Restricted accessOtherFirst published online 2010-9
Introduction to Special Section for Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology: Value of Children: A Concept for Better Understanding Cross-Cultural Variations in Fertility Behavior and Intergenerational Relationships
The concept of value of children (VOC) was introduced three decades ago and has recently gained increasing importance due to ongoing significant demographic changes in many parts of the world, namely declining birth rates and increasing life expectancy. Even though the concept of VOC suggests interdisciplinary and cross-cultural research, these methodologies were only recently used as part of a collaborative international enterprise aiming to revise and extend the original VOC study. The extended study is based on psychological and sociological approaches and makes use of more sophisticated methods of cross-cultural comparison and multilevel analyses. The thematic scope has also been expanded beyond childbearing to childrearing and also deals with parent-child relations over the entire lifespan. The present special section provides an overview of ongoing theoretical and methodological progress on the basis of four selected studies on VOC and intergenerational relations in different cultures.
Albert, I. ( 2007). Intergenerationale transmission von werten in Deutschland und Frankreich [Intergenerational transmission of values in Germany and France] . Lengerich, Germany: Pabst.
2.
Albert, I., Trommsdorff, G., & Wisnubrata, L. (2009). Intergenerational transmission of values in different cultural contexts: A study in Germany and Indonesia . In A. Gari & K. Mylonas (Eds.), Quod erat demonstrandum: From herodotus’ ethnographic journeys to cross-cultural research. Book of selected chapters of the 18th international congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (pp. 221-230). Athens, Greece: Pedio Books.
3.
Arnold, F., Bulatao, R.A., Buripakdi, C., Chung, B.J., Fawcett, J.T., Iritani, T., et al. (1975). The value of children: A cross-national study: Vol. 1. Introduction and comparative analysis. Honolulu, HI: East-West Population Institute.
4.
Arnold, F., & Fawcett, J.T. ( 1975). The value of children: Vol. 3. Hawaii. Honolulu, HI: East-West Center.
5.
Becker, G.S. ( 1960). An economic analysis of fertility. In National Bureau of Economic Research (Ed.), Demographic and economic change in developed countries (pp. 209-231). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
6.
Becker, G.S. ( 1976). The economic approach to human behavior. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
7.
Bengtson, V.L. ( 2001). Beyond the nuclear family: The increasing importance of multigenerational bonds (The Burgess Award Lecture). Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 1-16.
8.
Bengtson, V.L., Giarrusso, R., Marby, J.B., & Silverstein, M. (2002). Solidarity, conflict, and ambivalence: Complementary or competing perspectives on intergenerational relationships?Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 568-576.
9.
Bengtson, V.L., & Roberts, R.E.L. (1991). Intergenerational solidarity in aging families: An example of formal theory construction. Journal of Marriage and Family, 53, 856-870.
10.
Bien, W., Marbach, J., & Templon, R. ( 1992). Social networks of single-person households. In C. Marsh & S. Arber (Eds.), Families and households. Divisions and change (pp. 157-173). London: Macmillan.
11.
Bowlby, J. ( 1988). A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development. New York: Basic Books .
12.
Bulatao, R.A. ( 1975). The value of children: A cross-national study: Philippines . Honolulu, HI: East-West Center .
13.
Bulatao, R.A. ( 1979). On the nature of the transition in the value of children . Honolulu, HI: East-West Population Institute.
14.
Buripakdi, C. ( 1977). The value of children: Thailand. Honolulu, HI: East-West Center.
15.
Caldwell, J.C. ( 1982). Theory of fertility decline. New York : Academic Press.
16.
Chan, D.K.-S. ( 1994). Colindex: A refinement of three collectivism measures . In U. Kim, H. C. Triandis, C. Kagitcibasi, S.-C. Choi, & G. Yoon (Eds.), Individualism and collectivism: Theory, method, and applications (pp. 200-210). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
17.
Clignet, R. ( 1992). Death, deeds, and descendants. New York: De Gruyter.
18.
Coleman, J.S. ( 1990). Foundations of social theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
19.
Collins, N.L., & Read, S.J. ( 1990). Adult attachment, working models, and relationship quality in dating couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 58, 644-663.
20.
Darroch, R.K., Meyer, P.A., & Singarimbun, M. (1981). Two are not enough: The value of children to Javanese and Sundanese parents. Honolulu, HI: East-West Center.
21.
Diener, E., Gohm, C.L., Suh, E., & Oishi, S. ( 2000). Similarity of the relations between marital status and subjective well-being across cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 31, 419-436.
22.
Easterlin, R.A. ( 1966). On the relation of economic factors to recent and projected fertility changes. Demography, 3, 131-153.
23.
Easterlin, R.A. ( 1968). Relative economic status and the American fertility swing . In E. B. Sheldon (Ed.), Family economic behavior: Problems and prospects (pp. 170-233). Philadelphia: Lippincott.
