Abstract
Interventions for parents of young children often focus on enhancing parental sensitivity. A cognitive match on treatment goals has been shown to relate to the quality of the relationship (or alliance) between a therapist and the person receiving intervention, which in turn predicts the effectiveness of interventions. However, in multicultural societies therapists and patients do not always share the same ethnic background, which could influence their match on treatment goals. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that there is a cognitive match regarding the importance of sensitivity in early childhood parenting across Dutch and Moroccan, Turkish, Surinamese, and Antillean ethnic minority mothers and youth mental health professionals in the Netherlands and Turkish mothers and youth mental health professionals in Turkey. A total of 105 mothers with at least one child between the ages of 6 months and 6 years and 98 female professionals described their views about the ideal sensitive mother using the Maternal Behavior Q-Sort (Pederson et al. in Manual maternal behavior Q-sort version 3.1, 1999). Both professionals’ and mothers’ beliefs about the ideal mother converged strongly with the concept of sensitivity and within and across cultural groups of mothers and professionals. These findings point to a cognitive match on sensitivity beliefs between mothers and professionals with different cultural backgrounds. Our findings suggest that early childhood parenting interventions focused on enhancing sensitivity fit the beliefs of mothers of young children in different cultural groups.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Bell, S. M., & Stayton, D. J. (1974). Infant-mother attachment and social development. In M. P. Richards (Ed.), The introduction of the child into a social world (pp. 99–135). London: Cambridge University Press.
American Psychological Association. (1993). Guidelines for providers of psychological services to ethnic, linguistic, and culturally diverse populations. American Psychologist, 48, 45–48.
Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Juffer, F. (2003). Less is more: Meta-analyses of sensitivity and attachment interventions in early childhood. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 195–215. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.2.195.
Bernier, A., Carlson, S. M., & Whipple, N. (2010). From external regulation to self-regulation: Early parenting precursors of young children’s executive functioning. Child Development, 81, 326–339.
Berry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology International Review, 46, 5–68.
Bjørknes, R., & Manger, T. (2013). Can parent training alter parent practice and reduce conduct problems in ethnic minority children? A randomized controlled trial. Prevention Science, 14, 52–63. doi:10.1007/s11121-012-0299-9.
Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek. (2012). Bevolking; generatie, geslacht, leeftijd en herkomstgroepering, 1 januari [Population; generation, sex, age and ethnic background, 1 January]. Retrieved 20 December, 2012. http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/publication/?DM=SLNL&PA=37325&D1=a&D2=0&D3=0&D4=0&D5=0-4,137,152,215,232&D6=0,4,9,(l-1)-l&HDR=G2,G1,G3,T&STB=G4,G5&VW=T.
Conger, R. D., & Donnellan, M. B. (2007). An interactionist perspective on the socioeconomic context of human development. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 175–199. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085551.
Crockett, L. J., Iturbide, M. I., Torres Stone, R. A., McGinley, M., Raffaelli, M., & Carlo, G. (2007). Acculturative stress, social support, and coping: Relations to psychological adjustment among Mexican American college students. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13, 347–355. doi:10.1037/1099-9809.13.4.347.
Eisenberg, N., Losoya, S., Fabes, R. A., Guthrie, I. K., Reiser, M., Murphy, B., et al. (2001). Parental socialization of children’s dysregulated expression of emotion and externalizing problems. Journal of Family Psychology, 15, 183–205. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.15.2.183.
Emmen, R. A. G., Malda, M., Mesman, J., Ekmekci, H., & Van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2012). Sensitive parenting as a cross-cultural ideal: sensitivity beliefs of Dutch, Moroccan, and Turkish mothers in the Netherlands. Attachment and Human Development, 14, 601–619. doi:10.1080/14616734.2012.727258.
Gunnoe, M. L., Hetherington, E. M., & Reiss, D. (1999). Parental religiosity, parenting style, and adolescent social responsibility. Journal of Early Adolescence, 19, 199–225.
Harwood, R. L., Miller, J. G., & Irizarry, N. L. (1995). Culture and attachment: Perceptions of the child in context. New York: Guilford Press.
