Some cultural differences in the meaning of parenting behavior

A great body of research has underlined the role that parenting plays on child development (Bornstein, 2002) and the different meaning that parental practices might acquire dependent on the specific cultural context in which it has been considered (Zappulla & Lo Coco, 2001; Chen, Liu & Li, 2000). The study was aimed at analyzing some cultural differences in the meaning of parenting, particularly about some practices, such as punishment or protective behaviours. Semi-structured interviews designed to explore the constructs under examination were conducted with 30 south-italian mothers and 30 congolese ones. The interviews were analysed using an observational instrument, T-Lab (Lancia, 2003), in which the meaning of each word is known only through its relationships with the contexts. According to the idea that the differences between cultural and social behaviors determine the different ways of using words and language, these analyses allow to make some inferences on mental and cultural models governing the word associations (Rastier, 1994). Results of the main statistical analyses seem to show that both south-italian and congolese mothers feel obliged to punish their children because it would be the only way to teach and discipline them, but south- italian ones are inclined to ???set off??? punitive behaviours externalizing love to their children by kisses and/or hugs immediately afterwards. Results also suggest that south-italian mothers view their primary role as a protector, with the intent of providing an appropriate environment for their children; differently the congolese ones think about protectiveness as ensuring survival to their children.