Parenting Practices and the Transmission of Ethnic Identity
Author(s)
Davey, Maureen; Fish, Linda Stone; Askew, Julie; Robila, Mihaela
Abstract
Three years after being interviewed, a nonrandom, purposeful subsample of 14 Jewish families from a larger sample of 48 families living in Central New York was reinterviewed. The primary aim of this follow-up study was to develop a descriptive understanding of parenting practices and the transmission of ethnic identity. Semistructured family interviews were conducted and coded using grounded-theory techniques, in particular the constant comparative method of analysis. Four main qualitative categories emerged from this study: Individual differences in teenagers, stages of ethnic identity development, parenting practices, and parental role models. Findings suggest that clear expectations, a type of authoritative parenting, could be associated with the positive transmission of Jewish ethnic identity. This type of parenting style was direct as parents expressed clear expectations for participation in Jewish activities both at home and in the community.
