Intuitive Parenting Programs in German, American, and Greek Parents of 3-Month-Old Infants

Abstract

Components of the concept of intuitive parenting were analyzed in three cultural samples (West Germans, Americans, and Greeks). The three cultures selected were representing different rearing environments of infants (West Germany and United States: nuclear family; Greece: extended family), but similar geographical conditions (Utah, W. Germany, Northern Greece) and political and economic orientations. As behavioral manifestations of intuitive parenting, latencies of parental verbal/vocal and nonvocal behaviors toward infants' facial and vocal expressions were investigated. The interactional situations between parents and their 3-month-old firstborn infants were videotaped. The results illustrate general parenting programs that are not culturally specific. Quantitative cultural differences were found in the use of verbal behavioral modalities.