Adults Desires for Childrens Emotions across 48 Countries

Abstract

The present study examined college students’desires for their children’s emotions across cultures. Atotal of 10,175 respondents from 48 countries on six continents participated. Across nations, people desired high levels of happiness and fearlessness for their children. The desire for anger suppression showed greater variability than desires for happiness and fearlessness. Greater desires for happiness were predicted by being female, by greater individual and national levels of positive affect, by greater beliefs about the appropriateness of positive affect, and by individualism. Greater desires for fearlessness were predicted for sons versus daughters, by being male, by greater individual levels of and beliefs about the appropriateness of positive affect, by lower national wealth, and by higher national levels of negative affect and greater beliefs about the appropriateness ofworrying. Greater desires for anger suppression were predicted for sons versus daughters, by being male, by greater individual and national levels of negative affect, and by lower national wealth.