Cultural Norms and Their Impact On Families
March 26th 2011 Posted at 1
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How do we know whether there are cultural norms, what they are, and how they affect family patterns? Family historians often rely on popular literature, essays, and diaries to reveal long-term changes in family values. Another approach is to evaluate the effects of economic or demographic forces on family and to appeal to culture or changes in attitudes to explain historical trends that cannot be attributed to those factors. Survey researchers potentially could introduce measures of attitudes into their analyses. For instance, the Comparative Study of Elderly in Asia project organized focus groups with elderly parents and middle-aged children in four countries to probe their expectations and experiences with coresidence (summarized by Milagros et al. 1995). More typical in research on the East Asian family is the approach taken by Logan, Bian, and Bian (1998). They identify some practical circumstances that promote new family traditions as well as some patterns that seem consiste Cheating Lover nt with traditional attitudes as described by Levy, such as patrilocal residence by married children. China is an ideal case for the study of change and transformation due to its experience of rapid industrialization. Within four decades, China was transformed from a trading hub end to an industrialized economy based on mass production of different products. The China state’s prescriptions for the family have always been rather straightforward and simple, corresponding closely with economic imperatives. However, quickly-implemented shifts in the nature of the country’s economic development have meant that family policies have likewise experienced abrupt turnarounds. As China embarked on its development into a rational industrial society, childbearing couples were advised that “Two is (more than) enough.” Aligned to this policy of small families were affiliated policies governing access to public housing. Education policies were also calibrated to meet family imperatives.
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