Professional Documents
Culture Documents
IN THE CARIBBEAN:
A Literature Review
Sian Williams
Janet Brown
Jaipaul Roopnarine
for
The Learning Community Programme 2006
of the Caribbean Child Support Initiative
1
———————————————————————
Foreword
The Caribbean Child Support Initiative (CCSI) serves as “an intermediary
resource programme [to] bring people and resources together to enhance
Early Childhood Development capacity and knowledge in the sub-region”1.
The initiative bridges the financial and technical resources of the Bernard
van Leer Foundation (BvLF) in The Hague with those of the Caribbean,
with particular interest in strengthening the care environment for young chil-
dren and their parents and other caregivers.
During 2004 CCSI engaged various partners and research agencies within
the Caribbean region to identify needs for research on childrearing and so-
cialization to inform effective interventions with parents. As part of this dia-
logue, CCSI commissioned a review of the literature from within and
about the region to see what researchers had addressed in relation to the
following questions:
The preliminary literature review prepared by Sian Williams and Janet Brown
was considered at a meeting of Caribbean researchers in Jamaica in Decem-
ber 2005. The researchers confirmed what the literature review identified:
2
The outcomes of these two reviews informed CCSI plans for a gathering of
researchers to focus on the findings of the literature reviews and current re-
search activities on aspects of Caribbean child-rearing practices.
This booklet contains the two commissioned reviews of the Caribbean re-
search literature on this broad topic, and a summary of the research methods
represented within these reviews, noting some implications for the studies’
validity, replicability, applicability, etc. The booklet is intended to support
the work of other researchers, university and other level students of early
childhood development and the family within the Caribbean, and readers
within the general public interested in the evidence garnered on a range of
topics related to young children from work within and about the region.
Susan Branker-Lashley
Programme Director
Caribbean Child Support Initiative
3
Acknowledgements
CCSI wishes to thank all the research colleagues who critically read initial
drafts of this literature review and provided additional references:
The Authors
Sian Williams MEd. Early Childhood Services Manager in the UK un-
til 1993 and since that date Consultant and Researcher in ECD in the Car-
ibbean. UNICEF's Caribbean Early Childhood Development Adviser
since 2006.
The Artist
Aeron Cargill graduated with honors from the University of the West
Indies in 2007 with a BA in Visual Arts. He has won awards in traditional
pencil portraiture, a national award in Photography, and received the
highest grade in the Caribbean in the 2001 CXC exams for Visual Arts
4
Table of Contents
Page
1. Childrearing and Socialisation of
Young Children in the Caribbean
(birth to eight years of age)
Sian Williams, Janet Brown
Introduction 6
Section 6: Methodologies 91
5
Childrearing and Socialisation of Young Children
in the Caribbean (birth to eight years of age)
Sian Williams and Janet Brown
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this review was to discover the extent of the cov-
erage of the research on childrearing and socialization of young
children in the Caribbean and to reflect on the findings.
One of the triggers for the review was the lack of understanding
of what it is that parents in the region actually do to raise their
children. The concern expressed by parent educators is that the
basis for interventions is not informed by local or regional re-
search on actual childrearing practices. For example, philosophies
about the importance of play in child development are
“imported” and not counterbalanced, informed or mediated by
how or what children are in fact learning in their family environ-
ments, through play or otherwise.
6
This review, and the one which follows by Jaipaul Roopnarine,
were prepared initially to inform a May 2006 gathering of research-
ers from the Caribbean and elsewhere, persons who are engaged in
research in childrearing and socialization, to exchange experiences
and suggest next steps for research in the region.
This researchers’ dialogue aimed to:
• reflect on what has been learned within the region on which to
build;
• provide an opportunity to reflect on the findings and method-
ologies used in research elsewhere that might inform studies in
the Caribbean;
• identify research ‘gaps’ in the Caribbean and potential lines of
questioning;
• apply a pragmatic focus in identifying priorities and directions
arising for future research, e.g.
7
SECTION 1: NURTURANCE, PLAY
AND EARLY LEARNING
This review sought out studies that describe what parents actually
do. We found research providing important insights into childrear-
ing practices and developmental outcomes for children, but which
8
acknowledged methodological limitations in identifying what parents
were actually doing.
The questions parents were asked were generally open ended. Al-
though children had some toys, and some children had books, there
were very few educational toys in these homes and parents did not
recognize their educational value. Few parents played with their chil-
dren, except during cooking when many would give children a little
dough to play with. Outdoor and romping games were played with
children, but teaching and reading to children were infrequently men-
tioned. Parents when asked directly said that they did teach their chil-
dren school-related subjects (although these were frequently inappro-
priate to the child’s level of development) and 20% of the parents
said they enjoyed reading to their children. The researchers tried to
get an idea of the amount of verbal interaction between mother and
children and asked mothers about the questions their children asked
and how many of them they answered. The majority of mothers indi-
cated that they tried to answer questions, or most questions; but 40%
indicated that they only attempted to answer a few. The children
were not being raised with daily routines, with specific bed times or
regular meals eaten together as a family. However, the researchers
noted the close ties that children developed with adults, usually
women, in addition to their parents, living and playing in densely
populated homes and ‘yards’. Whilst there was little attempt to con-
sciously promote cognitive development, the children were stimu-
lated by a rich social life including a variety of routine trips, such as
errands and visits in their neighbourhoods. The children’s level of
development was related to levels of stimulation in the home.
9
Grantham-McGregor notes that it is perhaps “incongruous” to ex-
pect much emphasis to be put on stimulation activities amongst
families who are so poor. To what extent the features of child-
rearing identified reflected poor physical conditions, poor education
of parents or custom and practice is not clear. Indeed the authors
conclude that “many of our findings can be explained by urbaniza-
tion and poverty”. The lack of routines can in part be explained by
the poor physical conditions, and is a finding similar to that in stud-
ies of poor families in other parts of the world. The authors cite Le-
vine (1977) who hypothesized that in Africa a clear priority of the
parents was to teach survival techniques and once these were as-
sured, “the main focus was to produce obedient children”.
This discussion of childrearing practices (1) as symptomatic in part
of poverty and environmental factors is very important. It begs the
question, “What can we realistically expect?” It is hardly surprising
that parents expressed a high degree of support for preschooling
and infant schooling for their children. “Success at school is one
way children may achieve social and economic progress in present-
day Jamaica”. The formality of the parents’ attempts to teach their
children was noted. “The mothers’ ignorance of the appropriate
subjects to teach preschool children in preparation for school,
makes it unlikely that their efforts would be successful”. This is an
area explored in other research on the quality of learning environ-
ments discussed below.
10
«»
«»
Roopnarine (17) draws on his own and others’ work to describe the
Indo-Caribbean families of Trinidad and Guyana as engaging in
more “collectivistic childrearing tendencies”, i.e. focusing on inter-
personal harmony, interdependence, and respect for elders. Prac-
tices with very young children are described as “relaxed and indul-
gent”, with few feeding and sleeping routines. In other ways, such
as the practice of corporal punishment and in the gender differences
in direct caring for and protection of children, the African Carib-
bean and the Indian Caribbean parents are similar.
11
In a cross-cultural review of early childhood education research (18)
Roopnarine cites LeVine in cautioning against population level gen-
eralisations about how different groups view appropriate and inap-
propriate child behaviours, as well as timetables of expected child
development milestones. For example, criteria for assessing an
“intelligent” child and a “competent” child vary within societies as
well as between them, and therefore parental behaviours to elicit de-
sired outcomes may be driven by different meanings in different
contexts of social class, family structure, ethnicity, etc. A cross-
cultural example of this was given between “low income, African-
and Indo-Caribbean parents [who] see ‘good children’ as academi-
cally competent, cooperative, respectful, compliant, and obedient”.
In Japanese studies of middle-class suburban parents, ‘good chil-
dren’ were seen as those who ‘displayed their thoughts honestly’,
were able to ‘maintain interpersonal harmony’, and worked well
with others in ‘expressing and building the self’. In many of the
Western developed societies, assertiveness and independence are
values encouraged in children. While these are generalisations made
in comparing broad societies, there are within Caribbean societies
parents of differing class, ethnicity, education level and gender who
would identify more with the values of the Japanese or Western par-
ents than the Caribbean values cited above (18, p. 10 citing other
studies).
«»
12
educational toys such as puzzles and playing blocks(3a). There is lack
of systematic supervision of children or routine in homes where par-
ents are absent or leave early for work (3b), and children are often late
to school/play truant in these circumstances. Evans refers to interna-
tional studies demonstrating the impact of parental exhaustion and
stress on family functioning and child rearing. Physical and social cir-
cumstances can influence child-rearing techniques and parent-child
interaction – they make up what is understood as the “social ecology”
or the context of childrearing that can shape and influence socialisa-
tion.
13
In examining the effects of the physical/social setting, parent-
child interaction and parental values and beliefs on the socialisa-
tion of the child, Evans draws on research indicating links to lim-
ited vocabulary of 4 year olds(3d), lack of personal/social respon-
siveness and conceptual development(3h) and lack of independ-
ence and imagination(3i).
«»
14
Roopnarine (17) cites Handwerker’s Barbados study of 1996 (18)
in describing parent-child displays of affection: 58% of boys and
57% of girls [age not cited] were hugged and touched by their
mothers regularly or “all the time”, while fewer received similar
affection from their fathers (24% boys, 33% girls); Leo-Rhynie’s
work (8) had only 23.6% of Jamaican parents praising children for
approved behaviour, reflecting similar upbringing by their parents.
Roopnarine, in writing of Caribbean immigrant families in the
United States (4) echoes the finding that parents believe that their
children should obey them and expands this to include the belief
that children should care for their ageing parents. He notes that
whilst this belief may be prevalent in the Caribbean today, it is
changing amongst higher-educated first generation children of
immigrants. Beliefs and values that stem from deeply-held reli-
gious beliefs (Indian-Caribbean and African-Caribbean), ethnic
differences, personal and community histories, do influence child-
rearing, but precisely how is not identified. Parents draw more
readily on folk theories and practices handed down through the
generations rather than the advice and guidance of experts and
community agencies (5).
«»
15
«»
Related research (12, 13) identified the importance for child devel-
opment of the provision of a safe, healthy, caring and stimulating
home environment, basic learning resources (domestic items used as
toys, specially made toys) and an adult carer and “educator” who is
prepared/able to read to the child each day and in time listen to the
child read to him or her. One research intervention provided a
home visitor who met with parents in their homes and demon-
strated effective child development and care techniques. The fea-
tures of this successful home visiting programme as measured by
the beneficial outcomes for children are as follows:
16
aides, as these workers have existing credibility and standing
within the community.
▪ A clear focus on working with the parent or primary caregiver to de-
velop his or her understanding of child development and skills
in providing care and stimulating activities for the child. Par-
enting issues are discussed, practices demonstrated and advice
given on health, nutrition and stimulation of the children.
▪ The use of home made toys, books and materials in the home served
to optimize the use of the natural environment as a play and
learning resource and keep the costs of the home visiting pro-
grammes down. The estimated cost of a home visitor’s “kit”
includes the tools needed to make items as well as useful equipment
such as a tape recorder for playing songs and story tapes.
Toys, learning materials and cassette tapes are left in the
homes each week and exchanged for new ones at each visit.
▪ The Manager or supervisor of the programme monitors each visi-
tor conducting a home visit on a monthly basis.
«»
17
academic achievement and cognitive function, behaviour problems
and behaviour strengths were combined with measures of the home
and school learning environments. The main findings as regards
the home and parenting practices were as follows:
18
compared with 37 per cent of American parents. Parenting
stress was experienced at all social class levels, but increased
with the age of the pre-school child. Parental mental health
problems were also similar across the Jamaican social classes.
▪ The most common leisure activity for Jamaican six year olds
was watching television, enjoyed by over 80 per cent. A large
proportion (three quarters) also read books at some time, but
the frequency of reading or looking at books over a month
was low. Girls and children of the higher social classes read
more frequently. There was little parental involvement in ei-
ther the watching of television or reading books.
▪ Half of the children were involved in organised leisure activi-
ties, with boys more involved in sports and girls more in-
volved in hobbies. Three quarters of children attended
church fairly regularly, with the majority attending the Evan-
gelical, Pentecostal and Seventh Day Adventist churches.
▪ At this early age, girls were already socialised to perform
chores more so than boys. Less privileged children also per-
formed more chores.
▪ Homes had relatively little physical material to stimulate chil-
dren’s development or encourage appropriate play.
▪ Emotionally, homes also lacked appropriate parent-child in-
teraction to encourage emotional development. This was
particularly true of the homes of the disadvantaged.
▪ The only aspect of the home environments that was similar
across the social classes was the parental attitude to discipline.