24.
Easterlin, R.A. ( 1975). An economic framework for fertility analysis. Studies in Family Planning, 6, 54-63.
25.
Fawcett, J.T. ( 1970). Psychology and population. New York : Population Council.
26.
Fawcett, J.T. ( 1972). The satisfactions and costs of children: Theories, concepts, methods. Honolulu, HI: East-West Center.
27.
Fawcett, J.T. ( 1973). Psychological perspectives on population. New York: Basic Books
28.
Fawcett, J.T. ( 1976). The value and cost of children: Converging theory and research. In L. T. Ruzicka (Ed.), The economic and social supports for high fertility (Vol. 2, pp. 91-114). Canberra, Australia: Australian National University .
29.
Finch, J., & Mason, J. ( 2000). Passing on: Kinship and inheritance in England. London: Routledge.
30.
Fontaine, J.R. ( 2008). Traditional and multilevel approaches in cross-cultural research: An integration of methodological frameworks. In F. J. R. Van de Vijver, D. A. Van Hemert, & Y. H. Poortinga (Eds.), Individuals and cultures in multilevel analysis (pp. 65-92). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
31.
Furman, W., & Buhrmester, D. (1985). Children’s perceptions of the personal relationships in their social networks. Developmental Psychology, 21, 1016-1024.
32.
Georgas, J. ( 1989). Changing family values in Greece: From collectivist to individualist. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 20, 80-91.
33.
Georgas, J. ( 1991). Intrafamily acculturation of values in Greece. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 22, 445-457.
34.
Goodnow, J.J., & Lawrence, J.A. (2008). How should people act in inheritance situations? Specifying differences in expectations. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 32, 98-107.
35.
Grusec, J.E., & Goodnow, J.J. ( 1994). Impact of parental discipline methods on the child’s internalization of values: A reconceptualization of current points of view . Developmental Psychology, 30, 4-19.
36.
Grusec, J. E., & Hastings, P. D. (Eds.). (2007). Handbook of socialization. New York: Guilford .
37.
Hoffman, L.W. ( 1987). The value of children to parents and childrearing patterns . In C. Kagitcibasi (Ed.), Growth and progress in cross cultural psychology (pp. 159-170). Berwyn, PA: Swets North America.
38.
Hoffman, L.W. ( 1988). Cross-cultural differences in childrearing goals. In R. A. LeVine, P. M. Miller, & M. M. West (Eds.), Parental behavior in diverse societies (pp. 99-122). San Francisco : Jossey-Bass.
39.
Hoffman, L.W., & Hoffman, M.L. ( 1973). The value of children to parents. In J. T. Fawcett (Ed.), Psychological perspectives on population (pp. 19-76). New York: Basic Books.
40.
Iritani, T. ( 1977). The value of children: Japan. Honolulu, HI: East-West Center.
41.
Kagitcibasi, C. ( 1982a). The changing value of children in Turkey. Honolulu, HI: East-West Center.
42.
Kagitcibasi, C. ( 1982b). Sex roles, family, and community in Turkey. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
43.
Kagitcibasi, C. ( 1985). Intra-family interaction and a model of family change . In T. Erder (Ed.), Family in Turkish society (pp. 149-165). Ankara, Turkey: MAYA.
44.
Kagitcibasi, C. ( 1990). Family and home-based intervention. In R. W. Brislin (Ed.), Applied cross cultural psychology. Cross cultural research and methodology series (Vol. 14, pp. 121-141). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
45.
Kagitcibasi, C. ( 1996). Family and human development across cultures: A view from the other side. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
46.
Kagitcibasi, C. ( 1998). Human development: Cross-cultural perspectives. In J. G. Adair & D. Belanger (Eds.), Advances in psychological science: Vol. 1. Social, personal, and cultural aspects (pp. 475-494). Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
47.
Kagitcibasi, C. ( 2007). Family, self, and human development across cultures: Theory and application (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
48.
Kagitcibasi, C., & Esmer, Y. ( 1980). Development, value of children, and fertility: A multiple indicator approach. Istanbul, Turkey: Bogazici University.
49.
Knafo, A., & Schwartz, S.H. (2009). Accounting for parent-child value congruence: Theoretical considerations and empirical evidence. In U. Schönpflug (Ed.), Cultural transmission: Psychological, developmental, social, and methodological aspects (pp. 240-268). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
50.
Kohli, M. ( 2004). Intergenerational transfers and inheritance: A comparative view. Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 24, 266-289.
51.
Kuczinsky, L. (Ed.). (2002). Handbook of dynamics in parent-child relations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
52.
Lee, S.J. ( 1975). The value of children: A cross-national study: Korea . Honolulu, HI: East-West Center .
53.
Lesthaeghe, R., & Surkyn, J. ( 1988). Cultural dynamics and economic theories of fertility change. Population and Development Review, 14, 1-45.
