Longing for interdependence, aspiring to independence: a qualitative study on parenting in Germany

IF 1.1 3区社会学 Q3 FAMILY STUDIES

Families Relationships and Societies Pub Date : 2021-01-01 DOI:10.1332/204674321x16357654718440

A. Sieben

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

This article presents interpretative analysis of 25 qualitative interviews with parents of preschool children in Germany, which focused on starting daycare and centred on topics of closeness and distance in the parent–child relationships. The article draws on sociological studies on intensive parenting, and cultural psychological theories of parenting. The analysis reveals that parents discuss starting daycare within the cultural framework of intensive parenting: they stress the benefits for their child’s social and cognitive development. As cultural psychological theories suggest, parents in Germany emphasise autonomy and independence, while also arguing that young children need interdependence. In addition, parents articulate a longing for interdependence themselves: they yearn for closeness with their children, but are also aware that their children are on a path towards autonomy. The article theoretically elaborates on these ambivalences and suggests that adding the dimension of parents’ longing enriches both the concept of intensive parenting and cultural psychological accounts.

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渴望相互依赖，渴望独立:德国父母教养的定性研究

本文对德国学龄前儿童父母的25次定性访谈进行了解释性分析，访谈的重点是开始日托，并以亲子关系中的亲密和距离为中心。本文借鉴了强化育儿的社会学研究和育儿的文化心理学理论。分析表明，父母在强化育儿的文化框架内讨论开始日托:他们强调对孩子的社会和认知发展的好处。正如文化心理学理论所表明的那样，德国的父母强调自主和独立，同时也认为年幼的孩子需要相互依存。此外，父母自己也表达了对相互依赖的渴望:他们渴望与孩子亲密相处，但也意识到他们的孩子正在走向自主。本文从理论上对这些矛盾心理进行了阐述，并认为增加父母渴望的维度既丰富了强化育儿的概念，也丰富了文化心理解释。

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来源期刊

Families Relationships and Societies FAMILY STUDIES-

CiteScore

2.10

自引率

14.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： Families, Relationships and Societies (FRS) is a vibrant social science journal advancing scholarship and debates in the field of families and relationships. It explores family life, relationships and generational issues across the life course. Bringing together a range of social science perspectives, with a strong policy and practice focus, it is also strongly informed by sociological theory and the latest methodological approaches. The title ''Families, Relationships and Societies'' encompasses the fluidity, complexity and diversity of contemporary social and personal relationships and their need to be understood in the context of different societies and cultures. International and comprehensive in scope, FRS covers a range of theoretical, methodological and substantive issues, from large scale trends, processes of social change and social inequality to the intricacies of family practices. It welcomes scholarship based on theoretical, qualitative or quantitative analysis. High quality research and scholarship is accepted across a wide range of issues. Examples include family policy, changing relationships between personal life, work and employment, shifting meanings of parenting, issues of care and intimacy, the emergence of digital friendship, shifts in transnational sexual relationships, effects of globalising and individualising forces and the expansion of alternative ways of doing family. Encouraging methodological innovation, and seeking to present work on all stages of the life course, the journal welcomes explorations of relationships and families in all their different guises and across different societies.