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1 – 10 of over 2000This paper describes the parent–child relationships of upper-middle-class Chinese parents and their adolescent children who were “parachuted” to the United States for private high…
Abstract
This paper describes the parent–child relationships of upper-middle-class Chinese parents and their adolescent children who were “parachuted” to the United States for private high schools. With parents remaining in China and children in the United States, thousands of miles away, such a transnational educational arrangement complicates the already volatile parent–child relationships during the adolescent years. Through ethnographic interviews of 41 students and 33 parents, I demonstrate different forms of child–parent relationships in a transnational education setting: those who found that the further physical and temporal distance has brought the parent–child relationship closer through frequent communications, children who experienced “accelerated growth” yet questioned the necessity, and delicate parent–child relationships due to increasing transnational cross-cultural or intergenerational differences. These types of parent–child relationships are not comprehensive of all the lived experiences of the “parachute generation,” yet they shed new light on transnational education and the unintended emotional dimensions of educational migration. In a transnational context for an economically well-off group, parental absence or separation of children and parents is no longer a clear-cut concept and has different layers of meanings, taking into account the frequency of communication, duration of spring and winter breaks and the existence of third-party agents such as for-profit intermediaries (or educational consultants) and host families. The diverse patterns of parent–child relations reveal the heterogeneity and complexities of “doing family” across geographic spaces and global educational hierarchies, as well as the roles of communication technologies, the tempo of mobilities and educational intermediaries.
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This chapter examines the lifestyles of upper-middle- and upper-class return migrant parents and youth living in Bangalore, a city in southwest India. It does so by addressing the…
Abstract
This chapter examines the lifestyles of upper-middle- and upper-class return migrant parents and youth living in Bangalore, a city in southwest India. It does so by addressing the following questions: What benefits do return migrant parents see in raising their children within their country of ethnic origin? What are the experiences of youth who grow up within their country of ethnic origin? I answer these questions by analysing 95 conversations with return migrant parents and their children, as well as alumni of Bangalore-based high schools. Building upon literature related to parenting, social class and racial-ethnic socialisation, I discuss parents' efforts to produce children who have the skills needed to succeed within the twenty-first-century global economy, and how the youth experience these child-rearing practices.
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The present chapter explicates urban and rural childhoods in India. It presents childhood as a dynamic product arising out of an intersection of children's experiences in…
Abstract
The present chapter explicates urban and rural childhoods in India. It presents childhood as a dynamic product arising out of an intersection of children's experiences in different familial–socio-cultural contexts, and children's positions within parent–child interactions and relations. These contexts and interactions tend to colour and shape the childhoods that children inhabit. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in urban and rural India, the chapter documents (1) nature of children's engagements and (2) parent–child relations, explicitly observed in parent–child interactions, provisioning warmth and care; parental control and supervision over children and children's participation in the overall fabric of family life and so forth. Forty-eight parents (24 urban and 24 rural) of children aged 7–11 years participated in the study. Qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews and home observations revealed distinctions in urban and rural Indian childhoods. Urban childhood is characterised by rights and privileges, and the centrality of academic pursuits, while rural childhood is featured with subtle induction into economic and social fabric of rural life. Although the world of ‘Indian childhood’ seemed plural, childhood playfulness and learning seemed to be the unifying themes. Geared to the fact that children have to make a living with limited means in the future, both childhoods were accelerated in preparation for future. Dwelling on the complexities in children's lives, this article appreciates diversity and multiplicity in childhoods.
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This contribution focuses on the transition from childhood to teenage years to gain insights into intergenerational relations in Türkiye. At this transition, relations between the…
Abstract
This contribution focuses on the transition from childhood to teenage years to gain insights into intergenerational relations in Türkiye. At this transition, relations between the age groups – maturing children and responsible adults – are partly renegotiated. Scopes of action, areas of responsibility, the right to have a say are being redefined, or at least contested. What becomes the subject of negotiation? How are the negotiations conducted? What are the successes and failures of negotiations? The answers give insights into the positions and mutual relations of adolescents and adults. Using focus group data with girls and complementing questionnaire material from teenagers in Türkiye, we illuminate some challenges related to the age transition from the adolescents' perspective. The results show that the girls – in accordance with their peers and against the resistance of their parents – try to implement their idea that growing up means to become more equal and independent. From the parents' side, responsibility and maturity – particularly regarding (increasing) household and school obligations – emerged as the most dominant expectations toward the teenagers. Our findings suggest that this strong ‘responsibilization’ demanded by the parents and the girls' (albeit somewhat grudgingly achieved) ability to meet this expectation ensured girls' subordination within the intergenerational relations – a subordination that is thus upheld beyond childhood. We conclude that the particular contradictions the teenagers are confronted with when coming of age are increased by Türkiye's status as a society between the East and the West that cannot be considered wholly collectivist anymore.