54.
Lindenberg, S. ( 1990). Rationalität und Kultur. Die verhaltenstheoretische Basis des Einflusses von Kultur auf Transaktionen [Rationality and culture. The behavior-theoretical basis of the influence of cultures on transactions] . In H. Haferkamp (Ed.), Sozialstruktur und Kultur (pp. 249-287). Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.
55.
Mayer, B., Agache, A., & Trommsdorff, G. (2009). Report on the cross-cultural construct equivalence of the instruments used in the VOC-study. Unpublished manuscript, University of Konstanz, Germany.
56.
Mayer, B., Albert, I., Trommsdorff, G., & Schwarz, B. ( 2005). Value of children in Germany: Dimensions, comparison of generations, and relevance for parenting. In G. Trommsdorff & B. Nauck (Eds.), The value of children in cross-cultural perspective. Case studies from eight societies (pp. 43-65). Lengerich, Germany: Pabst.
57.
Nauck, B. ( 1989). Intergenerational relationships in families from Turkey and Germany: An extension of the "value of children" approach to educational attitudes and socialization practices. European Sociological Review, 5, 251-274.
58.
Nauck, B. ( 2001). Der Wert von Kindern für ihre Eltern: "Value of children" als spezielle Handlungstheorie des generativen Verhaltens und von Generationenbeziehungen im interkulturellen Vergleich [The value of children for their parents: A special action theory of fertility behavior and intergenerational relationships in cross-cultural comparison]. Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 53, 407-435.
59.
Nauck, B. ( 2005). Changing value of children: An action theory of fertility behavior and intergenerational relationships in cross-cultural comparison . In W. Friedlmeier, P. Chakkarath, & B. Schwarz (Eds.), Culture and human development. The importance of cross-cultural research for the social sciences (pp. 183-202). Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
60.
Nauck, B. ( 2007). Value of children and the framing of fertility: Results from a cross-cultural comparative survey in 10 societies. European Sociological Review, 23, 615-629.
61.
Nauck, B. ( 2009). Intergenerational transmission, social capital and interethnic contact in immigrant families. In U. Schönpflug (Ed.), Cultural transmission: Psychological, developmental, social, and methodological aspects (pp. 161-184). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
62.
Nauck, B., & Schwenk, O.G. ( 2001). Did societal transformation destroy the social networks of families in East Germany? American Behavioral Scientist , 44, 1864-1878.
63.
Rohner, R.P., & Cournoyer, D.E. (1994). Universals in youths’ perceptions of parental acceptance and rejection: Evidence from factor analyses within eight sociocultural groups worldwide. Cross-Cultural Research, 28, 371-383.
64.
Rosenthal, D., & Bornholt, L. ( 1988). Expectations about development in Greek- and Anglo-Australian families. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 19, 19-34.
65.
Rossi, A.S., & Rossi, P.H. ( 1991). Normative obligations and parent-child help exchange across the life course. In K. Pillemer & K. McCartney (Eds.), Parent child relations throughout life (pp. 201-224). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
66.
Rothbaum, F., Pott, M., Azuma, H., Miyake, K., & Weisz, J. ( 2000). The development of close relationships in Japan and the United States: Paths of symbiotic harmony and generative tension. Child Development, 71, 1121-1142.
67.
Rothbaum, F., & Trommsdorff, G. (2007). Do roots and wings oppose or complement one another? The socialization of autonomy and relatedness in cultural context. In J. E. Grusec & P. Hastings (Eds.), The handbook of socialization (pp. 461-489). New York: Guilford.
68.
Schönpflug, U. (Ed.). (2009). Cultural transmission: Psychological, developmental, social, and methodological aspects. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
69.
Schwarz, B., Chakkarath, P., Trommsdorff, G., Schwenk, O., & Nauck, B. ( 2001). Report on selected instruments of the Value of Children Study. Konstanz, Germany: University of Konstanz.
70.
Schwarz, B., & Trommsdorff, G. (2005). Intergenerationaler Austausch von Unterstützung und Reziprozität im Kulturvergleich [Intergenerational exchange of support and reciprocity in cultural comparison]. In A. Steinbach (Ed.), Generatives Verhalten und Generationenbeziehungen (pp. 199-212). Wiesbaden, Germany: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
71.
Schwarz, B., Trommsdorff, G., Albert, I., & Mayer, B. ( 2005). Adult parent-child relationship: Relationship quality, support, and reciprocity. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 54, 396-417.
72.
Schwarz, B., Trommsdorff, G., Kim, U., & Park, Y.- S. (2006). Intergenerational support: Psychological and cultural analyses of Korean and German women. Current Sociology , 54, 315-340.
73.