American families were more accepting of children and used
less harsh disciplinary measures than Jamaican families. This
was confirmed by the disciplinary index which reported on
measures of discipline used within the home in the week
prior to the survey. Similar discipline was administered to
children of all social classes and both genders.
19
rearing practices and the fourth and fifth require parental support.
The study demonstrated that the relationship of these five indica-
tors with school achievement and cognitive function at the Grade 1
level was stronger than at the pre-school level suggesting that the
negative impact of these factors worsens over time.
«»
«»
The main findings of the Profiles Project as regards the quality of the
learning environments in schools were broadly the same as the findings
in national surveys using the same scale in pre-schools in six other
Caribbean countries. “Similar to homes, the early childhood school
environments (Grade 1) were lacking in [learning] material to ade-
quately stimulate children. In addition, they lacked space and fur-
niture and programme structure. Areas in which schools func-
20
tioned adequately were parent-teacher interaction and language use.
Both private and public Grade 1 environments were similar” (14).
The data in the table which follows on three key indicators taken
from the quality surveys illustrate the range of ratings of
“inadequate” from 34% to 73% on the critical variable of access to
books/picture books and the practice of reading to children. The
high levels of ratings of inadequate provision are repeated for many
of the other 40 indicators that were measured. In contrast, the
range of inadequate ratings for staff-child interaction (with one ex-
ception) is 33% to 10%.
21
Selected Inadequate Ratings from Quality Surveys
Country #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7
Year 2002 2001 2000 2004 2005 2005 2000
Space and Furnishings 77% 67% 30% 29% 60% 39% 40%
Books and Pictures; 73% 67% 42% 48% 48% 46% 34%
Reading to Children
Staff-Child interaction 55% 33% 21% 10% 17% 23% 10%
In general the learning environments were not structured in a way that re-
flected how children learn best at a very young age. The pace and coverage
of training in how to support learning in the early years is reflected in the
learning environments throughout the region. However, in every country
surveyed, examples of best practices were identified with the potential to set
up mentoring arrangements between centres and key personnel. Several sug-
gested improvements required no financing but changes in attitudes and
working practices from basic health and safety routines to management of
classroom environments. For example, key areas for support to children’s
learning that emerged are:
• managing “differences” between children, helping children learn toler-
ance;
• guiding children to include one another in games, activities and everyday
events at the centre;
• developing rules with children for being fair and kind to each other
«»
22
Other research in Jamaica provides similar weight to the poverty
factor. Incidence of children’s lifetime exposure to violence as wit-
nesses, victims and perpetrators is higher among children from
lower SES homes for almost all types of violence (16). The increas-
ing number of female-headed households amongst families of the
poor is becoming an institutional norm, and is a direct result of both
male and female impoverishment (10a). Despite evidence that chil-
dren in poor female headed households receive a higher proportion
of the resources available to that household than they do in poor
male headed households (10b), the status of children in all poor
households is of increasing concern in Jamaica, as they are being
raised without the prerequisites for healthy emotional development
(10c).
Research has also shown that the high level of childhood poverty is
linked with early motherhood and with adverse outcomes for chil-
dren in Jamaica (11). The timing of poverty is very important for
determining the intensity of the outcome: the earlier the age at the
first pregnancy the higher the risk. There are 50% more 17 and 18
year olds in school from the wealthiest quintile of the population of
Jamaica than there are from the poorest quintile. The growth of job-
loss in the economy is diminishing opportunities for training and
employment, and increasing stress on young poor families. Employ-
ment opportunities are seen as assisting the emotional development
of children by diminishing stress on families. Re-entry into the edu-
cation and training system for young mothers would break the de-
pendency on “baby fathers”, and assist in the prevention of spiraling
problems triggering domestic violence and abuse. (11)
«»
23
and practices in the evaluation of the impact of the Roving Care-
givers Programme2 on parenting and child development (21) with
those in the Profiles Project. The evaluation of the Roving Care-
givers Programme used a sample of 163 children aged 12 to 30
months, assigned to either the intervention or control group. The
study found a significant impact of the Programme on parental
knowledge but not on parenting practices.
“Rovers” (trained young women from local communities) visit parents of children between the ages of birth through three with
toys and other stimulation materials to demonstrate activities parents can use with their children to promote their development.
24
group, education level, union and marital status, will be
available” [our emphasis]
At the time of this writing, not all the data had yet been mined, but
some of the preliminary report findings of relevance especially to
young children include the following (19):
25
• Corporal punishment was used more with young children
than older ones.
• There was very uneven access to parenting support pro-
grammes or information, but health centres, churches,
schools/PTAs played a pivotal role in supporting rural care-
givers.
«»
26
ised games or play activities, indoor toys. Are caregivers more
engaged in outdoor activity than indoor?
5. What are the characteristics of friendships and peer relations
amongst children, and the impact they have on their develop-
ment?
6. How can the disjuncture between parents’ educational aspirations
for their children and their understanding of the process of educa-
tion be addressed?
7. How do child-rearing patterns at home affect the child’s adjust-
ment to the institutional demands of school?
8. How much do we know about the impact of the adjustments re-
quired of children who are shifted from one or more homes dur-
ing their formative years?
9. What are the effects on children’s internal lives of loss and migra-
tion?
10. What are Caribbean concepts of “play” and what constitutes play
and its meanings for children? What kinds of play could be
demonstrated to parents as beneficial?
11. How are all these questions affected by the gender of the child?
12. How do we obtain the voices of children on their own experi-
ences of nurturance and play?
13. Are there evaluations of parenting programmes that would pro-
vide insights on parenting practices in the process of change?
Section 1: References
27
Longmans, New York]
(2) Payne, M.A and Furnham, A F , (1992) Parental self-reports of
child rearing practices in the Caribbean, Journal of Black
Psychology, Spring 1992, Vol.18, No.2, pp 19-36
(3) Evans, H (1989) Perspectives on the socialisation of the work-
ing class Jamaican Child, Social and Economic Studies, Vol-
ume 38, no3, 177-203 [citing (a) Grant D.R.B., Leo-Rhynie,
E., and Alexander, G., Children of the lesser world in the
English speaking Caribbean, Vol. V: Household Structures
and Settings, Kingston, UWI:PECE, 1983 ; (b) Anderson,
K.V. An Analysis of Certain Factors Affecting the Scho-
lastic Achievement of Lower SES as Compared with Mid-
dle SES Children in Jamaica, unpublished D.Ed Thesis,
Cornell University, 1967; (c) Foner, N., Status and Power in
Rural Jamaica, New York: Teachers’ College Press, 1973;
(d) Jarrett, J., A Survey of the Experiential Background of a
Sample of Lower class Pre-school Jamaican children”, Un-
published B.Ed. I. Study, Faculty of Education, UWI, 1976;
(e)Brodber, E., The child in his social environment, mimeo,
n.d..; (f) Kerr, M., Personality and Conflict in Jamaica, Lon-
don: Collins, 1963; (g) Clarke, E. My Mother who Fathered
Me, 2nd ed., London: George Allen and Unwin, 1966 (h)
Wein,N., Longitudinal Study Progress Report No. 1,
U.W.I., Institute of Education, Bernard van Leer Founda-
tion, 1972; and (i) Watson, E.M., The non-school environ-
ment and children’s creativity, Caribbean Journal of Educa-
tion, Vol.6, No.3, 1979, 178-96
(4) Roopnarine, J.L., Shin, M., and Lewis, T.Y. English-speaking
Caribbean Immigrant Fathers: The task of unpacking the
cultural pathways to intervention in Fagan, J and Hawkins,
A. Eds. (2001) Clinical and Educational Interventions with
fathers, New York, Haworth Press
(5) Roopnarine, J.L. and Brown, J eds. (1997) Caribbean families:
Diversity among ethnic groups , Norwood, NJ:Ablex
28
(6) Flinn, M. (1992) Paternal care in a Caribbean village, in Hew-
lett, B ed Father child relations: cultural and biosocial
contexts, 57-84, New York: Aldine de Gruyter
(7) Roopnarine, J.L., Shin, M., Jung, K., and Hossain, Z. Play
and Early
Development and Education The Instantiation of Paren-
tal Belief Systems in Contemporary Perspectives on Play
in Early Childhood Education, 2003, 115-132, Informa-
tion Age Publishing Inc.
(8) Leo-Rhynie, E (1997) Class, race and gender issues in child-
rearing in the Caribbean in Roopnarine, J.L. and Brown, J
eds, op cit. (5)
(9) Samms-Vaughan, M., 2001, The Profiles Project, Report
No.1, A profile of the status of Jamaican preschool chil-
dren and their learning environments. Department of
Child Health with Caribbean Child Development Centre,
UWI: Mona
(10)(a) Chevannes, B., Behavioural Norms and the Transmission
of
Poverty, Dimensions of Culture. Oral presentation, April
21st 2005, Breaking the Cycle: The intergenerational
transmission of poverty in Jamaica, Planning Institute of
Jamaica. See also (b) HANDA, S (1996) Expenditure
behaviour and children’s welfare: An analysis of female
headed households in Jamaica, Journal of Development
Economics, Vol 50 No 1, pp165-187, Amsterdam and (c)
Newman-Williams, M and Sabatini, F (1995) The eco-
nomics of child poverty in Jamaica, UNICEF, Caribbean
Area Office (CAO), Barbados
(11) Ricketts, H., Responding to the challenges, Parenting. Oral
presentation, April 21st 2005, Breaking the Cycle: The
intergenerational transmission of poverty in Jamaica,
Planning Institute of Jamaica
(12) Grantham-McGregor SM, Powell CA, Walker SP, Chang S,
Fletcher P.(1994) The long term follow-up of severely
29
malnourished children who participated in an intervention
program. in Child Development 65:428-439.
(13) Powell, C., Baker-Henningham, H., Walker, S., Gernay, J.,
Grantham-McGregor, S. (2004) Integrating early stimula-
tion into primary health care services for undernourished
Jamaican children: a randomised controlled trial, Tropical
Metabolism Research Institute, UWI: Mona
(14) Williams, S. (2005) Quality of learning environments in early
childhood settings: reports of national surveys in Montser-
rat (2002), St. Lucia (2002), Grenada (2000), Dominica
(1999), St. Vincent and the Grenadines (2001)* and the
Bahamas (2004); *with Brown, J. Caribbean Child Devel-
opment Centre, UWI: Mona
(15) Barrow, C. (2005) A situational analysis of Approaches to
Childrearing and Socialisation in the Caribbean: The cases
of Dominica and Trinidad, Caribbean Support Initiative,
Bridgetown, Barbados.
(16) Samms-Vaughan, M. (2005) A Comprehensive Analysis of
Jamaican Children’s Exposure to Violence at 11 – 12
Years. PAHO
(17) Roopnarine, J, and Metindogan, A..(2008) Early Childhood
Education Research in Cross-National Perspective, Un-
published manuscript, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New
York
(19) Ricketts, H. and Anderson, P. (2005) Executive Summary of
Parenting in Jamaica: A Study conducted on behalf of the
Planning Institute of Jamaica.
(20) Samms-Vaughan, M.E. (2000) Cognition, educational attain-
ment and behaviour in a cohort of Jamaica children. Plan-
ning Institute of Jamaica. Social Policy Analysis Pro-
gramme Working Paper No. 5.
(21) Powell, Christine (2004) An evaluation of the Roving Care
givers Programme of the Rural Family Support Organisa
tion, UNICEF Jamaica.
30
(22) Williams, S. National surveys of the quality of learning environ-
ments in early childhood centres (ECEs):
• 2006 - Jamaica: Early Childhood Commission/Dudley
Grant Memorial Trust (basic schools);
• 2005 – Grenada: Ministry of Education (preschools and
day care centres);
• 2005 – Jamaica: Bernard van Leer Foundation/Dudley
Grant Memorial Trust (basic schools in three parishes);
• 2004 - Commonwealth of the Bahamas: Child Focus II
Project/IADB (ECEs);
• 2002 - Government of St. Lucia/UNICEF Caribbean Area
Office (ECEs);
• 2001 - Government of Montserrat/UNICEF Caribbean
Area Office (ECEs);
31
SECTION 2: GENDER AND
CHILD DEVELOPMENT
32
used the Draw-a-Person test with 8-15 year olds to examine gen-
der identity formation. In the latter study, the author stated that
‘both conflict of cross-sex identity and consistency of feminine
identification occur in father-absent males…” and noted the
critical period of the first two years of life.
33
research of the women’s movement internationally and in the
Caribbean during the 1970s and 80s, described the matrifocal
nature of Caribbean families generally (females as primary nurtur-
ers, central to family functioning) (3) and relied largely on deficit
perspectives when examining the role of men in relation to their
families—both in terms of partnerships and in terms of parent-
hood—men were NOT present, NOT faithful, NOT sufficiently
responsible, NOT steady financial contributors.