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Jessica Schwittek, Doris Bühler-Niederberger and Kamila Labuda
This contribution explores intergenerational relations and negotiations in Viet-German families. Due to family members' diverging socialization experiences in Vietnam and Germany…
Abstract
This contribution explores intergenerational relations and negotiations in Viet-German families. Due to family members' diverging socialization experiences in Vietnam and Germany as well as social ties in both societies, we assume that different ideas of intergenerational relations and mutual obligations may be found in Viet-German families. We distinguish between interdependent and independent intergenerational patterns of solidarity. Based on interviews with young adults – the descendants of Vietnamese migrants – four thematic areas are identified, in and through the shaping of which intergenerational relations are continuously negotiated at the face of migration-related challenges. These are (1) a childhood for the future, (2) reciprocal support, (3) individualization of family members and intimization of the family and (4) boundaries against kinship and the Vietnamese community. Our analysis reveals the emergence of a new, hybrid pattern of intergenerational solidarity, for which we suggest the term “individualized interdependence.” The role of young adults in the elaboration of this new family order stands out.
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Concetta Russo, Alessandra Decataldo and Brunella Fiore
Introduction: The birth of a preterm child requires hospitalization in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), which is a very stressful experience for parents. Aim: To determine…
Abstract
Purpose
Introduction: The birth of a preterm child requires hospitalization in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), which is a very stressful experience for parents. Aim: To determine the stress level of parents of preterm babies admitted to intensive and sub-intensive units in two hospitals in Northern Italy and its association with their sociodemographic variables and the clinical conditions of their newborns.
Design/methodology/approach
The sampling was non-probabilistic and included parents of preterm babies admitted to intensive and/or sub-intensive care for at least 10 days. Instruments: (1) information deduced from the clinical record of preterm newborns; (2) sociodemographic determinants of parents' well-being deduced from a questionnaire; (3) parental stress scale: neonatal intensive care unit (PSS:NICU), which measures the perception of parents about stressors from the physical and psychological environment of the NICU.
Findings
Results: A total of 104 parents of 59 hospitalized preterm babies participated in the study. The average parental stress level was 1.87 ± 0.837. The subscale score that got higher was parent-infant relationship subscale. Concerning the infant characteristics, the birth weight of the babies and the length of their hospitalization affected the parents' stress level. Looking at parents' sociodemographic characteristics instead, the greater predictors were gender, age and occupational social class.
Originality/value
The parental role alteration caused by infant premature birth and consequent hospitalization is a major stressor for parents and in particular for mothers. The variables that resulted positively associated with higher stress in parents of preterm infants hospitalized are specific parental characteristics, including not adequately or previously studied ones, and infant characteristics.
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Lwando Ntari and Ayanda Pamella Deliwe
There are many factors that contribute to a person's career choice. The decision of whether or not to join the family business is certainly most influenced by parents. The aim of…
Abstract
Purpose
There are many factors that contribute to a person's career choice. The decision of whether or not to join the family business is certainly most influenced by parents. The aim of this research is to determine how much of an impact parents have on their next-generation family members' (NGFMs) decision to join the family business.
Design/methodology/approach
Following a positivistic paradigm, a cross-sectional design was followed using a quantitative, self-administered questionnaire through a judgemental sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was distributed to South African respondents who have parents who own a family business. The data were analysed using Statistica.
Findings
The results indicate that parental style, culture, self-efficacy and parental identification were found to influence the NGFMs' intention to join the family business significantly. Their decisions can be influenced by several factors, and parents can better manage these aspects by being aware of these influencing factors.
Practical implications
Given the imminent ageing of a large cohort of senior leaders, this research adds to the body of knowledge by highlighting the necessity for committed, willing and ready next-generation family members (NGFMs) to ensure efficient succession in family businesses. Therefore, effective management is required for succession-planning, particularly from the perspective of the successor.
