Hispanic and Caucasian Mothers' Emotion Socialization Practices
Presentation Type
Poster/Portfolio
Presenter Major(s)
Psychology, Spanish
Mentor Information
Wolfgang Friedlmeier, friedlmw@gvsu.edu
Department
Psychology
Location
Kirkhof Center KC9
Start Date
13-4-2011 1:00 PM
End Date
13-4-2011 2:00 PM
Keywords
Culture, Social Science
Abstract
Mothers' socialization practices of their children's emotions are guided by emotion norms that vary across cultures and ethnic groups. Because members of Hispanic culture endorse more interpersonal values as compared to the Caucasian culture we predict some differences between mothers' practices: Caucasian mothers may value individualistic emotion competence and Hispanic mothers may put higher emphasis on the relational emotion competence model. Thirty-five Hispanic and Caucasian mothers of 2-year old children were interviewed about their reactions to several imagined emotionally charged situations which involved their child. Responses were coded by three independent raters. First descriptive results point to ethnic differences in emotion socialization: Caucasian mothers suggested more action-based strategies, whereas their Hispanic-American counterparts utilized strategies that included discussion and moral consequences of emotional experiences.
Hispanic and Caucasian Mothers' Emotion Socialization Practices
Kirkhof Center KC9
Mothers' socialization practices of their children's emotions are guided by emotion norms that vary across cultures and ethnic groups. Because members of Hispanic culture endorse more interpersonal values as compared to the Caucasian culture we predict some differences between mothers' practices: Caucasian mothers may value individualistic emotion competence and Hispanic mothers may put higher emphasis on the relational emotion competence model. Thirty-five Hispanic and Caucasian mothers of 2-year old children were interviewed about their reactions to several imagined emotionally charged situations which involved their child. Responses were coded by three independent raters. First descriptive results point to ethnic differences in emotion socialization: Caucasian mothers suggested more action-based strategies, whereas their Hispanic-American counterparts utilized strategies that included discussion and moral consequences of emotional experiences.