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oa Opvoedgedrag onderzoeken bij ouders met verschillende culturele achtergronden
Methodologische moeilijkheden en praktische aanbevelingen
- Amsterdam University Press
- Source: Pedagogiek, Volume 38, Issue 3, Dec 2018, p. 313 - 325
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- 01 Dec 2018
Abstract
Studying Parenting Practices in Parents with Different Cultural Backgrounds: Methodological Difficulties and Practical Recommendations
Studying parents with different cultural backgrounds improves our understanding of differences and similarities in parenting and child development. This helps us to refine theories, which, at present, are mostly based on research among “western” parents. Measuring parenting practices in parents of different cultural backgrounds, however, is complex because most measures do not explicitly take cultural differences into account. First, parents’ cultural background might influence the extent to which measurements are affected by biases. Second, parents of different cultural backgrounds do not always express concepts similarly. As a consequence, operationalizations of such concepts might not be accurate for parents of different cultural backgrounds. This paper discusses the challenges that researchers face when studying parenting practices in parents with different cultural backgrounds. We also offer practical recommendations to overcome these challenges: (1) carefully consider the fit between measures and the cultural background of participants; (2) evaluate the accuracy of the measurements by using multiple measures; (3) increase validity by distinguishing between items that measure parenting styles and items that measure parenting behaviors; and (4) combine qualitative and quantitative research to improve interpretation of quantitative findings. We discuss how careful integration of these strategies can help improve the cultural sensitivity of parenting measures.