Originality/value
This study, therefore, responds to calls for more in-depth quantitative studies on family businesses in general and on Black-owned family businesses in South Africa in particular. This study will evaluate the significance of parent influence on NGFMs to join Black family-owned businesses in South Africa. This research will assist family business owners and their families in understanding their children's intentions, designing and evolving an appropriate system to instill necessary traits, skills and attitudes in the children, preparing them for upcoming challenges, adding new perspectives to the family business and ensuring its profitability and long-term growth.
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Milla Salin, Mia Hakovirta, Anniina Kaittila and Johanna Raivio
This article analyzes the challenges Finnish single mothers experienced in their everyday lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. In studies on challenges to family life during…
Abstract
Purpose
This article analyzes the challenges Finnish single mothers experienced in their everyday lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. In studies on challenges to family life during COVID-19 lockdowns, single-parent families remain a largely understudied group.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors apply triple bind theory and ask how did Finnish single mothers manage the interplay between inadequate resources, inadequate employment, and inadequate policies during lockdown in spring 2020? These data come from an online survey including both qualitative and quantitative questions which was conducted between April and May 2020 to gather Finnish families' experiences during lockdown. This analysis is based on the qualitative part of the survey.
Findings
This study's results show that lockdown created new inadequacies while also enhancing some old inadequacies in the lives of Finnish single mothers. During lockdown, single mothers faced policy- and resource-disappearances; accordingly, they lost their ability to do paid work normally. Furthermore, these disappearances endangered the well-being of some single mothers and their families.
Originality/value
This article contributes to the wider understanding of everyday lives of single mothers and the challenges COVID-19 pandemic created. Moreover, this study provides knowledge on the applicability of the triple bind theory when studying the everyday lives of single mothers.
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Conor O'Reilly and Gretta Mohan
Using longitudinal data, this study aims to provide a greater understanding as to how parenting factors, including the employment of various disciplinary techniques, during a…
Abstract
Purpose
Using longitudinal data, this study aims to provide a greater understanding as to how parenting factors, including the employment of various disciplinary techniques, during a young person's early adolescence may contribute to excessive Internet use (EIU) in later adolescence.
Design/methodology/approach
Employing “Problem Behaviour” theory (PBT) as a guiding framework, this study uses data from the Growing Up in Ireland ’98 Cohort to investigate the effect of proximal and distal parental influences, measured when children were 13 years old, on symptoms of EIU in young adults at 17 or 18 years. Multiple regression models control for other child and family factors, and separate models for males and females examine sex differentials.
Findings
Estimation did not find a statistically significant association between internet-specific mediation practices in early adolescence and EIU in later adolescence. However, regularly playing games or sports together is a protective factor. Parent-adolescent conflict and spending time home alone are estimated as risk factors. How parents deal with misbehaviour is a strong predictor of EIU, with the direction of association dependent upon the type and frequency of discipline employed.
Practical implications
The findings are of practical significance in informing parents of modifiable aspects of their behaviour that can lead to EIU.
Originality/value
The study applies a longitudinal modelling framework and considers the effect on EIU of various parental disciplinary techniques, representing a novel contribution.
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Emma Cooke, Maria Brenner and Valerie Smith
This study aims to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted parents of autistic children and their families in Ireland.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted parents of autistic children and their families in Ireland.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative thematic analysis methodology was applied using semi-structured interviews. A total of 12 parents (ten mothers, one father and one grandfather speaking on behalf of a mother) of autistic children were asked how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted them and their autistic child with a particular focus on how it has impacted their access to respite care. Interviews were completed remotely from July 2021 to October 2021.
Findings
Data analysis identified four themes that reflect an adverse pandemic impact. These were: world gone; alone and isolated; constantly fighting for help; and negative and positive impact of COVID-19 on child and family. Two parents reported positive outcomes of the pandemic such as social distance requirements. Five parents (42%) reported an increase in the amount of respite received. Three parents (25%) reported a decrease and four (33%) parents reported no change in their access to respite.
Research limitations/implications
COVID-19 has turned a spotlight on mental health for politicians, policymakers and the public and provides an opportunity to make mental health a higher public health priority for autistic children and their families.
Originality/value
This study highlights the need for access to respite for autistic children and for respite services to be responsive to the ongoing needs, in particular, the mental health needs of autistic children and their family, particularly in a crisis situation.
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