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This study compared parenting across four non‐Western cultures to test cross‐cultural commonality and specificity principles in three aspects: measurement properties, parenting normativeness, and their associations with child outcomes. Both mothers and fathers (N = 1509 dyads) with preschool‐aged children (M = 5.00 years; 48% girls) from urban areas of four countries (Malaysia, N = 372; China, N = 441; Turkey, N = 402; and Japan, N = 294) reported on four parenting constructs (authoritative, authoritarian, group harmony socialization, and intrusive control) and their sub‐dimensions using modified culturally relevant measures. Teachers reported on children's internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial behaviors. The commonality principle was supported by two sets of findings: (1) full measurement invariance was established for most parenting constructs and sub‐dimensions, except that intrusive control only reached partial scalar invariance, and (2) no variations were found in associations between parenting and any child outcomes across cultures or parent gender at the construct level for all four parenting constructs and at the sub‐dimensional level for authoritarian and intrusive control sub‐dimensions. The specificity principle was supported by the other two sets of findings: (1) cross‐cultural differences in parenting normativeness did not follow the pattern of economic development but yielded culture‐specific patterns, and (2) at the sub‐dimensional level, the authoritative parenting and group harmony socialization sub‐dimensions were differently associated with child outcomes across cultures and/or parent gender. The findings suggested that examining specific dimensions rather than broad parenting constructs is necessary to reflect cultural specificities and nuances. Our study provided a culturally‐invariant instrument and a three‐step guide for future parenting research to examine cross‐cultural commonalities/specificities. Research Highlights: This is the first study to use an instrument with measurement invariance across multiple non‐Western cultures to examine the commonality and specificity principles in parenting.Measurement invariance was achieved across cultures for authoritative and authoritarian parenting, group harmony socialization, intrusive control, and their sub‐dimensions, supporting the commonality principle.Cross‐cultural differences in parenting normativeness did not follow the pattern of economic development but yielded culture‐specific patterns, supporting the specificity principle.Both commonalities and specificities were manifested in associations between parenting and child outcomes across cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the behavior of preschool children belonging to peer sociometric status groups (popular, average, rejected, neglected, and controversial) in cultural contexts outside North America. This study examined the social interactions of Italian preschoolers. The sample consisted of 266 Italian preschoolers (mean age of 64 months). Physical and relational subtypes of aggression and victimization, as well as sociable behavior, were measured by peer nominations and teacher ratings. Peer nominations of acceptance and rejection (like and dislike nominations) were also collected in order to form the sociometric status groups. Results of confirmatory factor analyses showed that items developed with US preschoolers appeared to work fairly well in identifying behavioral constructs in Italian preschoolers. Findings generally supported previous research with American preschoolers. Sociometrically popular children were highest in sociability, and lowest in physical and relational aggression and victimization. The opposite pattern emerged for rejected status children. Neglected status children were generally not distinguished from average status children. Results also suggested that the enactment of relational aggression promotes greater social impact for some Italian children (controversial children), and this aggression also invites more conflict and victimization. However, the sociability of controversial children appears to buffer them from rejected group status.

This study examined both differential patterns and the stability of infants' (N = 70) distress reactivity across mother and stranger arm-restraint conditions when infants were 6 and 9 months of age. Reactivity measures included observational variables for the rise, intensity, and duration of infant distress as well as motor activities associated with escape behaviors. Correlation analyses revealed that infant behaviors during arm restraint were modestly stable across conditions and over time; however, mean comparisons also showed that infants' distress responses appear to be sensitive to protocol parameters (whether restrainer is mother or stranger). At 6 months of age, infants cried more during maternal restraint than with strangers and exhibited escape behaviors more frequently with mothers. Findings further indicate that infants' distress reactivity undergoes developmental alterations from 6 to 9 months of age, with infants crying more quickly, reaching peak intensity of distress faster, and displaying more distress at 9 months compared to 6 months. These changes in infants' reactivity were particularly accentuated during maternal compared to stranger restraint conditions at 9 months of age. (Contains 2 figures and 2 tables.)

It is developmentally normative for preschoolers (aged four to five years) to have self-perceptions that are typically positive and even over-inflated. However, because not all children have positive self-perceptions in early childhood it is important to understand factors that influence the development of self-perceptions, especially low self-perceptions, in early childhood. Therefore, this study examined the associations between self-perceptions and teacher ratings of social behaviors, subtypes of withdrawal, and peer ratings of acceptance/rejection in preschoolers. Participants included 199 children (107 males, 92 females) attending two early childhood programs in a midsized community in the western United States. The major findings were that children in early childhood who have lower self-perceptions of their abilities than their peers tended to engage in more reticence, solitary-passive withdrawal, and solitary-active behavior. (Contains 3 tables.)

The purpose of this investigation was to examine comparable dimensions and linkages between child temperament and parenting styles with samples from Beijing, China and the western United States. Participants included 404 mothers and fathers from Beijing, China and 325 mothers and fathers from the western United States. Both mothers and fathers completed Buss and Plomin's (1984) EAS Temperament Scale as well as a spousal-report measure of parenting styles. Structural equation modelling was used to identify invariant (statistically comparable) factors for child temperament and parenting styles. Within-culture gender comparisons showed that Chinese fathers (relative to mothers) viewed their sons as being more active and sociable than daughters while US mothers (relative to fathers) rated their sons as being more active. Across-culture differences revealed that US parents (relative to Chinese parents) viewed children as more emotional while Chinese fathers (relative to US fathers) rated their children as more active. Similar and differential cultural patterns of linkages were also found between parenting styles and child temperament. Child emotionality was positively associated with authoritarian parenting in both cultures while child activity level was linked to more authoritative and less authoritarian parenting styles, but only in the Chinese sample. Finally, child sociability was found to be negatively linked to cross-gender patterns of authoritarian parenting in the US while mothers' and fathers' authoritarian parenting in China was linked to lower sociability in daughters only. (Contains 3 tables.)

