Parents' child-rearing values and beliefs in the United States and Russia:The impact of culture and social class

Parents' values for their children and their beliefs about appropriate chil d-rearing practices contribute to the ways in which they try to shape their children's development. This paper examines the values and beliefs of 71 p arents (37 mothers and 34 fathers) from two cities in the United States and Russia. Half of the families were middle class (determined by education an d occupation criteria) and half were working class. The results revealed no cross-societal differences in value for self-direction in the children; pe rhaps reflecting the recent economic and ideological changes in Russia. In contrast, significant social class differences, for both mothers and father s, were found in childrearing values and beliefs. Middle class parents in b oth societies were more likely to value self-direction and believe that chi ldren should have freedom in and around the home, whereas working class par ents were more likely to believe that children should be expected to confor m to rules. The results of this study underscore the role of within-society heterogeneity, as a function of social class, in parents' values and belie fs about child-rearing. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.