34
▪ The common multiple-union pattern of men adds on more complex obligations
and expectations as the man gets older. Thus a man’s FAMILY
may be defined differently at different points in his life as he views
his familial responsibilities to his parents (especially his mother), to
his siblings and their children, to the mother(s) of his children, to
his outside child(ren) from earlier unions, and to any child(ren)
with whom he may now live with a common-law or married wife.
▪ Men contribute more to family life than is credited. Caribbean women’s
role remains that of primary caregiver of children, and many
women carry this role without their children’s father present in the
home. But the study provides evidence that men are far more in-
volved in positively contributing to family life than popular stereo-
types suggest.
▪ Men are active with their children and in domestic chores, but do not feel en-
hanced by these tasks. The majority of men described their active,
often daily, participation in tidying, playing and reasoning with their
children, and in helping regularly with homework. Up to 50% re-
ported that they also regularly cook, tidy the house and go to the
shop. At the same time, men generally admit that these contribu-
tions in the domestic sphere are perceived still by most men and
some women as primarily “women’s work”; they are not self-
enhancing, particularly if economic circumstances do not permit
contributions in keeping with the culturally prescribed role of
breadwinner and thus family head, roles implying authority and
decision-making status.
▪ Being a father has strong personal meanings for men. Fathering is both
part of a man’s self-definition and his route to maturity.
▪ “Outside” children appear more psychologically vulnerable than “inside” chil-
dren. Children born early in a man’s life, enhancing his sense of
manhood, are often seen later as destabilisers of new partnerships,
and are sacrificed by one or both partners in order to firm the new
union.
▪ Conditions of poverty negatively affect child-rearing practices. High under-
and unemployment, migration to earn, women’s labour market par-
ticipation, the erosion of the extended family’s capacities to assist
with child care—all present barriers for men’s and women’s fulfill-
ment of their understood roles.
35
This study begged more questions than provided answers, at least
in terms of hard data that could speak definitively to the posi-
tioning of men in relation to their families and specifically to
their children. It was a significant study, however, in shifting fu-
ture research away somewhat from the deficit perspectives of
earlier examinations to more open queries into the meanings
family and children hold for men, the socialization of men and
women into the roles they play out on a daily basis, and the his-
torical roots of manifest patterns and behaviours.
«»
36
male substitutes for financial contribution. Lack of financial sup-
port tends to dilute or negate a man’s claim to family headship,
even if resident.
«»
37
dence for this hypothesis was weak at best, and that conjugal in-
stability was more strongly correlated with the levels of control
(or not) parents exercised during adolescence.
«»
«»
In 2001, the Profiles Project in Jamaica found that “on the sur-
face, children’s emotional environment seemed stable. More
than 80 per cent of children had had only a single mother or fa-
ther figure. However, only two-thirds of children (at age six)
had both biological parents as their parenting figures and less
than a half lived with both their biological parents. Relationships
between parents had proven to be very unstable with more than
40 per cent of biological parents reporting no relationship with
each other by the time their child was six years old.
38
main reason for separation from mothers was migration, and from
fathers, the ending of the parental relationship. Migration was also
an important factor in separation from fathers and parental inade-
quacy for separation from mothers. More fathers were providing
financial support (81 per cent) than were credited with providing
emotional support as the father figure (74 per cent).” (19)
«»
«»
39
self-esteem and self-efficacy. In a sub-set of the full survey, the
data from married men living with a spouse and at least one child
age 5-17 were analysed:
40
(Leo-Rhynie 1997). Assessing gender ideology and childrearing in
Jamaica, Sargent and Harris (1992) found an overwhelming preference
for girls among women (78.7%), and more mothers used adjectives such
as “bad”(73.5% versus 26.5%) and “rude”(62.1% and 37.9% to
describe boys than girls.”
«»
The social sciences faculties at the three major UWI campuses, par-
ticularly the Gender and Development Units, have further examined
Caribbean masculinities, critical adjuncts to how maleness plays out
within the family as well as in other wider community roles (13).
The historical examinations of Hilary Beckles (14) and Pat Moham-
med (15) among others into the impact of slavery and indentureship
on men, women and families have helped deepen and contextualise
current issues of gender, sexuality, and the meanings of childhood
for the Caribbean.
41
activities of households and this is apparent at all stages of the life cycle. Chil-
dren are socialized to recognize and be part of these divisions…children thus
grow up to associate order with divisions based on gender. One of the implica-
tions of this ordering of gender is a tighter control over girls than over boys.
The notion of greater sexual freedom for males is brought about by the way
they are socialized, and it is considered natural for adult men to keep more
than one woman. The looser rein over boys also means greater freedom for
them to associate with and pattern their own behaviour after older males”(25).
Greater attention is given to girls to learn at school and develop
social skills and values; it is more common for boys to be encour-
aged to learn “fending” skills and income generating skills at an
early age.
«»
42
rejection of “male marginalisation”, suggesting that many men, par-
ticularly those encumbered by poverty and poor initial education,
have simply discarded education as a viable route to desired goals,
while women remain empowered by educational routes to greater
independence (9, 10, 11, 12). Samms-Vaughan’s data from Ja-
maica’s cohort study assert that boys “were significantly more likely
than girls to experience violence as witnesses or victims. They
were also much more likely to receive corporal punishment at
school than girls”. (23)
«»
43
New unions can have the effect of blocking interactions with the
outside child. The status of the union (married or unmarried) does
not appear to have an effect. This is an area that needs research to
identify the extent to which children are affected.
«»
Section 2: References
44
Jayawardena in the late 50’s-early 60’s, Niehoff and Nie-
hoff (1960), Klass (1988), Demographic work of Roberts
and Braithwaite (1962) and ethnographies by Nevadomsky
(1985), Silverman (1980) and Thakur (1978).]
(4) Nurse, K. (2003) The Masculinization of Poverty: Gender and
Global Restucturing Paper at UNESCO Consultation on
Mainstreaming Gender, UWI (Mona)
(5) Brown, J. Anderson, P and Chevannes, B. (1993) The Contri-
bution of Caribbean Men to the Family: A Jamaica Pilot
Study. Report to IDRC, UNICEF and CUSO.
(6) Brown, J., Broomfield, R and Ellis, O. (1994) Men and Their
Families: Handbook for Discussion Groups, CCDC, UWI
(7) Brown, J. and Chevannes, B. (1998) Why Man Stay So: Tie
the Hiefer, Loose the Bull. An Examination of Gender
Socialisation in the Car ibbean by the UWI, UNICEF.
(8) McGarrity, G. and Brown, J. (1997) Gender and the Young
Child: A Jamaican Community Exploration. In Coordina-
tor’s Notebook: An International Resource for Early
Childhood Development. No. 20.
(9) Miller, E. (1986) The Marginalisation of the Black Jamaican
Male: Insights from the Development of the Teaching
Profession. Kingston: Institute of Social and Economic
Research, UWI; and (1991) Men at Risk. Kingston: Ja-
maica Publishing House.
(10) Figueroa, M. (1996) Male Privileging and Male Academic Per-
formance in Jamaica. Symposium paper, Centre for Gen-
der and Development Studies, UWI St. Augustine, and
(1996) with Sudhanshu Handa. Female Schooling
Achievement in Jamaica: A Market and non-Market
Analysis. Department of Economics, UWI (Mona)
(11) Parry, O. (2000) Student Choices in Kingston High Schools.
(12) Chevannes, B. (1999) What We Sow and What We Reap:
Problems in the cultivation of male identity in Jamaica.
Grace, Kennedy Foundation Lecture Series.
(13) Reddock, R, ed. (2004) Interrogating Caribbean Masculinities:
45
Theoretical and Empirical Analyses. St. Augustine: UWI
Press
(14) Beckles, H. (2000) Property Rights in Pleasure: The Market
ing of Enslaved Women’s Sexuality in Shepherd, V. and
Beckles, H.McD. (eds) Caribbean Slavery in the Atlantic
World, Kingston, Ian Randle Press.
(15) Mohammed, P. “The Idea of Childhood and Age of Sexual
Maturity Among Indians in Trinidad: A Sociohistorical
Scrutiny”. In Roopnarine J and Brown, J. (1997) Carib-
bean Families: Diversity Among Ethnic Groups.
Greenwich Conn.: Ablex Publishing Corporation
(16) Grant D.R.B., Leo-Rhynie, E., and Alexander, G., Children
of the lesser world in the English speaking Caribbean,
Vol. V: Household Structures and Settings, Kingston,
UWI:PECE, 1983
(17) Grantham-McGregor, S., Landmann, J. and Desai, P.
(1983) Childrearing in poor urban Jamaica, in Child:
care, health and development, 1983, 9, 57-71, Blackwell
Scientific Publications
(18) Roberts, G.W. and Sinclair, S., Women in Jamaica – Pat-
terns of Reproduction and Family, Millwood: TKO
Press, 1978.
(19) Samms-Vaughan, M 2001, The Profiles Project, Report
No.1, A profile of the status of Jamaican preschool chil-
dren and their learning environments. Department of
Child Health with Caribbean Child Development Cen-
tre, UWI: Mona
(20) World Bank (1999) 35 Years of Early Child Development
in the Caribbean, CDROM.
(21) Massiah, J. (1986) Women in the Caribbean Project, Insti-
tute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), UWI:
Cave Hill
(22)Senior, O. (1991) Working Miracles: Women’s Lives in the
English-Speaking Caribbean. ISER, UWI: Cave Hill.
46
London: James Currey. Bloomington: Indiana Uni-
versity Press
(23) Samms-Vaughan, M. (2005) A Comprehensive Analysis of
Jamaican Children’s Exposure to Violence at 11 – 12
Years, PAHO
(24) Roopnarine, J. and Evans, M. (2005) Family Structural Or-
ganisation, Mother-Child and Father-Child Relation-
ships and Psychological Outcomes in English-speaking
African Caribbean and Indo-Caribbean Families
(25) Munroe, R. and Munroe, R. (1992). Fathers in children’s
environments: A four culture study. In B. Hewlett
(ed), Father-child relations: Cultural and biosocial con-
texts. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
(26) Quinlan, R. and Flinn, Mark (2003) Intergenerational
Transmission of Conjugal Stability in a Caribbean
Community, Journal of Comparative Family Studies,
Vol. 34, pp 569-584
(27) Wilson, L.C. and Kposowa, A J. (1994) Paternal In
volvement with Children: Evidence from Guyana,
International Journal of Sociology of the Family, Vol.
24: 23-42
47
SECTION 3: HEALTH AND NUTRITION
Health
It must be noted at the outset that Caribbean basic indicators of child
health and nutrition all register at or near the top of developing coun-
tries’ statistics:
48
same countries as highest and lowest). Again this was a bet-
ter record than the combined Latin American and the Carib-
bean average of 27.
«»
1. Antenatal care begins too late for too many Caribbean moth-
ers-to-be: only 30% of women on average started their prena-
tal care within the first trimester; Jamaica’s percentage is lower
at 23%.
49
2. Twenty-five percent of antenatal care visits (in Jamaica) were
teenage mothers; this figure is probably similar to the rest of the
Caribbean. Teenage pregnancy has been rising as a percentage
of live births, despite the general lowering of the fertility rates
across the Caribbean, although there is recent research indicat-
ing the beginning of a decline in Jamaica (3). In Jamaica, the
proportion of young women 15-19 years of age who have had
a child by the age of 20 has remained almost stable. Children
of very young mothers face greater birth and early develop-
mental risks.
50
soning, attempted suicides, and genito-urinary problems, which
are presented more often by females in this age group. Examina-
tion of parenting behaviours (and environmental conditions) is
certainly suggested by this list of presenting problems. Of the
number of child patients treated for burns, poisoning, bites, stab
wounds, blunt injuries, motor vehicle accidents, accidental lacera-
tions, and genitor-urinary disorders, an average of 59.5% of chil-
dren below age five were boys; 61.2% from five to nine were
boys. These stark figures tell us little about the nature of the in-
juries or their contexts.
«»
Health care was received through the public health system by more than
a half of children (55 per cent). A third received care from family prac-
titioners and only 5 percent visited paediatricians. Dental health was
neglected, with more than 80 percent of children never having visited the
dentist. When their child’s functional ability (hearing, vision, speech)
were enquired of, parents most commonly reported speech abnormalities
(10 per cent). On evaluation during the project, hearing impairment
was identified in 35 per cent and vision impairment in 10 per cent.
Parental impressions were unable to identify children with sensory im-
pairment.”
51
The content of parenting education programmes in relation to the
care of children with asthma and also in relation to the care of
children with sickle cell anaemia has not been sourced for this re-
view; it may be that parenting education programmes supported
by clinics have focused on parenting practices and that their
evaluation has yielded useful insights. More exploration of these
areas needs to be done.
