Exploring the concept of intensive parenting in a three-country study

Anne Gauthier, Monika Mynarska, Judith Koops, Caroline Bryson, Luisa Fadel and Tina Haux
Additional contact information
Anne Gauthier: Nederlands Interdisciplinair Demografisch Instituut (NIDI)
Monika Mynarska: Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie
Judith Koops: Nederlands Interdisciplinair Demografisch Instituut (NIDI)
Caroline Bryson: Bryson Purdon Social Research LLP (BPSR)
Luisa Fadel: Université catholique de Louvain
Tina Haux: University of Kent

Demographic Research, 2021, vol. 44, issue 13, 333-348

Abstract: Background: In recent decades there has been growing interest in the concept of intensive parenting. However, the literature is mostly qualitative and based on Anglo-Saxon countries. This raises the question of how best to operationalise the concept in a wider cross-national setting. Objective: This paper aims to operationalise the theoretical concept of intensive parenting in a cross-national perspective. Methods: The data for this study come from the CROss-National Online Survey panel [CRONOS], conducted in Estonia, Great Britain, and Slovenia in 2017. The analysis is based on 18 items on norms related to raising children. Exploratory factor analyses were carried out to identify dimensions of intensive parenting. Variation by respondents’ sociodemographics for the different dimensions was also analysed. Results: The results reveal four main dimensions regarding contemporary norms of parenting: a child-centred approach, a focus on stimulating children’s development, personal responsibility to do one’s best for one’s children, and pressure to follow experts’ advice. These four dimensions were found in all three countries. Conclusions: The results partly confirm the conception of intensive parenting originally suggested by Hays (1986). They also reveal that the phenomenon is not restricted to Anglo-Saxon countries but can be operationalised in a similar way in other countries. The findings also reveal some variation by sociodemographic characteristics, but not in a systematic way. Contribution: This is the first study to use random probability population-based samples to operationalise the concept of intensive parenting in a cross-national perspective.

Keywords: intensive parenting; cross-national comparison; norms hypothesis; fertility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J1 Z0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol44/13/44-13.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:dem:demres:v:44:y:2021:i:13

DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2021.44.13

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Demographic Research from Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Editorial Office ().