. 213 Arab women (160 Muslim, 42 Christian) age
18-29 completed the Horizontal and Vertical Individualism and Collectivism scale (Singelis, et
al., 1995), assessing individually defined cultural norms. Relational personality was assessed
using the Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory (Brennan et al, 1998) developed based
on attachment theory. The outcome variable of mental health was assessed using the Mental
Health Inventory (Veit & Ware, 1983) reflecting both positive and negative emotional states.
Residence (urban or rural) and religion (Muslim or Christian) were considered background
variables, and controlled in the analysis. Demographic variables such as family's degree of
religiousness versus one's own degree of religiousness were used to assess personal social
change. Preliminary results indicate that approximately half of the Muslim women are becoming
more secular while the other half is choosing greater religious devotion than their families. For
Christian women, however, differences are slighter. Further results will be reported in terms of
the contributions of the factors listed above to mental health, to address the developmental
processes at the social level and the individual level.
Presentation #3
Children’s Perceptions of Their Parent-Child Relationships: A Cross-Cultural Study
Kenneth H. Rubin, Wonjung Oh, Samaneh Ashktorab
University of Maryland
Unhai Rhee, Sun Jin Jung
Yonsei University
&
Angel Kim
University of Maryland
Contact: University of Maryland
Department of Human Development
3304 Benjamin Building
College Park, Maryland 20742-1131
krubin@umd.edu
Phone: (301) 405-0458
Fax:
(301) 405-7735
The significance of supportive and secure parent-child relationships is well-established in both
the theoretical and empirical literatures. Indeed, many theorists have proposed that the seeking of
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social provisions and support in social relationships is a universal phenomenon. It may be,
however, that the provisions and support provided within relationships are manifested in
different ways in different cultures. In this regard, cross-cultural studies may provide a
framework for understanding parent-child relationships from the perspectives of distinct cultural
belief systems and norms.
There were three purposes of our research. First, we explored the nature of mother-child and
father-child relationships insofar as the following were concerned: Social and emotional
provisions; conflict and conflict resolution; relative power; importance of the relationships; and
satisfaction with the relationships. Second, we studied the ways in which these constructs were
interwoven within each of three distinct cultures. Third, we examined the universality and
cultural specificity of the nature of parent-child relationships across the three cultures.
Participants attended 5th and 6th grades in South Korea, Oman, and the United States. Children in
each culture were matched on gender and socioeconomic status; they completed the Network of
Relationships Inventory. In our presentation, we will describe the nature of underlying latent
relationship constructs using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Structural equation
modeling techniques will allow us to address the ways in which the latent constructs are
interrelated. We anticipate that the extent to which children reported satisfaction with their
mothers and fathers will vary as a function of the extent to which culture-specific social
provisions and conflicts are reported in these relationships.
Presentation # 4
Social Functioning and Peer Relationships in Changing Chinese Society
Xinyin Chen
Department of Psychology
University of Western Ontario
London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C2
Email: xchen@uwo.ca
Tel: 519-661-2111, 84596
Fax: 519-661-3961
Cross-cultural research has indicated the importance of social and cultural background for
individual development. However, social and cultural conditions are constantly changing.
According to the social ecological theory (e.g., Elder, 1998), human lives carry the imprint of
their particular social worlds that are subject to historical change. In the past 20 years, dramatic
social and cultural changes have occurred in China during a large-scale reform towards a market
economy, which may have pervasive impact in individual attitudes, behaviors and social
relationships. It has been recently found, for example, that whereas shy, wary and inhibited
behavior has been traditionally endorsed and encouraged in Chinese children, the dramatic
changes in the society have led to the decline in the adaptive value of the behavior; shy children
in urban China experience increasing difficulties in peer interactions and psychological
adjustment (Chen, Cen, Li & He, 2005).
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The purpose of the study was to examine children’s social functioning and peer relationships in
different circumstances in China. Participants were three samples (urban, rural, and rural-tourban migrant) of elementary school children. The results were also compared with those from a
study conducted in the early 1990s in China. Data concerning social behaviors, peer relationship,
personal beliefs and values, and psychological adjustment were collected from multiple sources
including peers, teachers and self-reports. Multivariate and multi-group invariance tests revealed
differences among the groups, particularly between rural and urban groups, in the value systems
and adjustment of children with different behavioral profiles (e.g., shy-inhibited children).
Rural-to-urban migrant children experienced heightened social and psychological difficulties, but
supportive social relationships moderated their adjustment status.