Mothers' conceptions of child competence in contexts of poverty: The Philippines, St Vincent, and the United States

To explore mothers' conceptions of child competence in three contexts of po verty, 58 mothers in a Filipino village, a Caribbean village, and an inner- city American homeless shelter described competent children in their commun ities. Interview responses addressed several questions, First, do mothers i n these diverse settings share similar criteria in evaluating children? As expected, all three groups of mothers described competent children as well- behaved and obedient, satisfactory students, helpful in the family, and fri endly with peers. Second, are adolescents less likely than younger children to be identified spontaneously as examples of competence? In contrast to F ilipino mothers, American shelter and Caribbean village mothers were unlike ly to identify adolescent boys as competent. Lastly, what were mothers' exp lanations for children's competence? All mothers emphasised parenting as th e most important factor in fostering competence, but differed on secondary factors. Results suggest that similarities may reflect shared concerns in a dapting to poverty as well as shared salience in developmental tasks across these cultures. Differences in maternal conceptions may reflect demands an d opportunities specific to each context.