Nutrition
In the absence of region-wide data, Jamaica’s statistics on child
nutrition are assumed to be generally representative of the Carib-
bean, with some countries doing somewhat better and others hav-
ing higher incidence of poor nutritional status:
▪ In Jamaica just under 10% of all live births are of low birth
weight.
▪ For children five and under, low weight for age in 2002
stood at 6.4%, stunting affected 5.9% of children, and a
smaller percentage (2.8%) were considered wasted.
▪ Obesity in children is a growing phenomenon. Although
in 2001 the figure for Jamaica was 5%, it had risen over
ten years from 2%.
«»
The University of the West Indies has led the region’s work on
child nutrition; of the 84 studies/documents reviewed by the
52
ChIC group, at least 54 were conducted by the Tropical Medicine
Research Institute (TMRI) of the UWI, and most of the others
were generated by the University’s Department of Child Health.
The studies reviewed span work of over twenty-five years. Of
particular significance to this literature review on parenting prac-
tices are the studies which have examined the short- and long-
term effects of different interventions with cases of severe to
moderate malnutrition in young children. Many of the TMRI
studies have measured the effects of supplementation (of protein
and energy food basics) or stimulation, or the combination of
both these interventions, on the child’s growth and development.
These highly rigorous experimental studies have among their find-
ings confirmed the critical importance of stimulation (in the forms of sim-
ple play materials and activities) as a basic prompt to both physical
and cognitive development of the child—even more important
than food supplementation. These studies have shown persistent
benefits to the children’s IQ and school achievement up to age
16-17 years (5, 6, 7, 8).
53
impairments even when the child’s nutritional status has been im-
proved. This underscores the importance of prevention rather than
remediation as the optimum approach to reducing numbers of
low birth weight children and the incidences of moderate and se-
vere under-nutrition and over-nutrition. Low birth weight was
found to be the greatest predictor of malnutrition in a sample of
urban, poor young children from six months to 4 years old.
Clearly prevention must involve engaging parents and other pri-
mary caregivers earlier and more consistently during and after
pregnancy.
«»
54
more prevalent in conditions of poverty, it is hard to designate pre-
cise causation. Research in Jamaica has revealed a prevalence of 42–
47% of the most common “worm” infection (T.trichiura) among
surveys of urban and rural Jamaican grade school children (mostly
light and moderate infections, but 4-6% heavy). Since repeated in-
fections may be linked to emotional problems and poor school
achievement, this level of incidence should also be addressed within
parental education programmes as a prevention as well as remedia-
tion route.
«»
The incidence of obesity as a rapidly rising phenomenon amongst the
population in the Caribbean is particularly worrisome as it includes
children. In 2004, the rate of obesity amongst preschool children was
3.9% in Barbados and 6.0% in Jamaica (13). Between 1990 and
1999, the incidence doubled in two Caribbean countries (Antigua
Barbuda from 2% to 5.6%, Dominica from 4.1% to 9%) and in-
creased considerably in others (e.g. St. Kitts Nevis from 5.8% to
10.2%, St Vincent and the Grenadines from 5.7% to 6.6%). (12).
There is a link with increasing incidence of diabetes and hypertension
in adults, and the increasing mortality rate associated with both dis-
eases.
Obesity related deaths cut across social economic groups and age
groups and need to be studied in depth. However the increased rates
in persons of low social economic status suggest that behaviour pat-
terns are more likely to promote obesity. Pricing of foods affects
purchasing habits with fats and sugars heavily subsidized in cheaper
and more appealing foods to the poor and to their children. There is
a great deal of promotion and marketing of energy dense foods,
which can ‘overwhelm’ the body’s capacity to regulate physiologi-
cally. These types of food are provided by vendors at the gates of
preschools and in school canteens. Local domestic agricultural pol-
icy does not encourage the economic production of vegetables and
fruits.
55
CFNI notes that there are no trend analyses of physical activity of chil-
dren in the Caribbean. Simple observation suggests there is insuffi-
cient physical activity allowed during school days, and physical educa-
tion is generally timetabled no more than once a week. Surveys of the
quality of preschool and day care environments in seven countries of
the Caribbean found that in 5 countries, space was inadequate for gross
motor play in more than a third of the environments, and gross motor
equipment was inadequate in two thirds (14). Communities are increas-
ingly unsafe places for children’s play and new housing schemes in ur-
ban areas are built without play areas (13).
«»
56
Section 3: References
57
10) Gordon, G., Johnson, P., Morris, A. and Henry, F. (2002)
Iron and Vitamin A status in Five Caribbean Countries,
in Micro-nutrient deficiencies in the Caribbean in Ca-
janus, Vol 35 No.1, The Caribbean Food and Nutrition
Institute Quarterly
(11) Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI) (2000)
Nyam News: The Silent Public Health Problem, CFNI,
Mona Campus, University of the West Indies, Jamaica.
(12) Henry, F. (2004) The Obesity Epidemic – a major threat to
Caribbean development: the case for public policies in
obesity, Cajanus, Vol 37 No.1, The Caribbean Food and
Nutrition Institute Quarterly
(13) De Onis, M and Blussner, M (2000) Prevalence and trends
of overweight among preschool children in developing
countries, American Medical Journal of Clinical Nutri-
tion, Vol.72, No.4, 1032-1039
(14) Williams, S. National surveys of the quality of learning envi-
ronments in early childhood centres (ECEs); see full list
in Section 1 References.
58
SECTION 4: DISCIPLINE PRACTICES
59
modelled within the conditions of slavery. Whatever the origins,
physical punishment remains as a frequently employed method of
parental control of even very young children, with a third rationale
put forward more recently—as an outcome of parental stress within
difficult economic and social conditions.
60
parents/caregivers of even very young children: 79% of adult re-
spondents reported “sometimes” beating their children ages 31 to
60 months old with a belt or stick (8).
The Barbados study detailed the types of offenses which call for
different forms of physical punishment. The most frequently
cited offenses calling for such punishment were (a) disrespect
shown to parents and elders, (b) dishonesty and lying, and (c) gen-
eral disobedience. Payne noted that the majority of respondents
frowned on excessive use (e.g. which cut the skin or left scars),
and that there seemed to be evidence of some changing attitudes, par-
ticularly among younger parents, in the direction of reduced use of cor-
poral punishment, particularly by anyone other than family mem-
bers, or for poor performance at school and a “new concern with its
deleterious effects on intellectual curiosity, creativity and independence of
mind”. Occupational status and religious affiliation did not yield
any significant group differences; it is particularly interesting that
there were no significant class differences in attitudes towards cor-
poral punishment. The support is widespread, underpinned by
belief in its fundamental benefit in both the short and long term
and the author concludes that “to some extent this stems from
lack of confidence in alternatives”.
«»
61
One of the few studies that examined the psychological effects of
corporal punishment on children was conducted in St. Kitts as a
part of a larger anthropological study begun in the mid 1980’s (10).
The research team had examined the relationship between corporal
punishment and children’s feelings of parental rejection, and how
these played out in terms of their psychological adjustment. The
choice of a Caribbean country was deliberate, knowing that the
Caribbean generally sanctions corporal punishment as a parental
obligation and demonstration of “true love” for the child. They
were particularly interested to know whether children’s own accep-
tance of this wide cultural belief would mediate their perceptions of
parental rejection when such punishment was used with them.
Child and adult self-reports provided a baseline for this study of
300 children ages 9 to 16; in addition 100 children and one of their
parents/primary care-givers were interviewed for approximately
one hour. These tools were imbedded within the larger ethno-
graphic observations. Some of the findings included the following:
62
significantly more caretaker rejection than acceptance, and
25% experience significant elements of love withdrawal.
«»
63
parent-child interaction, parental encouragement of a child’s intel-
lectual curiosity and reflectiveness as well as their approval of chil-
dren’s emotional expression, and disciplinary approaches based
more in positive expectations than punitive measures for misde-
meanors.
64
“Many Barbadians continue to adopt training techniques that con-
centrate on the expression of disapproval of undesired behavior to the
relative detriment of praise and reward for acceptable behavior and
effort”.
«»
65
▪ Nurturance was not correlated with any of the other sub-
scales.
▪ Higher education did not equate with higher nurturant
scores.
▪ There were no significant mother-teacher differences when
examining measures of either traditional child rearing ideas
or nurturance.
▪ Teachers did value inquisitiveness more than rule-
conformity, but most mothers did not weigh the two goals
differently.
▪ Higher education in both teachers and mothers did point to
a lessening hold of traditional values by placing a higher
value on inquisitiveness and autonomy in children, which is
consistent with studies in other parts of the world. The au-
thors speculate that teacher training has influenced this di-
rection towards more democratic ideals.
▪ Cautions about generalizing to the wider Jamaican society
were noted in terms of representativeness of sample, the
self-reporting nature of the questionnaire and the young age
of the children.
«»
66
and 165 girls) had never been flogged/caned in school; a slightly
higher percentage (15.9%) reported never being flogged at home.
«»
The type of discipline used for small children did not vary by so-
cial class, suggesting that differences in educational attainment and
parent stress were not important in determining methods of disci-
pline.
71
Some questions arising for further discussion in Section 4:
Section 4: References
(1) Clarke, E. (1957) My Mother Who Fathered Me. George Allen
and Unwin Ltd.
(2) Cohen, Y. (1955) Character formation and social structure in a
Jamaican community. Journal for the Study of Interper-
sonal Processes, # 18
(3) Grant, D. R. B. (1980) Life Style Study: Children of the Lesser
World in the English Speaking Caribbean. The Bernard
van Leer Foundation, Project for Early Childhood Educa-
tion.
(4) Evans, H. (1989) Perspectives on the Socialisation of the
Working Class Jamaican Child, Social and Economic Stud-
ies Vol 38, #3
(5) Leo-Rhynie, E. (1993) The Jamaican Family: Continuity and
Change, Grace Kennedy Foundation Lecture
(6) Arnold, E. (1982) The Use of Corporal Punishment in Child
Rearing in the West Indies, in Child Abuse and Neglect,
Vol. 6
(7) Payne, M. (1989) Use and Abuse of Corporal Punishment: A
Caribbean View, in Child Abuse and Neglect, Vol. 13, pp
389-401
(8) Grantham-McGregor, S, Landman, J and Desai, P (1983), Child
rearing in poor urban Jamaica, in Child: care, health and
development, 1983, 9, 57-71.
72
(9) Samms-Vaughan, M. (2004) Profiles: The Jamaican Pre-
school Child: The status of early childhood develop-
ment in Jamaica Planning Institute of Jamaica
(10) Rohner, R, Kean, K and Cournoyer, D. (1991) Effects of
Corporal Punishment, Perceived Caretaker Warmth, and
Cultural Beliefs on the Psychological Adjustment of
Children in St. Kitts, West Indies. Journal of Marriage
and the Family, 53, August, 681-693.
(11) Payne, M. and Furnham, A. (1992) Parental Self-reports of
Child Rearing Practices in the Caribbean. The Journal
of Black Psychology, Vol. 18, No. 2
(12) Morrison, J., Ispa, J. and Milner, V. (1998) Ideas about
Child Rearing among Jamaican Mothers and Early
Childhood Education Teachers. Journal of Research in
Childhood Education, Vol. 12, No. 2, 166-175
(13) Anderson, S and Payne, M.(1994) Corporal Punishment in
Elementary Education: Views of Barbadian School
Children, in Child Abuse and Neglect, Vol 18, No. 4
(14) Samms-Vaughan, M., Williams, S., Brown, J. (2005) Disci-
plinary Practices among Parents of Six Year Olds in Ja-
maica in Caribbean Childhoods: Journal of the Chil-
dren’s Issues Coalition, Vol. 2
(15) Samms-Vaughan, M. (2005) A Comprehensive Analysis of
Jamaican Children’s Exposure to Violence at 11 – 12
Years. PAHO.
(16) Gershoff, E. (2002), Corporal Punishment by Parents and
Associated Child Behaviors and Experiences: A Meta-
Analytic and Theoretical Review. Psychological Bulletin,
Vol. 128, No. 4
(17) Vissing, Y. Straus,M., Gelles, R. and Harrop, J. Verbal
aggression by parents and psychological problems of
children. Child Abuse and Neglect 15 (1991) pp. 223-
238.
(18) Ricketts, H. and Anderson, P. (2005) Executive Summary
of Parenting in Jamaica: A Study conducted on behalf
of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (to be published)
73
SECTION 5: VULNERABLE CHILDREN
74
child abuse. Another ChIC data bank segment dealt with the vul-
nerabilities consequent on various physical and cognitive disabilities.
Since the ChIC work was undertaken, work has been developing
on the ways in which very young children are affected by HIV/
AIDS.
Poverty
We need only to re-state here that conditions of poverty in which
15 - 40% of Caribbean children live, increase their vulnerability on
many fronts, as they are more likely to live in single parent or sur-
rogate parent households, overcrowded conditions, within violent
communities served by poor preschool and other social and edu-
cational services, and to experience greater health and environ-
mental risks, eventually repeating the cycle of poverty through
child-bearing. A few relevant studies citing characteristics of pov-
erty as factors influencing childrearing have been identified in the
preceding sections.
