Adolescents' ideas about individual and social responsibility in relation to children's household work: Some international comparisons

Cultural values of individual and social responsibility were investigated t hrough adolescents' ideas about children's household work. A total of 4627 adolescents from six countries completed questionnaire items about the age children should begin chores, the value of children's participation, and th e appropriateness of payment. Differences were found between countries for all questions but notably for the question of payment. Adolescents in the U SA, Australia, and Sweden were more likely to support a general payment ass ociated with children's household work, whereas adolescents in Bulgaria, th e Czech Republic and Hungary were more likely to oppose payment. All differ ences interacted with type of task (self-care and family-care), correspondi ng to a relative emphasis on individual and social responsibility.