Schwarz, B., Trommsdorff, G., Zheng, G., & Shi, S. ( 2009). Reciprocity in intergenerational support: A comparison of Chinese and German adult daughters. Journal of Family Issues . Retrieved October 14, 2009, from http://jfi.sagepub.com/cgi/rapidpdf/0192513X09347991v1
74.
Singelis, T.M. ( 1994). The measurement of independent and interdependent self-construals . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20, 580-591.
75.
Staub, E. ( 1986). A conception of the determinants and development of altruism and aggression: Motives, the self, and the environment. In C. Zahn-Waxler, E. M. Cummings , & R. Iannotti (Eds.), Altruism and aggression (pp. 135-164). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
76.
Tomasello, M. ( 2009). Cultural transmission: A view from chimpanzees and human infants. In U. Schönpflug (Ed.), Cultural transmission: Developmental, psychological, social, and methodological aspects (pp. 33-48). New York: Cambridge University Press.
77.
Trommsdorff, G. ( 1995). Parent-adolescent relations in changing societies: A cross-cultural study. In P. Noack, M. Hofer, & J. Youniss (Eds.), Psychological responses to social change: Human development in changing environments (pp. 189-218). Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter.
78.
Trommsdorff, G. ( 2006). Parent-child relations over the life-span. A cross-cultural perspective. In K. H. Rubin & O. B. Chung (Eds.), Parenting beliefs, behaviors, and parent-child relations. A cross-cultural perspective (pp. 143-183). New York: Psychology Press.
79.
Trommsdorff, G. ( 2007). Entwicklung im kulturellen Kontext [Development in cultural context]. In G. Trommsdorff & H.-J. Kornadt (Eds.), Enzyklopädie der Psychologie: Themenbereich C Theorie und Forschung, Serie VII Kulturvergleichende Psychologie. Band 2: Kulturelle Determinanten des Erlebens und Verhaltens (pp. 435-519). Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe.
80.
Trommsdorff, G. ( 2009). Intergenerational relations and cultural transmission . In U. Schönpflug (Ed.), Cultural transmission: Psychological, developmental, social, and methodological aspects (pp. 126-160). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
81.
Trommsdorff, G., & Albert, I. ( 2009). Kulturvergleich von Beziehungsqualität in Mehrgenerationenfamilien aus psychologischer Sicht [Cultural comparison of relationship quality in multigenerational families from a psychological perspective]. In H. Künemund & M. Szydlik (Eds.), Generationen- Multidisziplinäre Perspektiven (pp. 119-134). Wiesbaden, Germany: Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften .
82.
Trommsdorff, G., Kim, U., & Nauck, B.E. ( 2005). Factors influencing value of children and intergenerational relations in times of social change: Analyses from psychological and socio-cultural perspectives [special issue]. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 54, 313-316.
83.
Trommsdorff, G., & Nauck, B. (Eds.). (2005). The value of children in cross-cultural perspective. Case studies from eight societies. Lengerich, Germany: Pabst Science.
84.
Trommsdorff, G., & Nauck, B. ( 2006). Demographic changes and parent-child relationship. Parenting: Science and Practice, 6, 343-360.
85.
Trommsdorff, G., & Rothbaum, F. ( 2008). Development of emotion regulation in cultural context . In S. Ismer, S. Jung, S. Kronast, C. von Scheve, & M. Vandekerckhove (Eds.), Regulating emotions: Culture, social necessity and biological inheritance (pp. 85-120). New York: Blackwell.
86.
Trommsdorff, G., & Schwarz, B. ( 2007). The "intergenerational stake hypothesis" in Indonesia and Germany. Adult daughters’ and their mothers’ perception of their relationship. Current Sociology, 55, 599-620.
87.
Ugolini, B. ( 2001). Bindungsqualität und ihr Zusammenhang mit sozialer Unterstützung: Eine Untersuchung erwachsener Kinder pflegebedürftiger Eltern [Attachment quality and its relation to social support: A study of grown children of care-dependent parents]. Unpublished master’s thesis , University of Konstanz, Germany.
88.
United Nations. (2007). World population prospects. The 2006 revision. New York: United Nations.
89.
Urdze, A., & Rerrich, M.S. ( 1981). Frauenalltag und Kinderwunsch: Motive von Müttern für oder gegen ein zweites Kind [The everyday life of women and the wish to have children: Motives of mothers for having or not having a second child] . Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Campus .
90.
Van de Vijver, F., & Leung, K. ( 1997). Methods and data analysis of comparative research. In J. W. Berry, Y. H. Poortinga, & J. Pandey (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology: Vol. 1. Theory and method (2nd ed., pp. 257-300). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
91.
Van de Vijver, F. J. R.,Van Hemert, D. A., & Poortinga, Y. H. (Eds.). (2008). Individuals and cultures in multilevel analysis . Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
92.
Wu, T.- S. (1977). The value of children: Taiwan. Honolulu, HI: East-West Center.
