Philippine E-Journals

Parental Socialization of Moral Behaviors in the Context of Poverty

Danielle P. Ochoa

Discipline: Psychology

 

Abstract:

Parents play a key role in promoting children’s moral behaviors. How­ever, other forces such as children’s characteristics, and contextual and temporal factors are also at work (Bronfenbrenner & Evans, 2000).This study investigated parental socialization of children’s moral be­haviors and determined factors perceived to influence children’s moral behaviors within the context of urban poverty using Bronfenbrenner’s Person-Process-Context-Time (PPCT) Framework (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006). To achieve these objectives, pakikipagkwentuhan was used among 12 children aged 7 to 14, while individual interviews were conducted with their respective mothers. Parental socialization prac­tices were classified along two dimensions: verbal and behavioral, and punitive and non-punitive. Verbal socialization practices are predomi­nantly used, especially among 10- to 14-year-olds, whereas punitive so­cialization practices are more salient among 7 to 9-year-olds and their mothers. Factors such as the child’s age and gender, mother and child attributions, danger and negative influences in the community, cultural beliefs, and the changing times were also found to have an impact on parents’ socialization practices and children’s moral behaviors. Impli­cations for research and practice in parenting are discussed in light of these multiple influences.