Child abuse
A review of 70 research studies and reports supported by inter-
views with 50 persons and agencies in Jamaica (2) on the inci-
dence of sexual violence and abuse of children was undertaken in
1999. The pervasive nature of child abuse in the Jamaican society
at all levels is depicted, and a connection made between the early
experience of child sexual abuse and the completion of a journey
that leads to commercial sex and other exploitative experiences in
later life.
75
another”. Forms of sexual violence which are common and for
which data has been collected in Jamaica include bribery for sexual
favours, fondling, attempted sexual intercourse or completed sex-
ual intercourse. These forms constitute abuse which can be physi-
cal or emotional in impact, or both.
76
to determine the timing and the companion for their first sexual ex-
perience?
▪ Is it a revelation to the child to learn that adult males do not have a
right of access to her body?
▪ Is the child’s wider community unforthcoming or contradictory in its
messages on the issue?
▪ Do we as adults make it possible for children to tell us what is happen-
ing to them? Do we believe what children tell us?
▪ Do we anticipate that children can be caught up in an enclosed inner
world of myth and superstition, believing that there is no alternative?
«»
77
hood sexual experiences were limited to those perpetrated by an
adult within the child’s home. Sexual abuse was determined by the
presence of any of the four forms of sexual abuse; 6.4% of
women reported being fondled, 5.8% reported attempted forceful
sexual intercourse, 3.8% had attempts at sexual intercourse by
bribery, and 0.6% had completed sexual intercourse.
«»
78
porting period, data were collected from 2,227 abused children and
adolescents, 64% of whom were between the ages of 5 and 14
years. 79% of the child victims were female and 21% were male.
55% of the reported cases were children who had been sexually
abused; only 5% of these 1228 children were boys.
79
Handwerker (22) examining violence as a property of social rela-
tionships more than of individual or social circumstances, posits
that the power-relationships between the partners strongly af-
fected the protection from or exposure to domestic violence for
the children within the family. Powerful women, the study de-
scribes, protect their children from violence, treating them affec-
tionately and eliciting affection for them from their men. “By
contrast, men battered powerless women, and the children of
powerless women. Powerless women battered their own chil-
dren”.
«»
“We don’t talk with children about our sexuality", Sarah Newland-
Martin stated in the same study. This point echoes the concern
expressed by Payne and Furnham (Section1) that many parents
80
seemed unwilling to admit having difficulty in this area and they
suggest that it is a crucial issue for further study(9). Two themes for
further research and understanding emerged from the interviews
conducted. One is the need to understand how children who have
been abused sexually see and experience their sexuality both now
and as they mature into adulthood. Another is the need to locate
that understanding within the specific experience of the Jamaican
[Caribbean] people, historically, economically, socially and culturally.
HIV/AIDS
In 2003, an assessment of children affected by HIV/AIDS was de-
signed as a pre-intervention community needs assessment in two
communities in Western Jamaica (5). The overall aim was to deter-
mine the current family and community support needs for children
affected by HIV/AIDS in the birth to eight years age group, both
met and unmet, ascertaining community preparedness or willingness
to engage in active responses to the growing presence of HIV/
AIDS. This was an exploratory cross - sectional qualitative design
assessment, using focus group discussions and key informant inter-
views. In total 12 focus groups and 12 key informant interviews
were conducted.
Fear and worry over the epidemic were expressed. Some partici-
pants were afraid of associating with persons living with AIDS for
fear of the community’s reaction. All the parents felt the need for
more information. They expressed that the lack of information
about the disease stops persons from getting involved in any aspect
of HIV/AIDS care and prevention. There was talk about child sex-
ual abuse and the vulnerability of children. Participants felt that
‘even in the household men do this to their children’. Most of the partici-
pants agreed that the school is the place to start. ‘Education is the key’.
It was felt that it is important to teach children the dangers and con-
sequences of getting involved sexually, so that they can better deal
with sex when they become adults.
81
Most of the professionals thought that infected children between
birth and 8 years were not really aware of the disease, but just
know that they are sick. Further, they do not usually get medica-
tion or proper nutrition and, for many, ‘the family gives up and in-
stead just saves for the funeral’. Among responses received was that
these children should be placed in a home. Some said that family
members should take care of them, whilst others felt that the
church could take responsibility. Only a few expressed that these
children should be accepted and treated like normal children.
The parents agreed that it is going to take time for the commu-
nity to accept the realities of this epidemic.
82
spective of their HIV status. Instances of children being turned
away from school because they are infected were shared.
83
the epidemic is seen as affecting everyone, as bringing grief and need
to every community, as eventually decimating the care systems, the
education systems, the economic capacity of the country to manage,
that children’s needs will become more central to the problem-solving
efforts and community and national responses. After all, it will be
those children in the long run who will have to deal with the devas-
tating fallout as the epidemic runs its course. But if we wait that
long, it will very likely be too late.”
Exposure to Violence
Urban poverty, the menacingly growing drug trade and historical
politically motivated crimes have combined in many (primarily)
urban centres across the region, to expose children to high levels
of violence as well as engage them as victims and even perpetra-
tors of violence (10). In Jamaica, approximately 40% of murder
victims were between the ages of 13 and 25 in 1996; in 1999
84
youth under age 17 were responsible for 11% of all major crimes
and 10% of all murders (11). Several significant studies have been
conducted by UWI (Mona) on children and violence. One which
examined attitudes and experiences of secondary school students
ages 9 – 17 in relation to violence (12) raises implications for earlier
ages and circumstances in which such attitudes are formed:
«»
85
marital instability/divorce and lack of parental warmth were iden-
tified as factors contributing to aggressive behaviour in children
(14). “Bullying” at home is often accompanied by bullying in
school and community environments, resulting in total “cultures
of violence” for many children.
86
the risk factors for younger children within varied settings, thus
closer in age to the origins of aggressive patterns of behaviour.
Childhood Disabilities
Children with disabilities generally suffer more than just their dis-
abling condition. They are often neglected and stigmatized by
adults and children alike, are often socially isolated, seen more as
burdens than blessings to their families, and not uncommonly
abandoned to the care of the State. They are also under-studied
compared to “normal” children. The ChIC data base, however,
reviewed 38 studies/reports concerning children with visual, hear-
ing, physical or mental impairments, or combinations of these.
Two thirds of these were primarily the work of Dr. Marigold Thor-
burn alone or in concert with other colleagues. The full review
covers prevalence studies, prevention and risk factors, service
needs and services, issues related to screening, and community and
family based rehabilitation. For the purposes of this paper, we
look only at those studies that relate directly to or impinge on
child-rearing. One (15) surveyed supernatural beliefs about the
causes of disabling conditions; the majority of respondents were in
the 20-40 age range and from the teaching and health care profes-
sions. 46% of this stratified sample of 898 male and female re-
spondents in five age groups and 12 occupational groups agreed
with the statement “God gave us handicapped children to show our char-
ity”, and there was approximately 18% agreement of the sample
(more in youngest and oldest age groups) to the following:
▪ “A disabled child is a punishment for a sin”;
▪ “Some cases of disability are caused by evil spirits”;
▪ “If a pregnant woman sees a handicapped person her child will be dis-
abled”.
87
«»
«»
88
with overall prevalence estimated to be 9.4%. A section of this
study addressed the effects of prevailing cultural attitudes and child-
rearing practices on dealing with disabilities. The high cultural value
placed on physical appearance was seen as leading to negative prac-
tices and even abuse; in contrast, common early routines with in-
fants such as exercising, massaging and stretching muscles may in
fact be good therapy for children with motor impairments.
«»
«»
89
Some questions arising for further discussion from Section 5:
90
This next section is provided for the benefit of
research students and practitioners who have
interest in methodological design, and in
methods which have been tested within the
Caribbean in the area of child development
and child-rearing practices. Cautions about
cross-study validity and reliability are raised,
particularly in comparing across countries and
cultures. The final section of the Roopnarine
SECTION 6: METHODOLOGIES
91
mothers’ opinions about their children’s play, and other factors in
the child’s environment”. One interviewer administered the ques-
tionnaire with all parents. Most of the questions were open-ended.
The sample of children had their developmental levels assessed
with the Griffiths Mental Developmental Scales for Young
Children (Griffiths 1970) using the following subgroups: hearing
and speech, hand and eye, performance and practical reasoning.
Although it was not possible to comment on the actual level of
the children’s development as the Griffiths was not standardized
or designed for Jamaica, the test had been standardized in the UK
so that groups of children obtained similar scores on each sub-
scale. Relatively low scores of the Jamaican children on the per-
formance subscale “may have been associated with the lack of im-
portance attached to play and toys”. The authors address the
heart of the problem of research into childrearing when they state:
«»
92
tices report has the potential to function usefully as a tool for exploratory research.
It cannot be used to provide a comprehensive and definitive picture of local paren-
tal attitudes or practices, but may serve to highlight issues which require more in-
depth investigation….While it may be worthwhile to try to develop indigenous
instruments of this kind, there also seems to be a place for experimenting with
those developed in major industrialized societies since the belief systems and life-
style aspirations characteristic of the latter are assuming prominence within many
developing countries” (1992:32)
The authors express cautious support for the assumption that parental re-
sponses to such instruments can be taken as a direct reflection of their actual
parenting practices. There would have been some limitations arising from
the fact that the instrument required the respondent to be able to read and
complete it alone if necessary; sometimes the instrument was left with the
parent and collected on completion 24 hours later. They also identify certain
items needing clarification and possibly re-construction, and point out that
more needs to be understood of the instrument’s psychometric properties.
They mention a critique of such instruments by Holden and Edwards (3)
that should be reviewed if this instrument and others like it are to be used.
«»
«»
93
Both adult and child self-reports provided a baseline for Rohner et al’s
study of 300 children ages 9 to 16 in St Kitts (5); in addition 100 children
and one of their parents/primary caregivers were interviewed for approxi-
mately one hour. The physical punishment questionnaire (PPQ) was
constructed and validated specifically for use in St. Kitts. It is a self report
measure of the frequency, severity and incidence (i.e. the number of times
children reported receiving specific forms of punishment in the last two
weeks) of seven major forms of physical punishment experienced by chil
The PPQ also asks children to cite the principal reasons why their main
caretakers punish them. The most relevant scales for the research are the
frequency and severity scales to which the young people respond on a 4-
point Likert-like scale ranging from “very often/very hard” to “almost
never/not at all”. An earlier pilot study of the PPQ in St. Kitts showed the
scales to be reliable. The young peoples’ perceptions of caretaker accep-
tance/rejection were measured by the child version of the Parental Accep-
tance-Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ) used in more than 80 countries
and the psychological adjustment of the young people was assessed by the
child version of the Personality Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ) (Rohner
1989). Both instruments were piloted in St. Kitts and deemed to be psycho-
metrically sound and appropriate for use in cross-cultural settings. Data in
this research were analysed primarily through structural equation modeling
analysis. The research reported on in this study was embedded in a larger
ethnographic and quantitative study going on in St. Kitts since 1984. The
intention of sample-selection procedures was to “allow one to generalize to
the approximately 6,000 9-16 year old school children and their families in
the country.”
«»
The Block Child Rearing Practices Report was used in an adapted and
selective form for the Jamaican study (6) of 50 teachers and 68 parents
(selected by the teachers). Also used was an adaptation of the rank-order of
parental values developed by Kohn (1977) as revised by Schaefer and
Edgerton (1985), the Parental Modernity Scale (also Schaefer and Edger-
ton 1985) and the Parent Attitude Research Instrument (Schaefer and
Bell, 1958). The questionnaire combining items from these sources were
94
distributed through the schools, and by teachers to parents (the means by
which teachers selected parent respondents is not known). The return rate
was 94% for teachers, 75% for parents. The final sample of parents was
made up of 63 mothers, none of whom had less than completed high school
education. Just under one half of the parents had university degrees – clearly
a very different sample from one drawn from the urban poor.
«»
I
In her review of studies undertaken over a 40 year period on the socialisa-
tion of working class Jamaican children, (7) Evans states that the majority
are surveys “employing questionnaires and yielding quantitative data on ag-
gregates and averages. There are only a few ethnographic/anthropological
studies” and these are not specified:
“The majority of the research focuses on processes – e.g. child rearing techniques,
or aspects of the child rearing situation. Only four report on outcomes though
these were correlated with personal rather than process variables. …Only a very
few employ approaches which allow the researcher to observe and get closer to the
realities of individual lives and situations, to discover meanings, motivations and
the pressures which parents experience. Such studies can complement the survey
research data and allow us to form a better understanding of the intervening proc-
esses through which a particular environment or context affects development. Such
studies may also reveal the day-to-day experiences of this group of children and
the knowledge, attitudes and skills that derive from those experi-
ences” (1989:197)
«»
A number of research studies in the 1990s tried to “get closer to the realities
of individual lives” as Evans suggested. The fore-runner of this approach in
Jamaica was Edith Clarke (8), who lived 20 months in the field in three
communities, nine months in each of two, two months in the smallest one.
