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Mesman J, van IJzendoorn M, Behrens K, Carbonell OA, Cárcamo R, Cohen-Paraira I, de la Harpe C, Ekmekçi H, Emmen R, Heidar J, Kondo-Ikemura K, Mels C, Mooya H, Murtisari S, Nóblega M, Ortiz JA, Sagi-Schwartz A, Sichimba F, Soares I, Steele H, Steele M, Pape M, van Ginkel J, van der Veer R, Wang L, Selcuk B, Yavuz M, Zreik G. Is the ideal mother a sensitive mother? Beliefs about early childhood parenting in mothers across the globe. International Journal of Behavioral Development 2016. [DOI: 10.1177/0165025415594030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judi Mesman
- Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands
| | | | | | | | - Rodrigo Cárcamo
- Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands
- University of Magallanes, Punta Arenas, Chile
| | | | | | - Hatice Ekmekçi
- Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands
| | - Rosanneke Emmen
- Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands
| | - Jailan Heidar
- Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands
| | | | - Cindy Mels
- Catholic University of Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Howard Steele
- The New School for Social Research, New York, NY, USA
| | - Miriam Steele
- The New School for Social Research, New York, NY, USA
| | - Marloes Pape
- Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands
| | - Joost van Ginkel
- Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands
| | - René van der Veer
- Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands
| | - Lamei Wang
- Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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