Heinicke, C. M., Fineman, N. R., Ruth, G., Recchia, S. L., Guthrie, D., & Rodning, C. (1999). Relationship-based intervention with at-risk mothers: Outcome in the first year of life. Infant Mental Health Journal, 20, 349–374. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0355(199924)20:4<349::AID-IMHJ1>3.0.CO;2-X.
Ispa, J. M., Fine, M. A., Halgunseth, L. C., Harper, S., Robinson, J., Boyce, L., et al. (2004). Maternal intrusiveness, maternal warmth, and mother–toddler relationship outcomes: Variations across low-income ethnic and acculturation groups. Child Development, 75(6), 1613–1631. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00806.x.
Joosen, K., Mesman, J., Bakermans-Kranenburg, Pieper, S., Zeksind, P.S, & Van IJzendoorn, M.H. (2013). Physiological reactivity to infant crying and observed maternal sensitivity. Infancy, 18, 414–431.
Karlsson, R. (2005). Ethnic matching between therapist and patient in psychotherapy: An overview of findings, together with methodological and conceptual issues. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 11, 113–129. doi:10.1037/1099-9809.11.2.113.
Kazdin, A. E., Marciano, P. L., & Whitley, M. K. (2005). The therapeutic alliance in cognitive-behavioral treatment of children referred for oppositional, aggressive, and antisocial behavior. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 726–730. doi:10.1037/0022-006x.73.4.726.
Knipscheer, J. W., & Kleber, R. J. (2004). A need for ethnic similarity in the therapist-patient interaction? Mediterranean migrants in Dutch mental-health care. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60, 543–554. doi:10.1002/jclp.20008.
Kochanska, G. (2002). Mutually responsive orientation between mothers and their young children: A context for the early development of conscience. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 191–195. doi:10.1111/1467-8721.00198.
Leseman, P. P. M., & Van den Boom, D. C. (1999). Effects of quantity and quality of home proximal processes on Dutch, Surinamese-Dutch and Turkish-Dutch pre-schoolers’ cognitive development. Infant and Child Development, 8, 19–38. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1522-7219(199903)8:1<19::AID-ICD187>3.0.CO;2-7.
Mahoney, A., Pargament, K. I., Tarakeshwar, N., & Swank, A. B. (2001). Religion in the home in the 1980s and 1990s: A meta-analytic review and conceptual analysis of links between religion, marriage and parenting. Journal of Family Psychology, 15, 559–596. doi:10.1037/1941-1022.S.1.63.
Maramba, G. G., & Hall, G. C. N. (2002). Meta-analyses of ethnic match as a predictor of dropout, utilization, and level of functioning. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 8, 290–297. doi:10.1037//1099-9809.8.3.290.
Marcynyszyn, L. A., Maher, E. J., & Corwin, T. W. (2011). Getting with the (evidence-based) program: An evaluation of the Incredible Years Parenting Training Program in child welfare. Children and Youth Services Review, 33, 747–757. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.11.021.
Mesman, J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J. (2012). Unequal in opportunity, equal in process: Parental sensitivity promotes positive child development in ethnic minority families. Child Development Perspectives, 6, 239–250. doi:10.1111/j.1750-8606.2011.00223.x.
Mesman, J., Van IJzendoorn, M. H., Behrens, K., Carbonell, O. A., Cárcamo Leiva, R., Cohen-Paraira, I., et al. (2013). The ideal mother is a sensitive mother. Beliefs about early childhood parenting across the globe. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Pederson, D. R., Moran, G., & Bento, S. (1999). Manual maternal behavior Q-sort version 3.1. Retrieved from http://psychology.uwo.ca/faculty/pdfs/pedmor/MaternalBehaviourQSortPage.pdf.
Petts, R. J. (2007). Religious participation, religious affiliation, and engagement with children among fathers experiencing the birth of a new child. Journal of Family Issues, 28, 1139–1161. doi:10.1177/0192513X07300788.
Phinney, J. S., Horenczyk, G., Liebkind, K., & Vedder, P. (2001). Ethnic identity, immigration, and well-being: An interactional perspective. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 493–510.
Posada, G., Gao, Y., Wu, F., Posada, R., Tascon, M., Schöelmerich, A., et al. (1995). The secure-base phenomenon across cultures: Children’s behavior, mother’s preferences, and experts’ concepts. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 60, 27–48. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5834.1995.tb00202.x.