She described her approach as participant/observation and conducted
“free interviews” on wide-ranging topics concerning the family.
The 1990-91 field work (also over 20 months) conducted as a pilot in Ja-
maica by Brown, Anderson and Chevannes (9) for the study of the role of
95
the Caribbean man in the family combined quantitative measures of men’s
attitudes and behaviours as assessed by a questionnaire, with qualitative
measures derived in participatory investigative discussions. The participatory
group discussions with men and women offered opportunities to:
▪ assess the interest of men and women from several community settings
in the general topic of men and family life;
▪ assess their potential responsiveness to such approaches used as parent-
ing education efforts;
▪ test the perceptions of women about men’s family roles, and to meas-
ure the impact of women’s participation in discussions on men’s partici-
pation, reliability of information, comfort, defensiveness, etc., and
▪ provide the known benefits of interactivity and mutual support, and of
group reflection and analysis, to both male and female participants.
96
raised and discussed in the group were covered in the questionnaire, and that
language used was consistent and appropriate.
Outlines for a series of eight weekly discussions with mixed groups of men
and women were developed in consultation with an experienced drama-in-
education team. For some topics men and women met together; for some
they separated, then shared their outcomes. Participatory techniques such as
songs, warm-ups and ring games, role plays, video drama, drawings, etc.
were used.
«»
The gender socialization study (Brown and Chevannes, 11) that fol-
lowed the above study attempted to ascertain more clearly the origins of
some of the family roles, attitudes and behaviour patterns that had emerged.
The co-investigators chose to work in three Caribbean countries: one in the
Eastern Caribbean (Dominica) and one with a substantial non-African popu-
lation (Guyana) to complement the third (Jamaica), the project’s home base.
Six communities were selected:
97
▪ Dominica: 1 suburban housing scheme near the capital Roseau- pre-
dominantly blue collar workers, containing a relocated rural population
▪ Guyana: 2 communities: one Indo-Guyanese on the Georgetown out-
skirts, with a mix of sugar estate and urban working-class families; the
second Afro-Guyanese of primarily low income families in central
Georgetown, mostly living in an aging Government housing scheme.
▪ Jamaica: 3 communities: a rural community—families working medium
and small farms; an urban predominantly blue collar community of
home owners and tenants, factory workers, clerical workers and teach-
ers; a Kingston inner-city community with high unemployment and
low-income self-employment, mixed with blue collar workers.
Teams were selected to work in each country with the assistance of local
advisors. The teams were trained in Jamaica for a week prior to community
entry and data collection. Field work was for a six-month period commenc-
ing January 1994. Each community team was comprised of:
▪ One male ethnographer (trained by one of the co-investigators in the
basic skills of ethnography. These persons committed 20 hours a week
to participant observation, interviews and recording of field notes.
▪ Two animators, male and female, with facilitation/animation skills.
These persons committed an average of 10 hours per week for prepara-
tion time, meetings and post-meeting evaluations and recordings.
▪ One documentalist, skilled in observation and recording of group and
individual behaviours.
There were two phases in the field—entry and data collection. The entry
activities included identifying community groupings:
▪ Brokers (community leaders and spokespersons) to provide passage
into the communities and to give ongoing linking assistance and legiti-
macy to field workers; these were not necessarily informants.
▪ “Core group” of men and women, representative of the community, to
meet on a regular basis to examine major research questions. They also
directed researchers to other persons and groups for specific enquiries.
▪ “Seed groups” structured on a more ad hoc basis to further discuss spe-
cific themes with targeted age and gender groupings.
98
kitchens as well as on street corners, under trees and on sports fields. Some
groups met only once; most met several times on different or deepening themes.
Ethnographers’ in-depth interviews often fleshed out other team members’ under-
standing, while the frequent parry and thrust of group debates highlighted aware-
ness of issues and sharpened contradictions.”
The PLA method evolved from earlier work in the 1970s known as Rapid
Appraisal, developed by Robert Chambers. It aims to gain a timely, rele-
vant and cost-effective assessment of conditions within a community, and
has been used in many rural development projects around the world. Origi-
nally created from participatory research, applied anthropology and field re-
search methods as a diagnostic tool for the use of outsiders coming into
communities for information, it has evolved into a more participatory tool
itself, so that those from outside come into community as “learners, conven-
ers, catalysts, and facilitators of the community’s definition of needs”. The
outsiders then work with the “insiders” within the community to design a
plan of action to meet those needs. Various methods (mostly from social
anthropology) are used to assist communities to “tell their own story”. They
include mapping of the community, focus groups, semi-structured inter-
views, diagrams and pictures, time lines (of local history, seasonal diagram-
ming), matrices ranking of variables, as well as direct observation. The proc-
ess is usually carried out within 1 to 3 weeks. The best results are achieved
with a multi-disciplinary team.
99
Where appropriate, researchers worked with local NGOs who already were
working in the selected communities. “In sum, the project was designed to do two
things: to assess the use of PLA as a process for gathering data on early childhood experi-
ences, and to gather data on gender socialisation that could be used for the purposes of pro-
gramme planning. The studies provided rich data on both.” (12)
«»
The Profiles project took advantage of the Jamaica Labour Force Survey, a
quarterly national survey conducted by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica to
determine the characteristics of the working population in Jamaica. Statisti-
cal sampling methods, using geographically based enumeration districts,
identify a 1 per cent nationally representative sample of Jamaican homes. Of
the 7,648 nationally representative homes identified from all of the fourteen
parishes in Jamaica, approximately 500 have a child at the end of the pre-
100
school years, aged five to six years. Financial constraints allowed only a 0.5
per cent sample to be selected in this project. The combination of parishes
that together best represented the nation’s overall socio-economic status and
provided a 0.5 per cent sample of the population was selected and children
in those parishes evaluated. A total of 245 children in six parishes had
evaluations performed.
101
Questionnaire Respondent Measurements Obtained
Socio-economic status Parent Family structure; Physical
status of home; Access to fa-
cilities; Changes of environ-
ment; Past academic environ-
ment; Religious environment;
Leisure activities; Discipline
Family Adaptability and Cohe- Parent Family functioning
sion Environment Scale (FACES
II) (Olson D, 1982)
The Brief Symptom Inventory Parent Parental mental health
(BSI) (Derogatis L, 1993)
The Parental Stress Index (PSI) Parent Parent-child interaction
(Abidin R, 1995)
Child Health Parent Past and current health
Child Behaviour Checklist Parent Child psychopathology
(Achenbach, 1991).
Behavioural and Emotional Rat- Parent Child behaviour strengths
ing Scales (BERS) (Epstein MH,
1998).
Teacher Report Form Teacher Child psychopathology
(Achenbach 1991)
BERS Teacher Child behaviour strengths
McCarthy Scales 1 Child Cognitive function
Wide Range Achievement Test Child School achievement
(WRAT) (Wilkinson G, 1994) 1
Violence exposure (Children were Child Exposure to violence.
asked in an age-appropriate way
to report their experiences as
victims or witnesses. Visual cues
were used to obtain responses;
children indicated on a ther-
mometer-like scale the degree of
exposure to each act of violence)
Anthropometry Child Height and weight
Vision Child Visual functioning
Hearing Child Hearing functioning
McCarthy Scales 2 Child Cognitive function
WRAT 2 Child School achievement
MICO Reading Child Reading achievement
Early Childhood Home Inventory Interviewer Home learning environment
(Caldwell B, 1984)
Early Childhood Environment Interviewer Primary learning environment
Rating Scale Revised (Harms,
Clifford, Cryer,1998).
102
Questions for further discussion from Section 6
1. How could countries within the region cooperate to provide data that
could serve in measuring similarities and differences among disparate
population groups?
2. How can methodological best practices be shared to reduce research de-
sign costs and weaknesses?
3. Impact studies and cost benefit analyses of interventions are critical if
best practices are to be documented and used for replication within the
region. How can the region access funding to support these studies?
4 .How could we in the Caribbean reduce our 'borrowing' from North
American and European theories of child development?
5. Should we 'grade' our Caribbean studies on their capacity to provide
valid information about Caribbean children?
6. Should we review and adapt measures developed for longitudinal studies
of the benefits of early learning interventions and compare results with
Caribbean-developed early learning assessment measures and other in-
ternational instruments that have been piloted (e.g. the EDI in Jamaica)?
7. Should we conduct studies of HOW children learn using mixed methods
(such as EPPE) and combine the assessment measures with participant
observation methods (i.e. technique of describe → record →
develop cultural framework – not start with a framework first)?
8. How could we effectively use retrospective accounts of young adults of
their recollections of early childhood experience?
9. How can we develop USER FRIENDLY instruments for assessing the
capacity of learning environments to promote beneficial outcomes for
children? (to be used in home learning environments; infant learning en-
vironments in centres; preschool learning environments (we already have
a good basis with 720 schools in 9 countries observed using ECERS (R);
school learning environments for children 6 and 7 years of age )
Section 6: References
103
tices report, Berkeley, California, University of California, Institute of
Human Development]
(3) Holden, G.W and Edwards L.A (1989) Parental attitudes toward child-
rearing: instruments, issues and implications, Psychological Bulletin,
106, 29-58
(4) Payne, M. (1989) Use and Abuse of Corporal Punishment: A Caribbean
View, in Child Abuse and Neglect, Vol. 13, pp 389-401
(5) Rohner, R, Kean, K and Cournoyer, D. (1991) Effects of Corporal Pun-
ishment, Perceived Caretaker Warmth, and Cultural Beliefs on the
Psychological Adjustment of Children in St. Kitts, West Indies. Jour-
nal of Marriage and the Family, 53, August, 681-693. [citing Rohner,
R P (1989) Handbook for the Study of Parental Acceptance and Re-
jection , Centre for the Study of Parental Acceptance and Rejection,
University of Connecticut, Storrs.]
(6) Morrison, J., Ispa, J. and Milner, V. (1998) Ideas about Child Rearing
among Jamaican Mothers and Early Childhood Education Teachers.
Journal of Research in Childhood Education, Vol. 12, No. 2, 166-
175 [citing Schaefer, E.S. and Edgerton, M (1985) Parent and Child
correlates of parental modernity in I.E.Sigel ed Parental Belief Sys-
tems: The psychological consequences for children , Hillsdale, NJ:
Erlbaum, 287-318; Schaefer, E.S and Bell, R.Q. (1958) Develop-
ment of a parental attitude research instrument, Child Development,
29, 339-361. ]
(7) Evans, H (1989) Perspectives on the socialisation of the working class
Jamaican Child, Social and Economic Studies, Volume 38, no3,
177-203
(8) Clarke, E. (1957) My Mother Who Fathered Me. George Allen and Un-
win Ltd
(9)Brown, J. Anderson, P and Chevannes, B. (1993) The Contribution of
Caribbean Men to the Family: A Jamaica Pilot Study. Report to
IDRC, UNICEF and CUSO.
(10) Brown, J. and Chevannes, B. (1998). Why Man Stay So: Tie the Hiefer,
Loose the Bull. An Examination of Gender Socialisation in the Car-
ibbean by the UWI, UNICEF.
(11) Brown, J and Chevannes, B (1995) Final Report of the Gender Sociali-
sation Project of the University of the West Indies, UNICEF Carib-
bean Area Office and Caribbean Child Development Centre and
the Department of Sociology and Social Work, UWI: Mona
(12) McGarrity, G and Brown, J. (1997) Gender and the Young Child: A
104
Jamaican Community Exploration. In Coordinator’s Notebook:
An International Resource for Early Childhood Development. No.