Little is known concerning how subtypes of aggression (relational and physical) might be differentially related to preschool-age children's classification in peer sociometric status groups (popular, average, rejected, neglected, and controversial). Furthermore, associations between aggression and sociometric status might vary according to the assessment tools utilized (e.g., peer report vs. teacher report). In this study, relational and physical aggression as well as sociable behavior of preschool-age children was assessed using peer reports and teacher reports. Peer nominations of acceptance and rejection (like and dislike nominations) were also collected and used to form sociometric status groups. Findings indicate that the behavioral differences between sociometric status group categories, obtained with older samples in previous research, is already evident as early as preschool. Furthermore, relational aggression is associated with controversial sociometric status in this age group (based on peer reports). These findings complement an emerging body of research indicating that the practice of relational aggression may be associated with greater peer status for some children.

Explored the simultaneous sequential transition patterns of preschoolers' social play within classroom settings. Found that the proportion of social-play states did not vary during play episodes even when accounting for type of activity center, gender, and SES. Found a reciprocal relationship between parallel-aware and other social-play states during and within child-initiated play centers. Found that preschoolers progressed from onlooker behavior to parallel-aware to cooperative-social play during child- initiated activities. (Author/KB)

Maternal and paternal parenting styles and marital interactions linked to childhood aggressive behavior in Western psychological literature were measured in 207 ethnic Russian families of nursery-school-age children. Results corroborated and extended findings from Western samples. Greater marital conflict (for boys only), greater maternal coercion, and less paternal responsiveness were most important contributors to overt and relational aggression. (Author/EV)

Surveys and analyzes preschoolers' and kindergartners' picture book choices by genre, familiarity, and four book attributes. Demonstrates that emergent readers appear to demonstrate genre preferences. Finds that children select familiar books more often and select books with a simple text. Counters previously held assumptions that emergent readers select books randomly. (PA)

Explored effects of a 10-week parent education course on parents' perceptions of themselves as being confident, insightful about the causes of their children's behavior, accepting, understanding, and trusting. Also investigated perceived idealistic and realistic parental behaviors. (Author/BB)

A 133-item parenting questionnaire was completed by 1251 parents of preschool and school-age children. Items in this measure were reduced using principal axes factor analyses followed by varimax rotation. Three global parenting dimensions emerged consistent with Baumrind's authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive typologies. Internal consistency reliability was assessed with Cronbach alpha and additional items were deleted. A 62-item instrument was retained, and the global parenting dimensions were subsequently analyzed to assess their internal structures using principal axes factor analyses followed by oblique rotation. For each of the three global dimensions a number of specific factors were identified.

Parents (109 mothers, 109 fathers) of 109 middle-class preschool-age children were interviewed separately in individual taperecorded home interviews to assess whether either parent was prone to use assertion of power or inductive reasoning as disciplinary strategies. Fathers reported using more power-assertive disciplining strategies with their preschool-age children than mothers.

Examined effects of preschool attendance on school achievement scores and out-of-school activities for second- and third-grade children, of whom 125 had attended preschool, and 71 had not. Findings indicated that for males, preschool attendance had a significant effect on later school achievement scores, especially in language-related areas. (Author/BB)

The article describes the fascinating process and findings from a study of videotapes of young children in a variety of free-play situations. The dynamics of young children's social play are speculated to enhance exciting changes in early childhood classrooms and curriculums. Parallel play has been placed between onlooker play and more cooperative play.

To assess whether subtypes of withdrawal could be similarly identified by teachers and linked to peer group adjustment in mainland China, Russia, and the United States, 642 4- to 6-year-old children in these diverse cultural contexts were rated on items reflecting reticent, solitary-passive, solitary-active, and sociable behaviour (cf. Coplan & Rubin, 1998). Linkages of childhood withdrawal to peer group adjustment were also investigated using peer sociometric ratings. Findings, based on multisample confirmatory factor analysis, indicated that separate factors were required to represent the three withdrawn subtypes in each cultural setting. However, US and Russian teachers made finer discriminations between subtypes than did Chinese teachers. Controlling for other withdrawn subtypes, reticent behaviour was uniquely related to lower sociometric ratings in all three cultures. Sociability was associated with higher sociometric ratings in these diverse settings. Findings are interpreted in the light of cultural considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this chapter is to explicate a conceptual model that illustrates how extrafamilial (e.g., sources of stress and support), personal (e.g., inherent psychological child and parent resources), and familial (e.g., parenting, family interactions) processes work together to affect social/communicative peer group outcomes in young children. It is traditionally assumed that proximal factors (e.g., parenting, sibling/family interactions) have the greatest influence on child outcomes. In this review the authors discuss how these proximal factors work in combination with a host of personal and extrafamilial variables in ways that are linked to child social! communicative competence with peers. In addition to explaining possible mechanisms responsible for linkages within and between model components, the authors recommend directions for future research in areas of the framework that have weak empirical support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]