Reid, M. J., Webster-Stratton, J., & Beauchaine, T. P. (2002). Parent training in Head Start: A comparison of program response among African American, Asian American, Caucasian, and Hispanic mothers. Prevention Science, 2, 209–227. doi:10.1023/A:1013618309070.
Rubin, K. H. (1998). Social and emotional development from a cultural perspective. Developmental Psychology, 34, 611–615.
Snider, J. B., Clements, A., & Vazsonyi, A. T. (2004). Late adolescents’ perceptions of parent religiosity and parenting process. Family Process, 43, 489–502.
Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau. (2009). Jaarrapport integratie 2009 [Annual report integration 2009]. Den Haag: Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau.
Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau. (2011). Jaarrapport Integratie 2011 [Annual report integration 2011]. Den Haag: Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau.
Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau. (2012). Dichter bij elkaar?: De sociaal-culturele positie van niet-westers migranten in Nederland. [Closer to each other? The social-cultural position of non-western migrants in the Netherlands]. Den Haag: Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau.
Stolk, M. N., Mesman, J., van Zeijl, J., Alink, L. R. A., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., et al. (2008). Early parenting intervention aimed at maternal sensitivity and discipline: A process evaluation. Journal of Community Psychology, 36, 780–797. doi:10.1002/jcop.20280.
Sue, S. (1998). In search of cultural competence in psychotherapy and counseling. American Psychologist, 53, 440–448. doi:10.1037/0003-066x.53.4.440.
Sue, S., Fujino, D. C., Hu, L., Takeuchi, D. T., & Zane, N. W. S. (1991). Community mental health services for ethnic minority groups: A test of the cultural responsiveness hypothesis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 533–540. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.59.4.533.
Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Way, N., Hughes, D., Yoshikawa, H., Kalman, R. K., & Niwa, E. Y. (2007). Parents’ goals for children: The dynamic coexistence of individualism and collectivism in cultures and individuals. Social Development, 17, 183–209.
Van IJzendoorn, M. H. (1990). Attachment in Surinam-Dutch families: A contribution to the cross-cultural-study of attachment. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 13, 333–344. doi:10.1177/016502549001300306.
Van Zeijl, J., Mesman, J., Van IJzendoorn, M. H., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Juffer, F., Stolk, M. N., et al. (2006). Attachment-based intervention for enhancing sensitive discipline in mothers of 1- to 3-year-old children at risk for externalizing behavior problems: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 994–1005. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.74.6.994.
Vermeer, P. (2011). The impact of parental religiosity on parenting goals and parenting style: A Dutch perspective. Journal of Beliefs and Values, 32, 69–84. doi:10.1080/13617672.2011.549311.
Waters, E. (1987). Attachment behavior Q-set (revision 3.0). Stony Brook: Department of Psychology, State University of New York.
Webster-Stratton, C., & Hammond, M. (1997). Treating children with early-onset conduct problems: A comparison of child and parent training interventions. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 93–109. doi:10.1037//0022-006x.65.1.93.
Yagmur, S., Mesman, J., Malda, M., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & Ekmekci, H. (in press). Video-Feedback intervention increases sensitive parenting in ethnic minority mothers: A randomized control trial. Attachment & Human Development.
Yaman, A., Mesman, J., Van IJzendoorn, M. H., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & Linting, M. (2010). Parenting in an individualistic culture with a collectivistic cultural background: The case of Turkish immigrant families with toddlers in the Netherlands. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19, 617–628. doi:10.1007/s10826-009-9346-y.
Zane, N., Sue, S., Chang, J., Huang, L., Huang, J., Lowe, S., et al. (2005). Beyond ethnic match: Effects of client-therapist cognitive match in problem perception, coping orientation, and therapy goals on treatment outcomes. Journal of Community Psychology, 33, 569–585. doi:10.1002/jcop.20067.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by New Opportunities for Research Funding Agency Co-operation in Europe (NORFACE).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ekmekci, H., Yavuz-Muren, H.M., Emmen, R.A.G. et al. Professionals’ and Mothers’ Beliefs About Maternal Sensitivity Across Cultures: Toward Effective Interventions in Multicultural Societies. J Child Fam Stud 24, 1295–1306 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-014-9937-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-014-9937-0