French parents’ cultural models and childrearing beliefs

Abstract

This study explored, identified, and described “cultural models” of parenting shared by Parisian parents of infants and young children from birth to age 3 years. A questionnaire was constructed in the field to assess levels of importance attached to 50 practices associated with the daily care of infants and young children. Data were collected from a sample of 455 Parisian mothers and fathers and principal components analysis was used to identify three reliable components of parenting beliefs that constituted cultural models: “Awakening and exposing child to diverse stimuli”, “Ensuring proper presentation of child”, and “Responding to and bonding with child”. Four sociodemographic variables predicted variation in mean importance scores associated with each of the three cultural models: parent’s age, gender, education level, and religiosity, although the magnitudes of these associations were small. The discussion highlights the strengths and limitations of this method and offers suggestions for further research.