Cultural Anthropology
SAGE Journal Articles
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Journal Article 3.1 Kakinuma, M. (1993). A comparison of the child rearing attitudes of Japanese and American mothers. Childhood, 1(4), 235–DOI: 10.1177/090756829300100406
Abstract: An examination of parenting magazines in Japan and the United States reveals that Japanese mothers tend to seek advice from fellow mothers while American mothers tend to seek updated information on child-rearing practices. Up to 60% of articles in Japanese magazines are based on some form of readers’ input while less than 10% of articles in American magazines are. Content analysis of letters reveals that Japanese mothers often write to tell funny experiences or exchange ideas, while Americans write to comment on the content of the magazine articles. These differences seem to reflect differences in the child-rearing traditions of both countries. Japanese child rearing is more communally oriented and sharing plays an important role. American child rearing, however is a more private affair, where parents are responsible for gathering proper information.
Journal Article 3.2 Ledgerwood, J. (2012). Buddhist ritual and the reordering of social relations in Cambodia. South East Asia Research, 20(2), 191–205. DOI: 10.5367/sear.2012.0100
Abstract: This paper examines the resilience of local Cambodian kinship and village communities in the aftermath of devastating violence. These communities are explored as cross-cutting sets of exchange relationships between local community residents, community members and their urban relatives, lay people and Buddhist monks, and the living and the dead—in the context of the annual pchum ben ceremony, or “festival of the dead.” The pchum ben ceremony is an act of “social resilience” in the spirit of this special issue; the ritual is an act of mourning, a demonstrative activity expressing grief, and a process to restore the disrupted social relations between the living and the deceased ancestors, especially those who died during war and the reign of the Khmer Rouge in the state known formally as Democratic Kampuchea (1975–1979). The ritual focuses on community cohesion, as most rituals do, and social networks are enacted, recreated and displayed; by participating, people declare their membership of various social groups. The paper emphasizes that, in the contemporary economic and social context, the ritual is also about enacting and proclaiming social hierarchy, highlighting the gap between wealthy and powerful (now often urban) family members and their poor and dependent rural cousins.
Journal Article 3.3 Gonzales, A. M. (2007). Determinants of parent-child coresidence among older Mexican parents: The salience of cultural values. Sociological Perspectives, 50(4), 561–577. DOI: /10.1525/sop.2007.50.4.561
Abstract: The absence of direct empirical study of cultural values represents an important but neglected area of study. The results of this study highlight the importance of cultural values in shaping coresidence between older Mexican American parents and their adult children. This study examined the coresidence patterns of 2,058 Mexican parents age 65 and older. Logistic analyses estimated the impact and relative contribution of a direct measure of cultural values along with socioeconomic resources, parental needs, child network characteristics, and English proficiency. These data indicate that when older Mexican parents are examined separately, their tendency to coreside with adult children is more firmly grounded in cultural values than economic necessity. Analyses lend support to the significance of both cultural values and income but find that income is a positive predictor of coresidence and thus may serve to enable persons to act on cultural family and support values. Data also suggest that adult children may benefit a great deal from parent–child coresidence in later life. Greater daily living assistance needs, having a spouse, and greater number of children are also positive determinants of coresidence.