Child-Rearing : Practices, Attitudes and Cultural Differences

Family research has developed into a broad discipline. It encompasses psychological, sociological and anthropological aspects, and has synchronic and diachronic research perspectives. Child-rearing conditions depend on many factors, and socio-cultural aspects are seminal to understanding family and childhood development. The volume contributes to the tradition of integrating theory and practice through presenting both family and childhood research findings, emphasizing the connections between society and the lives of individuals. Methodological individualist approaches are augmented by both psychological and sociological perspectives on society. The volume places emphases on empirical-quantitative findings, on empirical-qualitative ones, and on aspects of theory. It covers child-rearing in different aspects, providing insight into the basic assumptions of socialization. The international contributions examine what is at the time crucial in their respective cultural surroundings and what had influence on people in the past. Topics included are cross-national collaboration on parenting and child adjustment; parenting in psycho-social medicine; child-rearing in China; violence prevention with the Second Step; child-rearing and Triple P in Japan; depression, motherhood and family in literature; emancipation in the early republic; original sin and psychoanalysis; and psychoanalytic assumptions and their implications for socialization concepts and child-rearing.The beginning of the 21st century brought along an aggravation of living conditions in many parts of the world. On the other hand, several global achievements have been accomplished, and freedom in issues of personal life has increased. Child-rearing has certainly not become easier due to the fragmentation of traditional societal structure, and even to what Richard Sennett called corrosion of character. Socio-economic upheaval and precarization have increased in the western world, so that Alain Ehrenberg coined depression to be one consequence. The volume dedicates itself to such topics from different angles, examining experience and behavior of people and putting child-rearing characteristics in the socio-cultural context. Views from Asia, from Europe, and from the United States make for a broad perspective, so that the volume can serve a panoramic view of different practices and approaches, and provide the reader with seminal issues of family and childhood.