Abstract
Parenting practices represent the beliefs, values, and aspirations of a culture. Parents act as agents of their culture by reinforcing social norms and expectations in their children. In India, parents aim to inculcate a strong family orientation in their children by emphasizing respect for elders, promoting hierarchical role relationships, and encouraging interdependent decision-making. With the advent of globalization, traditional Indian values have been redefined to also reflect Westernized notions of independence within interdependent family contexts. The resulting influences on parenting were observed in descriptions provided by ten college seniors from middle-class backgrounds in India. They characterized their parents’ involvement in career as one that reflects understanding and support of their children’s aspirations with the purpose of maximizing child’s career success and enhancing their ability to financially assist family. A majority of female participants also mentioned how parents restricted the career choices of their daughters, thereby promoting gendered role expectations for sons and daughters. One of the major reasons cited for parents’ gendered socialization was societal policing. Future research should examine how communication between parents and children can be effectively utilized for conflict resolution and cultivating egalitarian, gender-neutral parenting practices.
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Alexander, A.J., Chauhan, V. (2020). Parents and Emerging Adults in India. In: Ashdown, B.K., Faherty, A.N. (eds) Parents and Caregivers Across Cultures. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35590-6_15
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