20, www.ecdgroup.com
(13) Samms-Vaughan, M., 2001, The Profiles Project, Report No.1, A profile
of the status of Jamaican preschool children and their learning envi-
ronments. Department of Child Health with Caribbean Child De-
velopment Centre, UWI: Mona [See also Samms-Vaughan M.E.,
Williams S., and Brown J. Determining early childhood indicators
for Jamaica: A methodological approach, Caribbean Childhoods:
From Research to Action, Vol 1, Ian Randle Publishers, Kingston,
Jamaica, 2003]
(14)Moser, C and Holland, J (1995) Urban Poverty and Violence in Jamaica,
Urban Development Division, World Bank
105
106
Cultural Bases of Childrearing and Socialization in
African- Caribbean and Indo-Caribbean Families
Jaipaul L. Roopnarine
Since the pioneering work of Mead (1968) and Whiting and Whit-
ing (1975), there has been a steady increase in attempts to under-
stand the cultural basis of childhood development in different so-
cieties around the world. The pace of such efforts has quickened
noticeably over the last two decades (see for example volumes on
Cultural Psychology, Cole, 1996; Childhood and Adolescence:
Cross-Cultural Perspectives and Applications by Gielen & Roop-
narine, 2004; Parents’ Cultural Belief Systems: Their Origins, Ex-
pressions, and Consequences by Harkness & Super, 1996; Hunter-
Gatherer Childhoods, Hewlett & Lamb, 2006; The role of the Fa-
ther in Child Development by Lamb, 2004; Psychology of Immi-
gration by Mahalingam, 2006; The Cultural Nature of Human De-
velopment by Rogoff, 2003; Guided Participation in Cultural Ac-
tivity by Toddlers and Caregivers by Rogoff, Mistry, Goncu, &
Mosier, 1993, to name a few). No doubt, this is due to a greater
recognition of the role of cultural practices in shaping early child-
hood development.
107
• parental ideas about development, culture and thinking,
• customary practices, traditions, and rituals that touch the
lives of children,
• how parents ensure the survival of young children,
• developmental timetables and parental goals for devel-
opment,
• participation of children in the everyday life of commu-
nities,
• pre- and post-colonial histories and their influence on
the changing nature of childrearing, and
• similarities and differences in beliefs and practices in
childrearing and their potential outcomes in the different
ethnic groups that make up the cultural mosaic of the
Caribbean.
108
As per Rogoff”s (2003) suggestion, the term “cultural communities”
will be used throughout so as to focus on individuals and processes
and to avoid making population-level inferences.
109
A basic research strategy has been to document different levels of
and, in some cases, styles of maternal and paternal involvement
and dysfunctional aspects of parent-child relationships (e.g., harsh
disciplinary practices, lack of playful interactions between parents
and children, minimal displays of affection). Thus, the slender
body of work on Caribbean families and children is narrowly con-
ceived, with little emphasis given to everyday beliefs and practices
employed in childrearing and their possible meaning for develop-
mental outcomes across ethnic/cultural groups. Of equal concern
is the lack of attention to the mental health of children within Car-
ibbean and Caribbean immigrants families abroad. At the mo-
ment, increased rates of intermarriage, population movement to
the industrialized countries, poor economic conditions, educa-
tional attainment, lower fertility rates, and challenges to patriarchy
are all involved in shaping the psychological functioning of Afri-
can Caribbean and Indo Caribbean families.
110
generation family initially and after a few years establish a separate
residence that is nuclear, or may involve a pattern where married
couples live separately but maintain functional extendedness with
kinship members (see Nevadomsky, 1982; Sharma, 1986). Marriages
are still arranged with the expectation that gifts (formerly dowry) be
exchanged, but increasingly, young adults and teenagers choose their
own partners (see Kanhai, 1999; Mohammed, 1997; Prasad, 1999 for
descriptions of Indian marital practices). Patrilocal residence is the
norm after marriage.
There are strong ties to patrilineal members (e.g., fathers and broth-
ers) and the eldest son is expected to care for his aging parents and
to assume responsibility for sacraments upon their deaths. The sub-
ordination of son to father is still apparent. The duo-focal nature of
111
Indo Caribbean communities is clearly visible: women are often
confined to the company of other female kinship members and
men prefer to be with other males. Far from being seamless, social
relationships involve a fair amount of conflict as well as solidarity.
Conflicts between familial members occur frequently and usually
result from disagreements between mothers-in-law and daughters-
in-law, challenges to male authority, irresponsibility and drunken-
ness on the husband’s part, infidelity on the wife’s part, and the
inequitable distribution of resources (Jayawardena, 1963; Roop-
narine et al, 1997).
112
low educational attainment today (Brown et al., 1997; see Wyatt,
Durvasula, Guthrie, LeFrance, & Forge, 1999 for insights into the
onset of early sexuality in Jamaica). Accompanying high levels of
non-marital births is the increased likelihood of female-headed
households and non-residential fatherhood. Indeed, in assess-
ments of family structural arrangements in the Caribbean (Massiah,
1982; Powell, 1986; Wilson, & Berkeley-Caines, 2003), data suggest
that 35.5% of families in Antigua, 29.25% in St. Kitts, 45% in St.
Lucia, 37.9% in St. Vincent, 49.2% in Barbados, and 58% in Ja-
maica had fathers residing in the households (Leo-Rhynie, 1997).
113
41.3% were in common-law unions, and 44.9% were in visiting
relationships. The reverse was true for men over 50 years of age:
the marriage rate was 54.3%, with only 8.9% in visiting relation-
ships. To some measure, entry into marriage may depend on
greater economic security; for men with greater economic re-
sources, the marriage rate was as high as 62.5% in one sample
(Ramkissoon, 2001). By the time men and women enter a legal
union, it is not unusual for them to have children from several
“babymothers” and “babyfathers.” In the Contributions of Carib-
bean Men to the Family study (Brown et al., 1993), 54.4% of men
had one “babymother,” 37.5% had between two and three
“babymothers,” and 8.1% had four or more “babymothers.”
“Outside children” were also evident among Jamaican men with
better economic standing (Ramkissoon, 2002).
Debates are being waged about whether mate shifting and pair-
bond stability are canalized during early childhood (see Quinlan &
Flinn, 2003). Genealogical data on Dominican families failed to
confirm this hypothesis. There was a slightly gretaer tendency for
women who spent their childhoods in father-present homes to
have father-present children than those who spent their child-
hoods in father-absent homes. Father absence in childhood did
not predict the number of mates with whom men and women had
children (Quinlan & Flinn, 2003). These findings suggest the
need to examine other events in children’s lives that may contrib-
ute to their internal working models of reproductive strategies.
114
ficulties in defining adult-child relationships (e.g., who is the fa-
ther), and it is not unusual for some children to meet their half-
siblings for the first time in school settings. An anecdote from
Seltzer’s (2005) clinical analysis indicates the confusion children
face in negotiating and understanding familial relationships. When
six-year-old Anne was asked about her father, she mentioned that
“she is not sure, but maybe Ole, because he lives with her mother,
her, and her brother (=half-brother).” After some thought, she
adds: “ But he is mostly my brother’s father, but a little bit my fa-
ther too.” When asked, who might be mostly her father, Anne said
“Knut was my father before…. but not any more…because he
used to live with us…before..but not now.” Further questioning
that focused on who feels like a father inside, she replied, “Maybe
Svein, because he lived with us when I was in my mommy’s
tummy. Then she carefully wipes the tears from her eyes, and adds:
And his eyes look like mine.”
Historically, religious texts (e.g., The Vedas, The Torah, The Bible,
The Quran, The Analects), proverbs, myths, and rituals have been
rich repositories of cultural knowledge about how parents ap-
115
proach childrearing, the existence and nature of developmental
stages and milestones (see Aires, Centuries of Childhood), whether
children hold a privileged position in the family and society, the
educational opportunities available to children, and disciplinary
practices (Lamb & Hwang, 1996; Mohammed, 1997; Palacios,
1996; Sander, 1996).
116
singled out the developmental niche as crucial in understanding
childhood and childrearing (Super & Harkness, 1997), or focus on
how thought is organized within cultures (see D’Andrade &
Strauss, 1992; Rogoff, 2003), and on how shared knowledge about
parenting increases childhood survival (LeVine, 1974, 2004).
117
leniency during the early childhood years. Sons are preferred
over daughters, but this attitude has softened a bit. Parents see
children as economic assets (Nodevemsky, 1983), although it is
not clear whether the obligations of parents toward children ex-
ceed those of children toward parents (Sharma, 1986).
During the first five years of life, it is believed that Hindu chil-
dren are unable to distinguish right from wrong and punishment
should be prohibited. This may partially explain the existence of
a prolonged, indulgent infancy period that lasts way beyond the
toddler years (Kakar, 1991; Roopnarine et al., 1997). As is pre-
sent in other cultures (e.g., Chinese concept of dongshi—the age
of understanding that appears around age 7), Hindu children are
believed to reach the age of reasoning at five. At this time, for-
mal learning is emphasized, and parents begin to actively train
their children toward the acquisition of future goals. Children can
now be punished for behavioral transgressions, even minor indis-
cretions. In Muslim families, the child is encouraged to declare
its faith at four years of age (Bismillah), an event that signifies the
child’s place within the family and cultural community. Quranic
teachings may soon follow through parental guidance at home
and/or attendance at an Islamic school (Imam Hack, personal
communication, 2006; Sander, 1996).
118
African Caribbean parents, like their Indo Caribbean counterparts,
see children as “precious,” “a joy,” and “a special gift,” and are per-
plexed at the concept of an “unwanted” child (Barrow, 2003). The
value attributed to children is further mirrored in the treatment of
women who cannot bear children; they are often disparaged and
pitied (Sargent & Harris, 1992). Parents believe in the
“vulnerability” of children, who should be fed, kept tidy, and pro-
tected (Barrow, 2003). A question remains as to whether African
Caribbean parents view children as being born in sin, with a disposi-
tion to “bad behavior” (Barrow, 2003) or being “troublesome”(A-
betant) (Dubrow, 1997). African Caribbean parents acknowledge
the utilitarian value of children—“old-age security” (Barrow, 2003;
Brown, 2006). The unshakable pedagogical maxim associated with
Christianity, “to spare the rod is to spoil the child,” is heavily en-
dorsed (Barrow, 2003). The inherent message is that children
should be shaped early — the proverbial “as the twig is bent..”and
“bad seed” or “bad soil.”
Customs in Childhood
In various Caribbean communities, children are exposed to a com-
plex array of rituals, religious practices, carnivals, and local festivals
(e.g., Hosay and Orisha Ebo in Trinidad; Holi and Deepvali in Guy-
ana; Harvest Festival in Barbados; Baptisms in Jamaica). As has
been demonstrated (see, Rogoff, 2003), cultural activities offer chil-
dren opportunities to participate, observe, and learn patterns of be-
119
haviors and pertinent information that they may then use to meet
the structural and social demands of life within their communities.
By involving children in customs and rituals, parents essentially
serve as “cultural transmitters” (Whiting & Edwards, 1988). They
ensure that children are furnished with opportunities to participate
and intensely observe activities that are important to life in the
family and community (Rogoff, 2003). A few commonly ob-
served customs are described below.
After giving birth, mothers are sequestered for nine days after
which the baby is introduced to relatives and friends through a
nine-day celebration. Head shaving (moohl samskar) usually takes
place during the first year of life and among older children upon
the death of a parent. Another samskar, annaprasana, performed
between the seventh and eight month, involves giving the child
solid foods for the first time. In Muslim families, prayers are
whispered in the child’s right ear, sweet substances are given to
the child to symbolize the sweetness of life, and the child’s head is
shaven, all occurring during the newborn period. A naming cere-
mony occurs on the seventh day and boys are circumcised before
age seven.
120
(pass a homemade elixir over the body of child in a clockwise manner
to cast off an evil spirit) if someone casts an “evil eye” or the baby
becomes irritable and/or unsettled due to perceived external super-
natural forces. On occasions, a Hindu priest may be called in to
Jharee the child (pass objects over child’s body for healing purposes)
when it is having difficulty or it is not feeling well. In a similar vein,
Muslim parents may consult an Imam regarding difficult circum-
stances surrounding a young child’s life.
Childhood Responsibilities
On the whole, Caribbean children are expected to assume a variety of
chores early in life. Two sets of responsibilities appear more prevalent
than others: sibling care and household work.
As is the case in many societies (see LeVine et al., 1994; Martini &
Kirkpatrick, 1992; Maynard, 2004 for a description of sibling care in
the Gusii, Marquesan, and Zinacantec Mayan, respectively), African
Caribbean, Indo Caribbean, and Amerindian pre-adolescent children
are pressed into caring for their siblings. A few pertinent questions
raised by researchers (e.g., Maynard, 2004; Weisner, 1993) relate to the
primacy of sibling care over that of other caregivers in the early so-
cialization of children. Do Caribbean children act as co-parents to
children or do they just pitch in to assist parents when childcare de-
mands increase? At what age do Caribbean children begin to assume
121
responsibilities for childcare and how does the quality of care af-
fect the social and cognitive development of their siblings?
122
gested that boys and girls should learn to cook and do their laun-
dry. Dominican parents “send their 3-to 4-years olds with older
children to the local shop. During these errands, they learn which
shops to go to, what to buy, how much to pay, and how to greet
the storekeeper” (p. 107). By the time children reach age 5, they
are capable of running errands without supervision. Boys care for
animals, while girls sweep the yards, wash dishes, do the laundry,
assist in processing coconuts, and guide young children (Dubrow,
1999). Roopnarine et al’s (1997) observations of Indo Caribbean
village life in Guyana revealed almost identical responsibilities
given to young children: washing/cleaning, watching younger sib-
lings, and animal care.
123
of children (Sigel & McGillicuddy-De Lisi, 2002; Super & Hark-
ness, 1997). Beliefs represent the psycho-cultural schemas that are
behind parents’ attempts to shape the lives of their children
(Goodnow & Collins, 1990). They may be pre-packaged (e.g., co-
sleeping) (Shweder, 1982) or “constructed” as parents revise their
views on childrearing (McGilliCuddy-DeLisi, 1982). Because par-
enting beliefs vary across ethnic and cultural groups and by socio-
economic status, applying a single cultural measure to determine
what constitutes “good” and “bad” parenting and
“developmentally-appropriate” socialization practices is inappropri-
ate. For instance, depending on economic and social circum-
stances, parents frequently prioritize parenting goals (health and
survival, cognitive stimulation) and use cultural childrearing scripts
(e.g., pediatric versus pedagogical) accordingly to achieve them
(LeVine, 1974). For example, in the United States, middle SES par-
ents engage in a process of “concerted cultivation” to coach and
arrange multiple social and intellectual activities for their children
to achieve desired parental goals (Lareau, 2003).
124
A logical starting point to address beliefs would be to examine
perceptions about maternal and paternal roles and responsibilities
toward children. Previously, I touched on the traditional beliefs
about maternal and paternal roles in Indo Caribbean families—
mother as nurturer and father as economic provider. Basically,
African Caribbean families espouse the same beliefs (see Brown &
Willams, 2006). In rural and urban settings in Guyana, Dominica,
Barbados, and Jamaica, low-income men and women primarily see
the father in the provider role (Brown et al., 1997; Dann, 1986;
Roopnarine et al., 1995). It is safe to assume that these beliefs
would influence parental availability and determine the very nature
and quality of parental involvement with children.
125
1989). Handwerker (1996) reported that 41% of boys were
slapped or hit by their fathers and 69% by their mothers, and 26%
of girls were slapped or hit by fathers and 53% by mothers.
126
Behavioral expectations of children form another set of beliefs that
tell us about cultural knowledge systems. In the Six Culture Study
(Whiting & Whiting, 1963), parents had very specific ideas of what
was expected of children (proper conduct, respect for elders). Par-
allel expectations of children were noticed in Caribbean families.
African Caribbean and Indo Caribbean parents believe that chil-
dren should be obedient and compliant, and show unilateral re-
spect for adults and proper conduct in their presence (Dubrow,
1999; Wilson et al., 2003). For example, 100% of parents in Anti-
gua, 96% in St. Kitts, 85% in St. Lucia, 94% in St. Vincent, 82% in
Barbados, and 95% in Jamaica thought that children should obey
their parents (Grant, Leo-Rhynie, & Alexander, 1983).
127
learn skills on their own. Nepalese parents expect their children
to learn societal norms of behaviors on their own without direct
input from adults (Levy, 1996), European American mothers had
earlier expectations of achievement and social skills with peers,
and Japanese mothers had earlier expectations of courtesy, emo-
tional control, and compliance with adults (Hess, Kasigawa,
Azuma, Price, & Dickson, 1980).
128
Parenting styles
Parenting styles refer to “a constellation of attitudes toward the
child that are communicated to the child and that, taken together,
create an emotional climate in which the parent’s behaviors are
expressed” (p. 488, Darling & Steinberg, 1993). Parenting styles
have been explored internationally using Baumrind’s (1967)
framework, The emphasis has been on the consequences of
growing up with parents who are authoritarian, authoritative, in-
different, or indulgent. Such studies have focused on the control
and warmth dimensions of parenting styles (Barber, 1996), the
relationships between behavioral control (maturity demands of
children, monitoring, limit setting), psychological control
(withdrawal of love, guilt induction) and warmth, and their contri-
butions to internalizing (withdrawal, fearfulness, inhibition, anxi-
ety) and externalizing (anger, frustration, aggression) behavioral
problems in children. Although psychological control appears to
have the most deleterious effects on children, researchers believe
that it is the combination of factors (warmth, punitive control)
that may hold the clues to discovering the impact of parenting
styles on childhood outcomes (Aunola & Nurmi, 2005; Darling &
Steinberg, 1993).
129
occupations indicated greater physical involvement and higher
levels of intellectual nurturance, and saw restrictive parenting as
less appealing than those who were unemployed or in manual
jobs.
130
2004; Roopnarine & Gielen, 2005) with a focus on interpersonal
harmony, interdependence, and respect for elders. Indo Carib-
bean women are the primary caregivers and nurturers of children
well into adolescence (Roopnarine et al., 1997, 2005). Early parent-
child practices are relaxed and indulgent. Mothers tend to follow
the child’s inclinations. Parents co-sleep with young children and
there are few formal feeding and sleeping routines. Children are
massaged routinely starting soon after birth.
131
do girls (Roopnarine et al., 1997). Assessments of paternal involve-
ment show that Indo Caribbean fathers are involved in caring for
young children (Wilson, 1989), but data in this area are quite sparse.
132
Physical punishment and verbal denigration are used to curb unde-
sirable behaviors (see review by Brown & Williams, 2006). Praise or
rewards are sporadic and public displays of affection are rare in Af-
rican Caribbean families. In one survey, about 23.6% of children
received praise for doing something that pleased the parent (Leo-
Rhynie, 1997), and 74.6% of adults stated that they did not observe
affection displayed between their parents when they were growing
up (Wyatt et al., 1999). However, Handwerker (1996) determined
that 58% of boys and 57% of girls were hugged and touched by
their mothers regularly or “all the time”. Far fewer boys (24%) and
girls (33%) were hugged and touched by their fathers regularly or
frequently. Findings from related work (Payne & Furnham, 1992)
carried out on parenting in Barbados lend support to the gender of
parent disparity in levels of nurturance offered to children. It
should be mentioned that affection is displayed in different forms.
Forty-eight percent of professional adults (from Jamaica, Trinidad
and Tobago, Barbados, Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Kitts-Nevis, and
St. Lucia) in Gopaul-McNicol’s (1998) survey indicated that affec-
tion was delivered through nonphysical means: sacrificing one’s own
needs for one’s children, educating children despite economic hard-
ship, and using nicknames.
133
posed of parents’ interactions in children’s learning activities at
home (e.g., supervision of homework, practicing what was
learned in school, etc.) and parent-school contact initiated by par-
ents (e.g., volunteering at school, attending parent-teacher meet-
ings, monitoring school activities). Both of these constructs have
been linked to school readiness (Epstein, 1996; Hill, 2001) and
higher levels of school achievement (see Epstein, 1996; Kohl,
Lengua, & McMahon, 2000; Snyder, 2000). But what constitutes
parental involvement in academic activities varies by ethnicity
and socio-economic background, level of parental education,
family structure, school characteristics and practices, teacher
practices, and age of child (Feuerstein, 2000; Grolnick, Benjet,
Kurowski, & Apostoleris, 1997; Rimm-Kaufman & Pianta, 1999).
Academic socialization is a family affair among Caribbean immi-
grants in the United States. Caribbean immigrant mothers re-
ported that they spent 8.21 hours, their spouses 4.40 hours,
grandparents 1.83 hours, and other relatives (uncles, aunts, cous-
ins, and other kinship members) 2.18 hours per week on aca-
demic activities such as reading, counting, printing and drawing,
and reciting the alphabet with their pre-kindergarten and kinder-
garten age children. Profiles of children’s activities at home indi-
cated that they spent considerable amounts of time in literacy-
type activities and in playing. Parent-school contacts that in-
volved meeting with the child’s teacher about schoolwork and
school performance and behavioral/discipline problems were
reasonably good. Mothers had higher levels of parent-school
contacts and academic socialization at home than fathers did.
Fathers’ levels of school contacts were associated with children’s
language skills and fathers’ levels of academic socialization at
home were positively related to children’s social behaviors
(Roopnarine et al., 2006).
134
early childhood experience) that contribute to successful school
outcomes. Again, the quality of parenting is a major player.
Disorders during the early childhood years are likely to be the out-
comes of maltreatment, abandonment, malnutrition, poor parent-
ing skills, inter-parental conflict, family and community violence,
instability in living arrangements due to child-shifting and mate-
shifting or divorce, employment and underemployment, and the
135
effects of paternal presence and absence on children’s social and
intellectual development. In view of the severity of the conse-
quences of domestic violence, inter-adult conflicts, harsh parental
treatment, and divorce in other cultural groups, we may perhaps
assume that psychopathological outcomes—antisocial behaviors,
depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, borderline personality
disorder, substance abuse, relationship and parenting problems
and so on-- are likely for Caribbean children as well (Amato, 2000;
Amato & Sobolewski, 2001, 2004; Baumrind, Larzelere, & Cowan,
2002; Cummings, Goeke-Morey, & Raymond, 2004; Gershoff,
2002; Holden & Barker, 2004).
136
thoughts, negative perceptions of self, and poor school perform-
ance (Pottinger, 2005). Chances are, in the absence of mental
health services in most of the Caribbean, these children mourn
silently in the face of their attachment difficulties.
137
mediate environment, political and social institutions, beliefs
and values, and so on) (Whiting & Whiting, 1975),
•the developmental niche (customs, settings, and parental
psychology) (Super & Harkness, 1997) and microniche
models (Weisner, 1998),
•bio-ecological model (delineating nested systems and
subsystems that influence the lives of children and fami-
lies) (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Bronfenbrenner & Morris,
1998),
• biosocial perspective (mating, parenting, and relationship
effort) (Draper & Harpending, 1982: Hewlett, 1992; Mar-
lowe, 1999),
•continuous contact and care model (feeding routines,
holding patterns and caregiver transfers, co-sleeping),
parenting model of hierarchical goals (LeVine, 1974),
•reproduction of culture (Carsaro, 1992),
•socio-cultural perspective (Vygotsky, 1978) and cultural-
historical activity theory (Cole, 1996),
•ecocultural model (Ogbu, 1983),
•segmented assimilation (Portes & Zhou, 1993), and
•creolization (Smith, 1962).
138
Whiting & Edwards, 1988), and to assess parental beliefs about
caregiving and early childhood education in cultural groups in the
United States, Europe, and Africa. Likewise, the bio-ecological
model (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998) has guided research all
over the world. In the area of early learning and schooling, the cul-
tural-historical (Vygotsky, 1978) or cultural-historical activity theory,
as Cole (1996, 2003) preferentially refers to his own reconceptuali-
zation, has been instrumental in unfolding cultural processes in liter-
acy and schooling.
139
countries/cultures respond to the same item similarly. Hence, in-
struments or observational methods should be similar in content
(e.g., meaning of terms) and also have similar response scales. It is
in this domain that the limitations of cross-country similarities in
childrearing are most evident. Many questionnaires and instru-
ments are applied across the Caribbean without assessment of
their validity and reliability in different countries. Care should be
taken with using specific country phrases and words or speech
patterns, and meanings should also be incorporated within meas-
urement of the construct. Literacy levels of families, cultural mo-
res and practices, place of administration, and methods used
(interview, questionnaire, observation) are all integral to assuring
operational equivalence.
(3) Scalar specificity refers to item equivalence across cultural
communities. Conceptual and operational equivalence do not as-
sure equivalence at the item level. The factor structure and
strength of factor loadings ensure item equivalence. Affirmation
of equivalence at the item level allows for meaningful interpreta-
tion of similarities or differences of the construct at the scale level.
(4) Functional specificity is a measure of correlates of the con-
structs across countries (e.g., correlations among parenting styles
and children’s academic performance). Even though the nature
and strength of relationships may be quite comparable, they do
not necessarily imply a Caribbean-wide pattern. The meaning of
relationships should be interpreted from the perspective of the
cultural lens of each country (Krishnakumar, Buehler, & Barber,
2004; Van De Vijver, & Leung, 1997).
140
2. What are parents’ beliefs or ideas about when common devel-
opmental constructs (e.g., when can children count to from 1
to10, tie their shoes, read simple words and sentences, etc.)
emerge in children? Do these ideas or beliefs differ by SES,
gender of parent and child, or ethnicity? What are parents’ ex-
pectations of their children at different ages by varying demo-
graphic characteristics?
3. How do children define the meaning of “family,” “father,” and
“mother”? How do these meanings influence childhood devel-
opment?
4. How do child characteristics (temperament, willingness to be
socialized) influence parenting and subsequently child out-
comes?
5. How are patterns of extensive caregiving related to quality of
attachment relationships to mothers, fathers, and other caregiv-
ers within and between ethnic and SES groups?
6. How do transnational parenting and serial migration influence
parent-child attachment and child outcomes?
7. What are the linguistic patterns, narrative styles, and academic
activities that parents/caregivers engage in with children? How
do they shape school readiness?
8. What are the cognitive and social dynamics of sibling relation-
ships?
141
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